Page 58 of A Light in the Dark
At least I only had three names to contend with when my parents became irritated over my independent behavior. “Is it okay if we impose?”
“You can impose, dear,” Joel’s mother promised. “The brat? He’s being sent to his room. You’re grounded, Joel! Grounded!”
“What did I do?”
Joel’s mother whipped out her phone, tapped at the screen, and turned the display so we could read it, revealing that Yolana had tattled on Joel’s purchases. “You bought how many bolts?”
“All of them,” he replied with zero evidence of guilt nor shame. “Valerie let me after I confirmed my appropriate usage of the previous batch. I need suits. I need suits from the soft silk my parents provide to people willing to pay ridiculous prices. I was willing to pay the price for my suits. I am not returning them, and I’m not accepting any refunds. Those bolts aremine. I bought that with money I earned fair and square, and you can’t take them from me.”
The trio engaged in a glaring contest, and I grinned over their behavior, which involved a great deal of posturing. Once I flipped the steaks, I hung the tongs from the hook on the grill and took the luna moth from Joel’s father, easing her onto the back of my hand. “She’s so pretty.”
My comment mostly reined the Sampson family in, andJoel leaned over to admire her. “She really is. How long do you think she has left, Dad?”
“No more than an hour or two. I’m going to go put her inside so it’s quiet for her, likely in the sunroom so she’s nice and warm.” Joel’s father took the luna moth back from me. “Why don’t you come inside and pick some eggs for yourself from the various clutches to take home with you while your mom finishes up the steaks?”
“How do you want yours, Valerie?”
“Medium rare, please.”
“Oh, good. We’re all in Camp Medium Rare. It’s good to not have to do any guesswork on good steaks. Go run along and pick some eggs for yourself, and we’ll set you up with a hatching kit and food for the little ones so you can enjoy some moths at home. Joel does a hatch once or twice a year, although he hasn’t visited for a while.”
“Prepping for the flood gets busy,” he replied before urging me to follow after his father. “Thank you, Mom. We’ll get the dishes and utensils ready.”
“There’s corn ready to be put on the stove. The water should already be seasoned and ready to dunk them in. Your father suggested we shouldn’t be complete heathens for a change. Pick your eggs, get the corn on, and set the table. I’ll put her things somewhere safe, so don’t you worry about that. And Joel? Try to contain your excitement over the color morphs. I know you’re obsessed with them, but there should be limits.”
My neighbor shot a glare at his mother. “I’m not that bad, Mom.”
“Yes, you really are, but that’s okay. We all have ourquirks, and yours is an unreasonable obsession over color morphs. Try to behave.”
While he heaved a sigh, Joel limited his protests to that and hurried to open the door for his father, who carried the white luna moth inside the house so she could spend the remainder of her life in comfort, warmth, and peace.
SEVENTEEN
Only a fool would refuse such an offer.
As promised,after lunch, Joel took me to the garden store, where I went on a rampage for Earth roses, vegetables, and delicious blooming treats for visiting luna moths. I bought three of every variety of rose, which would fill at least half my garden. The other plants would fill the rest, and I expected to have shaded paths underneath my maze of arching trellises once finished. To make certain all my plants would get enough light, I bought outdoor plant lights I could install from poles on the trellises. Joel promised he could handle protecting the electrical work from the floods and heavy rains in exchange for some quality time with the blooms.
Only a fool would refuse such an offer.
While Joel did purchase a few roses for himself, I ended up filling most of the trailer with my acquisitions. The trellises pushed the limits of his SUV and guaranteed we’d have to go through my hometown to get back to Stonecreek.
The forecast called for rain in the early morning, which would make the dirt road impassible for the trailer. As such, we’d return to pick up everything on our way out.
The owner, one of Joel’s uncles on his mother’s side, didn’t mind a little bit of inconvenience for my sake.
Dinner proved to be a quiet enough affair, taking place at dusk as the luna moths began to stir, taking flight from the house to fill the sky with fluttering wings. Joel took pictures, and while I did use my camera a time or two with some help from him, I was content to watch them while crocheting. As warned, the moths indulged with each other, and one by one, the females went to lay their eggs before finding some quiet place to land, where they died without fanfare. Their passing hurt a little, but I couldn’t help but find beauty in it as well.
One such female landed on my shoulder and settled in, and only when she fell totally still an hour or so later did Joel’s father remove her. “I’ll put this one in a case for you to take home. This one is your true first.”
I understood, then, what they’d meant when discussing Joel’s first. While there was nothing magical about the luna moths, something about them left an impression. I watched his father go, pondering the cycle of life and death. “Thank you. She was so peaceful.”
“That is the beauty of the luna moth. That is the pain of them, too. I’ll bring out some mundane silk for you to play with. I’m sure we have a hank or three around.”
“Or a million,” Joel muttered. “Mom spins, she dyes, and she hoards. And unlike Yolana, she does not sell most of her hoard. It is either gifted or she uses it. I keep telling them they need to start selling some of the silk they gather.”
“These are our moths, and it’s our silk,” his father replied,lifting his chin and heading into the house with the luna moth. “Pest.”
“Skinflint!”
