Switching the flashlight off, I placed it on the ground and grabbed a small handful of grass. “Alright, now. Take the lid off one of those jars,” I instructed.
“Now what do we do?” Polly asked after I stuffed a bit of grass into her jar.
“We wait.”
I could hear her breathing beside me as my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark.
“All I hear are mosquitos,” Polly whispered, swatting the air.
“Patience.”
I could practically hear her roll her eyes, just like her daughter. And then, I saw it. A flash in the dark.
“There! Did you see it?” I pointed in front of us.
“Where?”
“Over by that tree, to our right,” I whispered.
“Jace, it’s dark and there are about ten different trees to our right.”
Putting my jar on the ground, I stepped back and came up behind her, my left hand lightly holding her waist. I breathed in the sweet smell of her neck as I moved closer to her, feeling her stiffen.
“Is this ok?” I asked, my breath stirring the small hairs that escaped her bun, tickling my nose.
“It’s fine,” she rasped, then shivered.
“Are you cold?”
“Me? No! I’m fine!” she said loudly.
I chuckled, stirring up her hair again. “Shh. You don’t want to scare them away.”
“I don’t even know what we’re looking for!” She whisper hissed back.
“There it was again.” I reached down with my right hand, grasping her hand in mine and bringing them up to point at the tree in front of us. “Right there.”
Polly was quiet as I saw another flash and she jumped. “Jace! I saw it! Are those . . . fireflies?”
“I grew up calling them lightning bugs. But yes, that’s what they are. And yes, we’re gonna catch ’em.”
“I’ve never done that before.” Her tone went from wistful to playful in a moment. “But there’s a saying in medicine. See one, do one, teach one. You do it first and then I’ll go.”
Laughing, I shook my head and dropped her hand. “You’ll be fine. This isn’t brain surgery. Take the lid off your jar. Yep, like that. Now, when you see the flash, walk toward it slowly. Then when it’s in front of you, scoop it from the air, like you’re catching a fish with a net, then slap the lid on top of your jar.”
I felt her nodding as I talked. “Ok. Ok, I can do that.” She rolled her shoulders back and moved to take a step forward, then balked. Her head turned back to me, the faint moonlight turning her skin opalescent. Her lips were within a few inches of my own.
“I can’t see where I’m going. I feel like I’m going to fall.”
I moved my hands to her waist to steady her, the warmth from her body, the swell of her hips beneath my hands causing a stirring within my chest. My lips were just below her ear. More whisps of her hair tickled my face, but I didn’t dare move as I spoke softly, “Go ahead and walk, darlin’. I’ll go where you lead.”
Another shiver went through her body before Polly took a step forward, then another. I followed behind her, lightly guiding her steps, making it so she didn’t fall. She was quickly getting a hang of it, waiting for a flash, then walking, then waiting and walking again, until finally?—
“Jace! I got one! I got it!” She turned around and held the jar between us, securing the lid to the top of the jar. We peered inside and then—flash!The lightning bug lit up the inside.
Polly’s smile stretched wide on her face, her joy evident, the mere fact that I’d made her happy, lighting me up on the inside.
“Can we name him Ed?”
