Bee Happy (13 page)

  After Calli put her new yellow dress in her closet and admired her purchase, she headed to the kitchen to help Roger finish with supper.  He’d picked a basket full of fresh vegetables and was making a huge salad for them.  This was the part of being a gardener that gave her pride and confirmed her feelings that she was supposed to be here, growing food for herself and her grandfather and her friends who came to the farmers market.  Home grown tomatoes have the most amazing flavor; the ones people buy in the grocery store aren’t anywhere close to tasting like a real tomato, even those that still have the vine attached to them.  She thought that was just a great marketing gimmick. 
There was a roast in the oven and supper would be ready soon.  Calli watched as Roger cleaned the radishes and carrots.  He looked absolutely fine, actually maybe a little younger.  She wondered how he was feeling physically, even though she knew that it was the emotional burden that had been lifted.  After all these years, knowing that his grandfather wasn’t upset and wanted him to continue to work with the bees must be freeing, but she didn’t know how to broach the subject without sounding like she didn’t believe him.  So she just let it be for now.  “How was your lunch with Sally?  I noticed the pastries box had a smudge of cherry filling but there weren’t any cherry ones left.  Did you eat them all?”  He knew that teasing her would bring her out of her quiet mood.  “Yes, I did.  And they were delicious.  Did you get the smoker cleaned and ready for us to use?”  Roger smiled knowing that she was going to learn a great deal about bees in the next few months, “The smoker is ready for us to use it.  I do believe that we can take a stroll down to the pond after supper and see about transporting some bees to our hives.  I remember well how my grandfather did it when I was a kid.  Plus we’ll have his spirit right beside us guiding and helping us get the bees moved.”  That’s exactly what Calli was afraid of, help from a ghost.  Oh, boy this is going to be interesting.  Trying not to alarm her grandfather about her doubts she spoke as evenly as she could keeping the doubt out of her voice, “That sounds like a good plan.  Will we be using the smoker so we don’t have another trip to the emergency room from too many bee stings?” 
“Oh, yes, I learned that lesson very well as a young boy, always use the smoker and go visiting bees in the evening when they are resting and not gathering pollen.”

  Calli had seen pictures on the internet of bee keepers wearing protective clothing and hats with net
s
around their faces, but Roger didn’t seem to be concerned about wearing anything special other than gloves and having the smoker.  They enjoyed the walk in the moonlight
down to the pond, Roger pointed out constellations and told
her all about them.  As they approached the pond they saw a shooting star, “Look, see that!  A very good omen for us.  It’s a message from your grandmother that she’s with us too!”  He was overjoy
ed at the confirmation that June
was joining them on this adventure.  Calli just thought it was a shooting star and not her grandmother, but she didn’t say a word about her disbelief.  When they reached the pond, Roger lit the smoker and took the lead back behind the pond to the old oak tree.  Trying to calm her nerve
s
about getting stung, Calli walked a few steps behind him. 
The stump provided the height he needed to peer inside the tree.  Everything seemed calm and the bees looked to be undisturbed by their presence.  Roger pulled the blade from his pocket and proceeded to hand the smoker to Calli, “Here keep the smoke on the bees and me as I remove a section of the honeycomb.”  Hoping that she was doing everything right she looked up and saw another shootin
g star, this time she decided it
was a good omen probably not her grandmother but something positive for them.  Carefully Roger carried the comb to the first hive, securing it to the form.  He went back for a second section to put into the se
cond hive.  All the time Calli wa
s praying that none of the bees
would
wake up and sting them.  Now her imagination began to get into high gear, if bees sleep do they close their
eyes?  And from what I know they
have lots of eyes, I think.  And if they are sleeping do they snore?  That thought made her giggle.  She knew that she was still a kid at heart with all her made up stories floating around i
n her head.  “There, we’re done,” Roger said feeling relieved himself.
 
