Brad took a pause, staying perched atop the towering wooden garden stake, as he strove to rationally consider his completely irrational situation of finding himself transformed into a housefly. He weighed out some of the pros and cons of seeking help from Mark or Russ with the undeniable fact that any stranger would have no reason to doubt he was anything other than he appeared to be, a despicable and utterly disposable pest.
But Russ and Mark were not strangers.
But he'd tried for the past day to do something, anything, to get through to his spouse. Mark had continued dangerously, blissfully oblivious to the reality of Brad's dilemma.
Then there was Russ, their next-door neighbor. Brad had entertained an infatuation for his big, burly next-door neighbor from their first meeting. Normally, Russ would have presented too many cons, not the least being that, as a gardener Russ practiced an unceasing war against all forms of insect pests.
Thinking of the swipe from Russ's huge hand and enormous fingers was it all took to make Brad's tiny insect form shudder as he flashed back to the close calls he'd already endured when Russ had attempted to swat him.
But he might as well be hurling himself against a brick wall for all the good his attempts to contact Mark had done.
It would have to be Russ, if for no other reason than Brad reasoned that thinking outside the box for a solution to what he euphemistically termed his "difficulty" might produce better results.
"I've already wasted too much time trying to communicate with Mark," Brad thought to himself as he came to an uneasy resolution, not a second too soon.
Russ had excused himself, informing Mark that he had some chores awaiting him in the house.
"I'm making some fresh salsa, too," Russ added. "I'll bring some by for you and Brad later."
Brad took flight, leaving his perch atop the mammoth garden stake. He'd need to stick close to Russ until they were both inside the big man's home.
Zipping past his huge spouse at about Mark's chest level, Brad expressed a hopeful wish. "If this works, I'll be back with you soon, babe."
If not... Well, he preferred not to entertain those less than optimal outcomes.
Getting into the Russ's home wasn't a problem at all, as it turned out.
Brad landed on a jumbo-sized zucchini squash in a basket with some other produce the big man had gathered from his garden. Hitching a ride as a tiny, unnoticed passenger, Brad made it indoors.
"At least I don't have to worry about bigger bugs or hungry birds," he told himself as the basket swayed gently in Russ's huge hand. Once inside, Russ placed the basket on his kitchen table.
Still atop the vast green vegetable, Brad now simply needed to think of a plan...