Twang.
I didn’t move a muscle as I loosened the arrow. It’d be a bullseye.
The arrow exploded before another struck the bullseye. I turned to see Laurel holding her bow, a grin stretching across her face.
“That was a bullseye,” I cried.
“I guess we’ll never know,” she said. “Now, boys, ready to prepare yourselves for the woods?”
Ronnie and Jeff abandoned me, peppering her with questions. Matt hung back, remaining distant. With a pat on the shoulder, I guided him toward Laurel.
“I know when I’m bested. Care to teach us a thing or two?”
She nodded. Just like that, I willingly stepped into Firefly’s snare. I expected the bindings to squeeze the air from my lungs. Suffocation would happen almost instantaneously. It’d begin a slow death… but nothing. As Ronnie and Jeff asked about flaming arrows, even Matt listened with curiosity.
Perhaps, and it pained me to admit this, being part of Firefly wasn’t that bad?
HE CAME TO BOSTON
Ronnie: I’m making my own arrows.
Jeff: Can I bring my slingshot?
Jeff: What about lighter fluid?
Charlie: You’re a Scout, not an arsonist.
Jeff: What if I want to be?
Consider me shocked. Jeff would be the first of my proteges to wind up in jail. The texts continued flying as they prepared themselves for the camping trip. Laurel had taken them from involved to enthusiastic. Thanks to her demonstrations, four out of my five shots had hit the bullseye.
I let out a deep sigh. Other than the weatherman on the living room television, the house remained silent. My fingers danced around the neck of the beer bottle, debating if I wanted another. My phone continued to vibrate as the gremlins fired off text after text.
All day, I expected a catastrophe. I helped load the hay bales into Seamus’s truck. When I mentioned helping Mum fix up the house, he offered a hand if I needed it. No intrusion. No pushing. He didn’t follow it up with questions about my stayor offer gossip about the town. I had replayed every interaction since I returned, wondering if this was the same Firefly I had left decades ago.
Matt: What if I have to pee in the middle of the night?
I eyed the text message. Matt sent it separately from the gremlin’s group chat. His anxiety had turned to worry. Where Ronnie and Jeff would run into danger without a care in the world, Matt needed assurance.
Charlie: You grab a lantern and go not too far from the camp.
Matt: What about animals?
Charlie: Most of them are asleep, too.
Matt: Are you sure?
Charlie: You can wake me up, and I’ll go with you.
He struggled, but at least he kept the lines of communication open. It meant that part of him wanted to be involved.
“What are you smiling about?”
I didn’t realize I had a grin on my face. Mum hobbled into the kitchen, filling her teakettle with water. After she placed it on the stove, she sat in the chair across the table.
“It seems you’ve made some new friends.”
“I’m not sure I’d call a trio of trouble-makers friends.”
