Page 126 of A Light in the Dark
“With how much they cost, they better contain the secrets of the universe,” I muttered. “How many of these volumes do you own?”
“I’ve been getting them every five years for the past sixty years,” he admitted. “Each one addresses new material, too—it includes all major new discoveries since the last release. I also have the older volumes. I have the entire collection. I needed to learn when I was starting my company, and I’ll use everything I can from these volumes to improve my sigils. If you hear me crying, it’s because I’m trying to make sense of these.”
“If I hear you crying, I’m going to become alarmed and try to rescue you.”
He smiled. “I appreciate that, but it is a necessary pain. I’ll be reading these while you’re working for the next twoweeks. Honestly, once my employees find out I have gotten these, they’ll adjust my schedule so I have the time to read them. I hate just doing nothing. As reading is a good activity while you’re recovering, I can be productive while you relax.”
The sun had gone down not long after we’d left the dealership, and I enjoyed the quiet walk. While nothing in Stonecreek truly closed, sundown often meant dinner, and most of the city retreated to their homes for a while before the night owls came out and the day dwellers went to bed. I loved how there was a time for everyone, and nobody judged those who preferred to do their work in the evening while most of the population slept. Sometimes, the economics of the night stores baffled me, but it worked out. “How is it places like the car dealership can stay open all the time?”
“Enough people shop at night for it to be worth the while. I have night workers at my company, too. Some people just like the hours, and the night workers want their shoring done while they’re doing their jobs. I don’t have as many evening slots for shoring, but they are available, and people are willing to wait for a crew. If we have a lot of requests for night work, I’ll open overtime shifts to the entire employee base. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to work an extra shift when their employer pays them double time for the hours worked. Your company does night shifting, too.”
“I always liked that I could work the night shift if I wanted to, but I’ve never liked being busy at night. Night is for reading and dinner.”
“Luna mothshateworking the night shift. We want to be fluttering around, glowing, and sniffing flowers at sunset.We like working during the day so responsibilities do not interfere with our evening activities.”
“That’s sensible. I like it. Do you think I made the right choice with my car?”
I’d insisted Joel be on the insurance policy for it, and as I’d decided to play hardball with him, he’d forced me to accept being on the insurance policy for his. It had simplified the process for me, however, as Joel had opted to make use of his policy to jumpstart getting my car properly insured.
“I know you did. You saw it, you loved it, and you bounced into the dealership after the test drive. You also gave your car a kiss on her roof.”
“She’s a sweet angel, and she deserves to receive little kisses on her roof.”
He laughed. “Are you going to give her a name?”
“Her name is Blaze.”
“That’s a very nice name for a sporty family car. I like it. And where will we be taking Blaze tomorrow?”
“To pick my parents up?” I suggested, regarding him with wide eyes. “I can show them City Hall once we get in, do my three hours, and take them on a driving tour of Stonecreek!”
“My parents have already invaded your parents to pick up the larvae. They might be in Watercrest or on the way to Stonecreek now for all I know.”
I narrowed my eyes. “When we are at the dealership, we will call our respective parents, and we’ll arrange to pick mine up. Yours has to feed all the baby luna moths.”
“The town will make sure the babies are all fed if my parents come to Stonecreek, but to start with, we’ll bring your parents over. I’ll make sure my parents get the keys to your parents’ place and take care of their place while they’regone. That’s easy enough to arrange. So, you want to take them to City Hall while you work, then host them at your place?”
“My place needs to be exposed to guests, and it recently received a great deal of love. You can resume being my hostage as soon as our vehicles are parked in your garage.” I heaved my saddest sigh and regarded him with my most disappointed expression. “Apparently, I cannot seek out intimate attention from my neighbor, whom my other neighbors so kindly sacrificed to my wicked ways.”
“I’m sorry the bacterial infection is enforcing abstinence.” Joel grinned at me and nudged me with his elbow, careful to keep from dropping his tomes. “I’ll make it up to you once you’re clear of illness. It wouldn’t do for me to disappointeveryoneon our street. But to add to the absolute scandal, I’ll come out of your house wearing an apron and being domestic the next time I spy one of the gossips outside.”
That would be a joy to observe. “Excellent. This is already turning around. What about the gaming tournament?”
“Honestly, now that you’re on enforced bedrest, I’ll ask everyone if we are good to start over the weekend. Your parents can watch us, and we can set up our computers in whatever room you decide will host our gaming thrones. And if they want to play, we can hook them up with laptops and set them loose on the live servers.”
“They don’t have internet in town capable of gaming, Joel. It can barely handle downloading books.”
He shuddered. “You told me that before, but it’s so horrific I purged it from my memory.”
“Do you think they’ll move to your hometown if they are luna moth shifters, too?”
“Probably. Luna moths gather in flutters for a reason. We get pretty despondent when we’re alone.”
“If luna moths are so good at procreation, why aren’t my parents having kids all the time?”
“That only happens after the first shift. After the first shift, luna moth shifter females get pregnant early and often. We’re careful, else we’ll have huge families and take over the city-state.”
I snickered at the thought of luna moths abandoning their birth control and taking over the city-state through a population boom. “But think of the number of households with roses, Joel. We’d become a nation of rose lovers.”
