“Would he?” I met his eyes and didn’t look away.
“Uhm.” The conflict played out in his eyes while he bit his lip. I recognized the fine line between desire and fear. “Are you sure?”
Before I could reply, Lacie jumped in. “Oh, he’ll be there.”
“Are you going, too?” he asked. If she agreed, he might tag along. I’m not sure what brought him to Firefly, but I had a feeling Lacie had been the driving force behind the decision.
“Me?” Her flair for the dramatic bordered on cinematic. From facial expression to her hand pressed against her forehead, I had to wonder if a camera crew filmed this for her social media accounts. “I can’t. I’ll be with the Quilting Guild.”
“What?”
“Gladys invited me. I can’t let the girls down. You know how they get.”
“How they get?” Nick had the most even delivery. Not mad, nor excited, simply existing. “We’ve been here two days. You’re out of control.”
“Ruth is bringing her famous rhubarb pie.”
While I kept Firefly at arm’s length, Lacie charged in, ready to hug her way through the town. I avoided the whispers and dodged their need to get involved in every aspect of a person’s life. Had Lacie barreled her way past being a flatlander and turned local? It took them years to warm up to outsiders, but I bet she had a knack for breaking down boundaries.
“I leave first thing in the morning.”
I shot Nick a wink. He flinched, and his eyes dipped. Our exchange, while in jest, didn’t provide the same levity it did for Lacie. His hands slid into his pockets, and I watched as he retreated, the walls slamming into place. If it had been the two of us, I’d have given him a pat on the shoulder and let him know it’d be okay.
Like me, Nick didn’t say much, but his silence felt different. He wasn’t guarded. It came off almost… hollow. He tried tovanish in plain sight. I spoke fluent isolation, but he had an accent of loneliness that I hadn’t heard in ages, but I remembered.
“I should get going. Have to get ready for tomorrow.”
For a second, his eyes turned up, and I cracked a smile. It wasn’t much, but I hoped a little warmth counteracted whatever weighed him down.
“Going to get your bow and arrow?”
She really didn’t have a clue. Her tone and energy made it clear she wanted the romanticized version of an outdoorsman. Packing maps and water purification tablets didn’t quite do the trick.
“Bow and arrow?” I scoffed. “Amateurs.” I held up my hands. “I only eat what I can catch with these.” If swooning were a facial expression, she had it. “This bear is old school.”
It wasn’t her reaction I cared about. For a split second, his lip curled. Almost unnoticeable before he buried it. He could choose to be isolated, but I wouldn’t walk away until I dented his sense of loneliness.
She patted Nick on the chest, rattling on as I walked away. I would never understand why somebody would seek out a place like Firefly. Perhaps the next time I bumped into Lacie, and I’m sure there’d be a next time, I’d have to ask her what she found magical.
A screen door clapped shut somewhere behind the bistro as I rounded the sidewalk curve. Almost out of earshot, I could hear her berating her friend. “Bear? See! You know how to catch those.” I couldn’t help but chuckle.
He wasn’t coming. I knew that. Guys like him didn’t vanish into the woods with a stranger. Still… I smiled at the ‘what if.’ No, he’d stay where he felt safe. But for a second, I let myself imagine what it'd be like if he did.
MUM'S COMPETITIVE STREAK
“Bingo!”
The clacking of plastic balls against the metal tumbler came to an abrupt halt. The entire room groaned, and wooden chairs creaked as people threw their hands in the air. Even Mum grumbled as she crumpled the Bingo card in front of her. For all the years living under her roof, I had never seen her angry, and yet, I thought she might flip the table. I hid the chuckle, not wanting anybody to think I was having a good time.
The American Legion served as the sole function hall for Firefly Valley. It housed everything from spaghetti dinners to weddings and everything in between. Wood paneling along the walls, highlighted by the soft yellow glow of fluorescent lights, kept it firmly planted in the seventies. It might be a product of its time, but with the dozens of plastic folding tables set up in rows, it served as the perfect location for Firefly’s most competitive sport.
“Sherry! Come on down.” I continued staring at the man calling the numbers. For the last hour, I had tried to figure out how I knew him. There was a good chance we went to school together, and his face had been one of many I stuffed into a steel box and filed away for never.
“Chris, you’re killing me!” Gloria, I recognized. As old as Firefly itself, she and Gladys might as well have been founding members.
Under the table, Mum gripped my hand. The rest of the room ceased to exist as I focused on her slender fingers. The cold metal of her wedding band pressed against my knuckles. I hadn’t protested when she announced wanting to attend Bingo. I pushed aside my distaste for Firefly and took on the role of dutiful son.
“Bingo has gotten rowdy since Chris started calling the numbers.”
