“Firefly has a caretaker?”
“Volunteer caretaker.” Of course.
He waved. “Harvey. You must be Jon.” I waved from the grass. “She talked about you and your sister all the time. I remember the first time she brought one of your books to Bingo. I’m not sure why, but the ladies loved that man’s heaving chest.”
“Of course she did.” I sat upright as he came around, dropping to one knee and wiping some grass from my mom’s headstone.
“Hazel didn’t have an ounce of shame. She’ll be missed. Same goes for your dad and mum. They’re good people. I was always jealous that they got out of Firefly.”
“Mimi never left,” I said.
“She might have lived here. Hazel called Firefly her baseof operations. She always came home, but she spent plenty of time exploring the world. The stories she told…”
I always respected my parents for getting out of Firefly and making a life for themselves. It’d have been easy to stay, but they wanted something different for Evie and me. It appeared that Mimi found a way to get out, even if she never let go of her lifeline.
“Do you ever wish you could get out now?”
He laughed. “Now? I’m too old for that. Adventuring is a young man’s game.” Harvey paused, and I wondered if he had regrets. He raised his head before giving a salute. “I’ll let you be. If you ever need something to do, come join us for cribbage in the park.”
“Thanks.” Harvey wandered away
A young man’s game. It sounded as if Mimi defied his logic, adventuring right until the end. It made me think about my own life. As of now, my headstone would read, “Jon Olsen, epitome of predictability.”
I had barely left Portland since college. Once I finished here and sold Mimi’s house, I’d make it a mission to adventure more. I wanted the people closest to me to tell wild tales of the things I had seen and done. Maybe I’d follow in her footsteps and visit Hawaii or see the Crown Jewels. There was a world out there, and it was about time I stopped settling and started living. I had grown comfortable. It wasn't enough anymore.
Amanda: Are you coming? Simon is cooking.
Amanda: I need you to steal me extra garlic bread.
Jason: She’s hogging it all.
Amanda: You live with him. He can make more. These are mine.
Amanda: My pockets are full.
Amanda: Bring Tupperware.
Jason: Why are we friends?
Amanda: Cause I give you garlic kisses.
FIREFLY EXPOSED
“We only need twelve.”
I paced to the end of the living room and turned around. The troops had arrived, and after a brief argument about the required snacks, I blurted out the idea. Sexy men of Firefly bearing it all for a calendar.
Amanda raised her hand. Since I saw her last, she had changed the streak of color in her hair. The electric blue on her head matched the shoelaces of her boots.
“Amanda?”
“Point of information.” The formality made everybody grin. “Where do we find twelve men willing to dangle their bits for the camera?”
“Twelve?” I asked. “We only need eight.”
This time, Chris raised his hand. “Not to be argumentative, but a calendar has…”
I turned from Chris, locking eyes with Jason, thenSimon. They sat on Mimi’s couch, Simon’s arm wrapped around Jason’s shoulders. The two big guys took up more than half, and Amanda was sitting cross-legged next to them. My grin widened as I turned to Bobby in his signature overalls and red flannel. When I finished staring at Chris, his hand slowly lowered with a soft “Oh.”
