Page 114 of A Light in the Dark
“Working right up the street does factor into that. I’d spend more time trying to park. I also like the walk. It’s good exercise.”
“That hill is no joke. When I first realized you walk to work, it horrified me. Then I realized you have a really good health plan in action. You’re going to stay in shape if you’re walking up that hill daily.”
I nodded. “Exactly. And if I really need to take it easy, I bet I could ask my handsome neighbor if he’d drive me up the hill to work.”
“Am I going to stay your neighbor the whole time?”
“Well, when you’re here, you’re obviously a hostage, and it seems like a shame to lose an opportunity to screw around with everyone. How long will it take them to realize my handsome neighbor is actually living with me?”
“We could pull the ruse off for quite a while, actually, especially if we use my place as a crafting storage location in addition to a guest house. I also have to take care of my courtyard and garden.”
“I’m sure such caretaking will go quickly with both of us working together to get everything done.” I rubbed my hands together, went on a hunt for my purse and shoes, and escorted myself to the door to wait for Joel to take the hint. “You can’t disappoint Elenora, Joel. You must do your duty for the peace and happiness of the entire street.”
Snickering all the way, Joel gathered his things, including the keys needed for his garage and SUV. “I’ll text Lois on the way, as she’ll surely want to investigate if we’re in good health following your first shift. As I’m an excellent custodian of our flutter, she won’t suspect you’re getting your birth control so you can indulge with me at your leisure. She’ll just assume I gave you the same exact talk I give every new member of the flutter.”
“That’s sneaky. I like it. How long do you think we can trick the entire flutter?”
“With how many babysitters we’re going to be having in the next few weeks? Not nearly as long as I would like. Oh, well. It’s a small price to pay. They’ll be over every chance they can get because you are the undisputed local queen of roses now. Your garden is a masterpiece of roses. I’d be jealous, but I’m a happy hostage with unlimited rose visitation rights.”
“You can even help me pick patio furniture and my new barbecue. Those are the only things thathaven’tgotten done yet.”
“I am sure I can help you with both of those pursuits. I feel I should contribute to half of the bill, because if I am going to be a hostage here, I will be making use of that barbecue often.”
I considered him, and after a moment, I nodded. “I can accept allowing my hostage to contribute to the barbecue and patio furniture fund.”
“Then it’s a plan. I’ll see if Lois is available to confirm we’re healthy, we’ll go to the pharmacy to pick up everythingwe need, and we’ll swing by the store to select and order the patio furniture and the barbecue, that way nobody is suspicious about our activities. We can hide our purchases among other things as long as we don’t have chaperones in the pharmacy.”
“I’ll just get a variety and tell them if I’m going to have a bunch of randy luna moths at my house, I will have appropriate protection in all of my bathrooms,” I replied, snickering at the thought of people misusing my guest beds. “Are luna moths like wolf shifters?”
“We partner for life, yes. Should our partner die, we will eventually find new partners. My parents are both on their second partners, although Dad didn’t become a luna moth until meeting my mother. My mother’s first husband died in a car accident. My father’s first wife died from heart disease. She died pretty young. My mom was on her own for a while before meeting Dad, and she met Dad while he was grieving for his wife.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” I winced at the thought of his parents having loved and then lost. “That sounds so hard.”
“They found each other, so don’t feel too sorry for them. Dad took his time picking up Mom’s genetics, and I suspect Dad picked up Mom’s genetics due to desperation to have a kid. Mom refused until Dad was shifting.”
I grinned at the thought of his mother handling his father in such a fashion. “And I just spontaneously decided Ireallywanted to be a luna moth. I’m blaming the ready access to silk beyond what I can obtain through coercion.”
Joel laughed at me. “That I can believe. Anyway, while luna moths do partner for life, we socially determine life to begin at marriage, so we can explore our personal compatibilityfor a while before we take the dive. But over time, luna moths hate being separated, so it’s as much magical as it is social.”
“I do get annoyed when my hostage wanders off for long,” I replied. “You can wander to work, but you need to come home promptly. I did not find keeping you company in the hospital to be at all tiresome.”
“Now that’s a ringing endorsement. I mean, it bodes well for tolerating each other, though.” Joel waited for me to lock the door and figure out how to engage my new alarm system before walking me to his house. “Are you going to be okay with being the mayor?”
“I’ll have to be. After seeing the border situation, there’s no way I’m just letting that disaster fester for the next sucker in line.”
He sighed. “You realize if you sweep in and fix everything that they’ll want you to remain the mayor, right? And if you eradicate corruption in the government, a lot of people are going to like you.”
“Except the corrupt.”
“I’m hoping the corrupt will be in prison.”
“I’ll worry about crossing that bridge when I get to it. For now, I’ll put out the fires I can, make certain the refugees are protected, and do what I can in the three hours a day I’m willing to spend on it—and I won’t be working weekends. They’re just going to have to learn to deal with no mayor for the weekends unless it’s an actual emergency. I’m going to be a great deal happier about handling my job as the mayor if I have a handsome neighbor serving my every need at home, though.”
“After we handle our evening errands, I look forward todiscussing my duties. It seems only fair that I should volunteer to sacrifice my body for the sake of our city-state.”
“Please hold that thought,” I requested.
“By the time tomorrow comes, I am hopeful to be holding a great deal more than mere thoughts.”
