SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS II

Part II

Even more nuts!

While Steve was busy unpacking his Christmas decoration out of the various boxes, a happily chattering Elliot was swinging on his living room lamp. A tiny firefly was buzzing wildly around him and once in a while taking a break on Elliot’s nose.

Steve smiled blissfully. And grinned. But still no one may know that something like a ‘Steve-grin’ did exist.

As he was concentrated on trying to disentangle the stupid Christmas lights he heard a car driving up his house and over the gravel of his gateway. He didn’t expect Lou, Chin and Jerry to be this early.

He sighed and asked Elliot: “Any chance, that you’ll hold your tongue up there? And that you maybe, perhaps, possibly won’t attract attention?”

Elliot chattered.

Steve grinned just a little bit. “Thought so.”

He took a deep breath and was on his way to his front door, as Chin and Lou surprisingly came running through his open patio door. Behind them he could see Jerry, who did not run at all, but stepped very carefully through the doorway, looking in each corner. “Everything okay, Steve?” Chin shouted with a little bit of concern in his voice.

Steve frowned in bewilderment. “Am I looking NOT okay in some way, hu?”

Chin smiled broadly. “Well – other than you’re wearing your hoodie back to front…”

“We wanted to buy some sparklers in the local drugstore,” Lou explained calmly. “But then we met Danny.” Lou started to grin like a Cheshire cat. “He was looking for – wait for it – FLEASHAMPOO!!! Flea! Shampoo! And everything would be your fault!”

Steve puffed annoyed.

“Why’s that, Steve…? Chin sounded a little bit alarmed, scratched his head and even Lou stopped short. “Steve???”

Fretfully Steve looked at Grover. “Especially YOU don’t have to worry about that, don’t you think?”

Jerry squeaked terrified and put his long hair under his wide and colorful Hawaiian shirt.

“Without rhyme or reason, but the main thing is the locks are safe,” Steve growled. “For God’s sake, you won’t find any fleas. Elliot is clean and flea-free. Vermin-free. Dandruff-free. He doesn’t even have bad breath.”

“ELLIOT?” they were all asking unanimously.

Yet as Elliot heard his name, he chattered loudly, threw a peanut in Chin’s face and jumped in one leap into his nest in Steve’s hood.

Startled Chin took a step back. “That is -…”

In astonishing lightening speed Jerry grabbed a fruit bowl and held it in front of his face. “- one -…”

Lou ducked and tried to disappear behind Jerry. “Squirrel.”

“Oh?” Steve said and looked inside his hood. “And there I thought it was a seal. My bad.”

All three of his friends started to talk, but Steve raised his hand. “Sit down. I am going to explain everything. Somebody a Longboard?”

Chin and Lou nodded their approval.

“I – I am not thirsty,” Jerry said with a reluctant glance at Steve’s new roommate.

“Fortunately beer tastes good even without being thirsty. Sit. Down.”

---

The last days of Christmas passed by in a flash. Steve couldn’t remember the last time he had spend such peaceful and restful-uneventful days. Boredom could be something wonderful, you just needed to know how to enjoy boredom – and he knew.

Elliot grew up frighteningly fast. Maybe he even became a little bit chubby, thanks to a very special Grace Williams, who came every day to feed the young squirrel. Steve did not need to buy a baby bottle because after the visit of his friends, Elliot had stopped Steve’s attempt at feeding him some cat’s milk furiously. Growling lowly he had sunk his sharp rodent front teeth into the milk-filled condom and thrown it to and fro. At the end it was not just Steve’s face that was covered all over in milk. Thinking about this day made Steve smile every time. Elliot had made it very clear: Nuts! Give me nuts!

Enjoy the nuts! But without a condom! Sounded like an advertisement, but not a good one if you asked Steve.

Steve giggled, but would have vehemently denied that fact.

He heard a little chattering and looked at his banister leading to the first floor. Just at that moment Elliot jumped on the handrail, slid down on his butt and fluffy tail towards the big shining wooden ball at the end of the rail. With one little claw hand he caught the ball and the momentum flung him around. Of course, this couldn’t work out well, Elliot lost his grip and flew through Steve’s living room.

“Nutsskull!” Steve shouted, jumped across the coffee table, knocked over the floor lamp as his arms shot up, caught Elliot high in the air, before he would crash against the wall, and landed with Elliot still in his hands backwards on his couch.

“Bsssstrike!” lisped Fibby.

Steve grunted.

He couldn’t reasonably explain his household to anybody.

“Bssssteve?”

“What’s the matter?”

In front of Steve’s face Tinkerbelle was fluttering agitatedly back and forth. “You know what’s the matter, Steve. He doesn’t have enough to do. Elliot needs the chance to be more active.”

