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We fall into a comfortable silence again. It’s funny. I usually feel the need to make small talk or keep a conversation going when I’m around someone new. Then later I worry that I talked too much just to avoid that awkward gap. Overthinking is mydefault mode. Tonight, none of that applies and I’m happy to sit here, admire the sky and watch the dancing flames.
The buzz of my cell phone breaks the spell. “You’d better not be calling me in to work,” I joke, answering Silver’s call.
“Why, are you stoned?”
Arlow runs his fingers over his mouth, not quite concealing a smirk. She’s not on speaker, but my call volume was definitely loud enough for him to overhear in the stillness, and I tap the button to lower it.
“No. What’s up?”
“I’m actually calling to see if you can swap shifts with Misty. Work tomorrow night and take the night after off instead. She doesn’t have your number, so I told her I’d ask.”
“Sure, no problem. And you’re welcome to give her my number for next time.”
“Great, I’ll let her know.”
Arlow glances over at me once I hang up. “Okay, so maybe the peaches weren’t my first time breaking the law.” I’m not actually concerned. We may be in a non-legal state but other than cops, no one really cares about weed anymore.
“You’re clearly an outlaw. Do you know there’s a dispensary about forty miles away, right across the Illinois border?” He gets up and sets another log on the fire, circling the pit to poke at it with the stick until it’s behaving the way he wants.
“That’s good to know.” My fingers fiddle with the joint tucked in my pocket. “Do you smoke?”
“Sometimes. I’m more partial to edibles.”
I hold up the joint, raising my eyebrows at him. He nods at the invitation and sits beside me on the log as I light it. “What do you do for a living?” I’m curious since he doesn’t seem to leave very often.
“I don’t work a conventional job anymore.”
It’s the only information he offers, but I don’t pursue it. He could work online or maybe he came into some money like I did. It’s really none of my business. “I make donuts at Lucky’s Diner and Donuts a few nights a week.”
“That sounds fun,” he replies. “Do you get to take some freebies home?”
“Absolutely. That’s the best part.” His hands catch my attention. Unusually large, with long fingers, they make the joint look tiny in comparison as we hand it back and forth.
Our small talk dies out as the weed works its magic. Arlow moves to sit in one of the chairs across from me. It must be uncomfortable to sit on a log so close to the ground at his height. He practically has to fold himself in half like a lawn chair.
The fire roars, pushing back the night and making the darkness feel like a solid wall around us. It’s strangely cozy. I shift to straddle the log then lie back, planting my feet on the ground. With my hands tucked behind my head, it isn’t uncomfortable. Though the wood feels rough under my spine, I enjoy it, along with all the other sensations that suddenly seem heightened. The heat of the fire makes the night feel chilly on the half of my body that isn’t facing the flames. The stars look close enough to reach out and grab a handful. The distant scream of cicadas provides a backup choir to the crickets singing around us.
A lightning bug hovers over me, and I reach out to let it land on my hand. It obliges, crawling over my palm to my wrist, its glow pulsing on and off. “It’s nice to see a lightning bug again. They’ve really died off in the cities. I remember them being everywhere when I was a kid.”
Arlow watches the little bug crawl up to my fingertip then fly away. “I see fewer of them here too.”
“I was obsessed with lightning bugs as a kid. I’m sure my teachers were sick of reading my reports on them. They light upto attract mates, but each species has a distinct flashing pattern that suitable mates will recognize.”
“It’d be nice if people had something like that.” He pokes at the fire, sending a shower of glowing ash into the air as the logs begin to burn down. “A signal to recognize a soul mate.”
“You believe in soul mates?”
A half smile raises his lips as he regards me. “No, but it’s a nice thought.”
“Lightning bugs are also cannibals. If things get bad, they’ll eat each other. There’s even one species of females that have learned to mimic other lightning bug’s flashes to lure in the males of a competing species so they can devour them.”
“That is not a nice thought.”
Turning my head, our eyes meet, and his sudden laughter triggers mine. “Sorry, high thoughts.”
He shrugs, gesturing to the surrounding forest. “What if humans signaled like birds? Imagine if people climbed trees to yell about being horny.”
Giggles overtake me. “Talk about high thoughts. Maybe we’re better off that the human mating call is just ‘Can I buy you a drink?’ or ‘Hey baby, want to go to my place?’”
