Meg watched from a rocking chair on her Gran’s back porch as fireflies rose from the grass into the gloaming.
Watching the patterns made by the tiny flickering lights, she felt all her previous summers here at Gran’s house telescoping behind her, traveling backward in time, to when she first saw fireflies lighting up the night from this porch.
There were no fireflies where she grew up in Arizona. For her, the only place they existed was here, in Gran’s garden. They were part of the magic of long, sticky summer days spent exploring the woods, splashing in the creek, and camping on the back lawn with her cousins when it was too hot to sleep indoors.
Back then, the worst thing she had to worry about was the occasional bellyache from eating too many melty marshmallows toasted over the barbecue. Grown-up Meg’s summers, on the other hand, were crowded with work, kids, and a never-ending to do list that seemed to grow faster than she could keep up with.
Now that Gran had passed, there was the added worry of what to do about the house. The same cousins who once squabbled over which games to play in this backyard were now adults who squabbled over politics, and were similarly at odds over what to do with Gran’s house. Should they sell? Rent it out? Keep it and take turns staying here with their families in the summers? They couldn’t seem to agree.
Meg didn't have strong feelings about what to do with the house. She would be happy if they kept it, and at peace if they sold it. Either way, Gran wasn't here anymore, and nothing that they decided could change that. All she really wanted was for the fighting between them to stop.
After weeks of back-and-forth arguing over email and text messages with no resolution, they decided to meet here at the house for one last summer visit to make a final decision face-to-face. Meg was first to arrive. She’d flown in early, wanting some time alone with her memories of Gran in the quiet house, before the rest of the cousins arrived with their noisy chatter and conflicting opinions.
As Meg rocked gently, lost in thought, a firefly came blinking into her peripheral vision. It circled her head before landing on her forearm. She watched in wonder as the tiny insect walked down her arm, its flickering yellow light flashing from beneath a delicate brown carapace.
A car door slammed on the other side of the house, interrupting Meg’s quiet communion with the firefly; The cousins had arrived. Any minute now the kitchen would be full of people, and the never-ending debate about pineapple on pizza and who should pick it up would drown out the quiet sounds of the crickets and cicadas.
The lightning bug had made its way to the back of her hand, where it took flight. Meg watched the tiny blinking light ascend into the trees. She was about to get up to go inside, but before she could the screen door squealed on its hinges.
"Wow, it's humid out here." Eldest cousin, Jackie, huffed as she plopped into the rocker next to Meg's.
"I'm sweating my ass off." Jackie's twin brother, Brock, came through the door next. "If we keep the house, we definitely need to install air conditioning."
Jackie rolled her eyes."When we sell the house, you mean, we won't have to deal with all the updates it needs."
The back door squeaked open again, as youngest cousin, Kristen, came drifting out, a cold glass of the lemonade Meg had made when she arrived in one hand.
"Hey, party people." Kristen beamed her megawatt smile at them all before taking a sip of lemonade. "The market is terrible right now. I'm a realtor - I should know. My professional opinion is the best thing we can do right now is nothing, just sit tight until the next upswing." They glared at one another before erupting into yelling over one another.
Everyone was talking, but no one was listening. Meg closed her eyes and hummed softly to herself, trying to tune out the noise. As the middle cousin, she was usually the mediator that tried to coax the others towards common ground, but today she didn't have it in her.
Abruptly, the bickering stopped. Meg opened her eyes to find her cousins all staring into the backyard, mouths ajar. Meg followed the direction they were looking and gasped. The lightning bugs were descending from the trees, their little lights sparkling bright. But there were hundreds more than before, all zipping and looping together in a dense ball of light floating over the lawn.
A cool breeze moved the leaves on the trees and caressed their sweaty necks. The fragrance of vanilla and cinnamon wafted from the empty kitchen, perfuming the porch with the scent of their grandmother's famous Snicker-doodles.
The cousins watched the moving mass of fireflies with wonder. "You don't think...." Jackie began, at the same time as Brock said "Could it be...?"
The cousins forgot the argument about the house as they exchanged quiet, guilty glances.
One by one the lightning bugs detached from the spinning ball and twinkled off into the tree tops. The scent of cinnamon sugar evaporated, leaving only the warm green smell of a summer evening.
The cousins stayed silent for a few more seconds before Brock cleared his throat. "I'm sleeping out here tonight, for old times' sake. I bet the sleeping bags are still in the attic."
"I don't think we'll still fit in them." Jackie said with an amused smile. "But sure, let's do it!"
Meg and Kristen exchanged smiles as their eyes met across the porch. "We're in too!" Kristen announced. "But if we're sleeping out, we'll need s'mores. I'm going to run to the gas station to see if they have charcoal and marshmallows.
A lone firefly drifted down, brushing Meg's shoulder before vanishing back into the trees. She watched it go as the tightness in her chest loosened. For tonight, at least, there was nothing for her to worry about except eating too many marshmallows under the stars with her cousins.