Steve’s face fell and he looked deeply saddened. “I know,” he said quietly. “I know. He has to climb.”

“Bsssure, you’ll have to let him go… I am so sorry…”

“Tomorrow,” Steve whispered. “Tomorrow we will bring him back into the woods, ok? Not today. Today – today… it is too late.”

The next morning Steve woke up very early. Even earlier than usual. Tireless he jumped out of bed and quickly checked the little squirrel, that was sleeping soundly in his hoodie on the ground. On its little furry head he saw a tiny glowing spot.

Steve swallowed hard and went to his kitchen for some bulletproof coffee. Today was the day of farewell and like hell he would be mourning after a stupid squirrel. For sure not. He had to go to work with 5-0 again soon and had no longer time to care for a pubescent rodent. And anyway – nuts were expensive.

He breathed in and out deeply, ran up the stairs into his bedroom, got dressed, grabbed Elliot along with the hoodie and his car keys.

It was time.

---

Steve stood at the edge of the forest and looked around. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. He saw big old trees, oak trees, a lot of macadamia nut trees and a few hazel bushes. Squirrelheaven. Elliot sat on Steve’s shoulder and chattered excited. That was a good sign….

“And buddy? It’s a great place, isn’t it. You like it here?”

Elliot squealed.

Gently Steve took Elliot in both of his hands and placed him onto one of the lower branches of the tree next to him. Then he stepped back a bit. Elliot looked at him confused.

“Get lost, you stupid thing!” His voice didn’t croak at all.

Elliot jumped to a higher branch and looked back again.

Steve blinked his eyes, tilted his head and clenched his teeth so hard his nostrils were quivering. “Come on.” He whispered.

Elliot jumped higher and higher before he looked back one last time.

His fluffy tail waved a good bye.

But maybe it was just the wind.

Then he was gone. A little glowing spot accompanied him.

Steve turned around and went back to his car. He never looked back.

Later, he couldn’t remember how he found his way back home.

---

Groaning Steve rolled out of his bed. The last weeks had been terribly exhausting. Day and night they worked a case, there had been no weekends without work and in addition he just came back the other day from his monthly reserve duty. That was never a piece of cake and above all no time to tell your friends and colleagues: “Hey, I raised a baby squirrel and now I miss this little ball of fur. I catch myself wanting to buy some nuts and then questioning ‘For whom?’”

He shook the memories and the fatigue out of his head, put on his swim shorts and walked towards his private beach. It was still at dawn, but he blamed his exhaustion for missing the small glowing creature next to his old wooden deckchairs.

After he rose up out of the sea one hour later, wiped his head and face to get rid of the water, his view finally fell on the old pieces of furniture, legs buried in the sand. And what he saw right beside the chairs stopped him in his tracks. Two or three times he tried to wink the salt water out of his eyes, because that couldn’t be true?

“Bzzzt … bzzzt … we missed you … bzzzt…”

Slowly Steve approached the squirrel that was sitting in one of the chairs. It was Elliot. His fur had gotten a little darker, he was a little bit bigger – but it was Elliot.

His Elliot.

Steve smiled and got on his knees right in front of the chair. Immediately Elliot jumped on his shoulder. Steve glanced to him and nudged the small animal with his nose. “You’re hungry?”

Keck!

“Ha, I knew it! Your luck I bought peanuts yesterday. I’ve got to increase my stock, right?”

Keck keck.

“So, you’ll come to visit more often now?”

Keck keck keck.

“That would make me happy.” And more quiet. “I missed you…”

Bzzzt? Bzzzt?

“Well, okay, missed you too. A little bit. A tiny tiny bit…” All of a sudden he felt no longer so exhausted. All of a sudden he felt no longer so tired. All of a sudden he felt no longer so drained. And all of a sudden he felt no longer so alone.

With a strong pull he opened the bag of peanuts. Too strong. The peanuts went sailing through his kitchen.

Keck keck keck keckkeckkeckkkk!

This year would be going to be wonderful.

Steve grinned.

Pau

---

A/N: I am a little bit embarrassed because of this nonsense. Of course it doesn’t make sense at all. It is utterly unrealistic. As we all know:

Female fireflies don’t glow.

A/N2.: Thank you for letting me be a little bit nuts. Especially thank you to Sam for having me and Cokie for not banging her head on the desktop after having to test read this!

Some people might think being nuts is a bad thing, but I personally think we need some nuts in our life. They are full of omega-3 fatty acids, very healthy and enhance your brain function. A lot of people need that. So if someone would ask me in a reproachful or accusing manner ‘Are you nuts?’ I would proudly answer: “Heck, yes!”

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Mele Kalikimaka!