Page 120 of A Light in the Dark
I wondered how my parents knew the name of the town when I hadn’t. Rather than ask, I explained, “His parents run the luna moth farm, Dad. I don’t think the luna moths are going to be active in two weeks, though.”
“They’re currently in their larvae stage,” Joel reported, and he pointed to an aquarium on a stand where his entry connected to his living room. Sure enough, there were moth larvae inside chewing on fresh leaves. “The flutter has been taking care of our moths while we were… indisposed.”
I relayed Joel’s commentary about the lifecycle of the luna moths.
“Ah, I see.”
I laughed. “You won’t be able to see the moths, but we can show you some larvae. Joel got some eggs from the last hatch, and you can see them while you’re here.”
“I’d like that. Two weeks it is, then. I’ll let you go. I got to get back to work while there’s still daylight. Call when you know what time you’ll be around to pick us up.”
I promised I’d call him back, hung up, and crossed my eyes. “I’m already having some regrets about this, Joel.”
“It’ll be all right. I’ll summon backup, and unlike your parents, mine are more than happy and willing to drive to Stonecreek to see what I’m up to. I just know better than to invite them often. They’d try to take over. But since you’re the one currently ruling this roost, I’m confident I can contain them this time. And if your parents fight with my parents, we’ll have some prime entertainment. We can sip drinks we make in your fancy new basement while we watch the fireworks. But I’ll find some volunteers in the flutter willing to pose and try to charm them.”
“Do you think they have luna moth genetics, too?”
“Probably,” Joel admitted. “That they’re asking about the luna moths probably shows a connection, and you didn’t need to pick up anyone’s genetics. I think you just needed a reason to believe you could.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
Joel grinned at me. “DNA results, Valerie. They had your previous DNA results from your first test for the faulty shifting gene, and all I did was ask them to evaluate one of the DNA strands that has markers for luna moths. The faultyDNA test has luna moth DNA results in it, so I inquired if you had the genetics already. The markers were present. Magic works in mysterious ways, and it’s entirely possible one of your parents is just like you and in love with everything luna moth—and from there, they picked up the genetics and passed it on to your other parent. I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m not.”
That thought intrigued me, and I wondered which one of my parents would have had a secret love affair with luna moths. After some consideration, I determined my father was the likely culprit.
Sometimes, I thought he worked outside so much just to be able to meet butterflies, bees, and all of the little creatures in the world.
“You’re right. I’ll try not to worry about it. After we eat, assuming you’re game for it, we’ll head to City Hall to see how much I can get done before we check out cars and come back here to enjoy the rest of our evening.”
“That sounds like a most excellent plan.”
Happiness camein many shapes and sizes, and it was often found in the strangest places. That there were people who delighted in seeing someone—anyone—other than the former mayor taking the reins of Stonecreek horrified me. I offered them a strange joy, one founded on hope that things would improve.
That bothered me.
As warned by the security guard, many people workingfor the city-state had been receiving low pays, and the city-state owed at least several million dollars spread out across permanent hires, contractors, and unpaid invoices. Fortunately, Stonecreek had the money, but only due to the former mayor’s fall.
The bastard had done a good job of trying to turn Stonecreek’s wealth into his wealth, but his imprisonment had helped make certain the funds were returned to their proper place.
Ten signatures later, and everyone would be paid appropriately—and there’d be money left over to continue paying everyone fairly. Sorting out that mess took six hours, but I left City Hall with a sense of accomplishment.
As though aware I had more important things to do, the reporters left me alone save for a few greetings, some of which were recorded. To my surprise, no one had asked me any questions beyond how I was doing and if I was having a good day. I spoke the truth on those; I had a headache, but otherwise, things were going well.
The headache bothered Joel more than it did me, and rather than go car shopping and indulge in his bedroom, we skipped off to a clinic to check if I had something amiss with my health. The Moonriver hospital hadn’t found any evidence of a lingering concussion when I’d been discharged.
Joel was supposed to be the one suffering from a headache rather than me.
One blood test later, and it was determined I had the start of a nasty little bacterial infection, one likely contracted during my stint in the woods and had needed time to incubate. Stress from trying to untangle Stonecreek’s mess took the blame for the infection being able to take root.
As I was declared noncontagious, I went off with a prescription and a suggestion to take it easy for the next two weeks, doing no more than three hours a day of work until cleared of the infection. If I did as told, I’d suffer from mild to moderate headaches without any of the other symptoms.
It wasn’t the same illness that had killed my brother, but it was close enough that I would be taking the doctor’s advice and doing everything to the spirit and the letter. The fear I’d share my brother’s fate rose, although I did my best to hide my worries.
“Luna moths pick this one up with sad frequency,” Joel informed me. “The medications work well, and all you have to do is make sure you get rest. The clinic was a little harsh on your restrictions, but they know who you are, and the last thing we need is the one mayor everyone currently agrees on falling over dead from a bacterial infection. It does mean we have to abstain. I do not want that infection, you do not want me contracting that infection, and we’ll suffer together otherwise.”
I heaved a sigh. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another. What about car shopping? Can we still do that?”
“We can still go car shopping, but I’ll be driving you to and from City Hall until you’re cleared from the infection. What was the deal with your reaction to the diagnosis? You looked like you’d seen a ghost.”
