Grumpa Joe's Place

Chapter 15

Morty arrived at the arbor vitae to find the fireflies waiting for him.

“Let’s talk,” he said. “Does anyone here know Luke?”

“Yes,” answered Jaime. “He is my commander. We fly together. Luke taught me aerobatics and gave me a squadron of fliers. We grew up together from the time we were glow worms.”

“I know him too,” answered Torch. “So do all of the others here.”

“This is his mother, Nancy,” Morty said. “I’m taking her to see Luke. Does anyone know where he is?”

“Yes,” answered a young firefly from the back of the crowd.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Flash.”

“Where is he?” asked Nancy.

“I can only vouch for where he was just before they captured us. I am one of his students. He sent me to study with Jaime and his squadron. Follow me.”

“Better yet, jump on my scooter and show us the way, we will all go together,” said Morty.

Flash sat on Skye’s nose while Nancy rode on Morty’s curl. Torch and the others rested on the dashboard. Morty drove Skye by watching signals from Flash. They were flying over the yard where the Phyros lived when Flash signaled to land in the next yard.

“Oh my,” exclaimed Nancy, “I hope there aren’t any Phyros here. They live very close by.”

“I grew up here,” said Flash. “We fight with the Phyros all of the time. They always come to our yard hoping to capture us.”

“Why would Luke live here?” said Nancy. “I taught him better than to flirt with danger? He knows how dangerous the Phyros are, ever since they killed his father.”

Morty landed at the edge of the yard near the cover of a pivot hedge. Immediately, Flash turned on his light to signal his friends. It was only a short time before a squad of three fireflies buzzed by blinking their lights.

“Follow them,” instructed Flash. Morty hovered with Skye then slowly inched forward after the trio.

“They are a new squad just out of school,” said Flash. “Watch how shaky they are when they make a turn. They haven’t learned to trust each other yet, but they will.”

“How do you know that?” asked Morty.

Flash explained that when he graduated from flight school a month ago, his squad was equally shaky.

“We spent hours every night practicing. When we gained confidence and trusted each other, our squad was good enough to compete in the games.”

“They surely did,” answered Jaime. “Flash and his team became the best.”

The trio flew into the dark space between two boughs of a Pfitzer tree. Morty hovered next to the tree as Jaime, Flash, Nancy, and all of the others from the scooter flew into the same dark space.

“I’ll wait here,” Morty said.

Inside the dark recesses of the tree were hundreds of fireflies. The tree was like a busy skyscraper. Beetles milled about on every bough. Some flew from one branch to the other. Some just walked up the trunk. Others rested on the foliage.

Nancy followed Jaime and Flash to the very top of the tree. They flew up, zigzagging to miss the branches sticking out of the trunk. Their taillights were dark.

Near the top branch, Luke and Bonnie enjoyed a feast of aphids and mosquitoes in a nectar sauce.

“Mom,” shouted Luke when he spotted Nancy. “What are you doing here?” Mother and son flashed their taillights in a dim glow as they hugged each other.

“I was worried about my son,” said Nancy. “I had to see you to know you were okay. I heard through Celia that you put on some fancy shows. Most of all, I heard that you are dating Celia’s daughter Bonnie.”

“That’s true Mom,” said Luke. “Mom, I want you to meet Bonnie. Bonnie, this is my mother Nancy.”

“I’m so happy to meet you Nancy,” said Bonnie. “My mother has talked about you often.”

“We’ve been friends for a long time,” said Nancy, “ever since you and Luke were glow-worms.”

“You girls talk while I check in with Jaime and Flash.”

Luke listened while Jaime told the story of his capture during their aerobatics routine. Torch told him about his rescue from the Phyros.

“Did you ever find Morty Angel?” asked Luke.

“Yes, I did, he is the one who brought us here.”

“He did?”

“He is waiting for us outside,” said Torch.

“Take me to him.” Torch led Luke out of the Pfitzer to meet Morty.

Morty liked Luke immediately. Luke had a way about him that endeared him to anyone he met. Perhaps it was his robust personality, or his youthful good looks, or his shining yellow tail light that made him so popular. Whatever it was, it did not matter. Morty liked him.

“Torch told me about your aerobatics skills.”

“They aren’t that good.”

“Why don’t we put on a show for Morty?” said Flash.

“Yes,” said Jaime, “we could regroup the squads and have a competition.”

“That would be great,” said Torch. “I never saw a complete competition before. I was too busy looking for Morty all summer.”

“Luke,” said Morty, “I would love to watch the air force put on their show, please?”

“Oh, all right.” replied Luke. He asked Torch to have Air Force meet at the Pfitzer yard the following night. Torch flew off immediately, his bright tail light blinking the signal that was the call to the air force. Luke told Jaime to find Lenny, and to tell him to get the squads ready to fly.

“Will you stay and dine with us Morty?” said Luke.

“Yes, I will.”

Bonnie and Nancy came out of the Pfitzer with a legion of ants. The ants brought the fireflies a feast.

After they finished eating, Morty spoke.

“Luke, I have a big favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I want your help to deliver a special message.”

To Be Continued . . .

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Filed under: Cartoons, Characters I knew, children's writers, family, Fire Fly Air Force, Garden, Warm and Fuzzy, Writer | Tagged: Aerobatics, Air Force, Arbor Vitae, Lightening Bug, Pfitzer |