“
Thanks.  Without you I’m sure I would have gotten a few stings.  Let’s sit by the pond a bit and watch the stars.  Have you seen any other shooting stars?”  Calli almost didn’t tell him about the second one but thought better, “Yes, as you were moving the comb and the bees I saw another one. I wonder if this is one of the meteor
showers.
”  She was hoping to validate their sightings with scientific information instead of Roger’s spiritual connotations.

  They remained by the pond for about an hour, Roger telling Calli all about the constellations and the myths behind each one.  This seemed like a very special time, a deeper level of bonding for the two of them.  Calli liked hearing the stories and liked to feel the excitement her grandfather had for sharing them.  He seemed more alive.  This made Calli grateful and pleased that they were going to become bee keepers.  There would probably be many more nights at the pond soaking in the energy from the stars.  That thought brought her back to her spiritual lessons from Sally, maybe; just maybe, she would begin to accept some of what she was telling her.  Maybe.

  The next afternoon Calli quit early and headed to the kitchen to create supper for herself and Sally.  She’d make a big enough salad so she could leave some for her grandfather.  With the left over roast she made some awesome sandwiches, filled with veggies.  Her favorite was to add red pepper strips.  There was a crispness and sweetness that made her mouth water.  She wanted to get done early enough to swing by the bakery and get some pastries for dessert, hoping there’d be something cherry there for her.  This time she’d save one for Roger.  Packing everything in a basket, she headed out the door only to be brought back by the ringing of the phone.  I wonder who that could
be.
  “Hello. This is Calli.”  “Hi, Calli, it’s Jim.  Do you have a minute?”  “I was just heading out the door to go to Sally’s for supper.  Will this take long?”   “
Really, would you mind if I joined you after supper?  I have something to tell you and Sally will find it interesting as well.”  “I have plenty
of food
, would you like to eat with us?”  Jim didn’t have to think twice about that offer, “I’d love it.  I’m not much for cooking for myself.  Thanks. When do you want me there?”  After she hung up the phone, her mind started on its creative path, weaving a tale that belonged in a fantasy book.  How the two of them lived happily ever after once he’d given her the glass slipper and it fit on her foot.  The drive to Sally’s was long enough for them to have two children, a blonde little girl and a dark haired boy. 

     Finding exactly what she wanted at the bakery, she headed for Sally’s.  Roger’s cherry filled pastry was in a separate box, guaranteeing that he’d get his share.  There might even be left overs since she’d purchased a dozen assorted treats, although she wondered how many they would need after Jim shared his story.  Sugar soothed most everything.  Jim raved about the salad she’d brought.  “This is the best salad, there are so many different vegetables, and it’s so colorful.  I get in a rut and don’t take the time to partake of the vegetables that I grow for everyone else.  Guess it’s time to start enjoying the fruits of my own labors.”  “It’s like those old sayings that my grandfather keeps tel
ling me, about the cobbler whose
kids don’t have any shoes, so here’s the vegetable grower who doesn’t eat his own vegetables and gets sick and dies for lack of good nutrition.”  “That’s pretty sad, but true in my case.”  Jim knew it was more about not having his wife and daughter with him, the emptiness never seemed to leave him, no matter how many friends he had. 

 
After supper they decided to sit in the back yard to enjoy the cooler temperature and watch the stars.  Jim seemed a little far away, lost in his thoughts.  Calli wanted to know what he was thinking about, but didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable.  “So, Jim, what did you want to tell me this afternoon?  Got a new pest in your garden and don’t know how to get rid of it?”  Hoping to lighten his mood, she enjoyed teasing him a bit.  “Nope, no new pests this week although there were a few elephants I had to get rid of last week.  They make such a
mess with their big feet.”  He’d
picked up on the lightheartedness of the comment and threw it right back at her.  “I’ve got some elephant spray that you can borrow.  It works like a charm.  I haven’t seen any elephants on our farm for over five years now.”  This time all three of them laughed.  It was getting sillier and sillier.  Jim was holding his belly, he was laughing so hard.  This had broken any tension he was feeling about sharing his news. 

  “Well, since I’ve brought you all here for my big announcement, I’d better tell you what’s up in my life.  I received a phone call this afternoon asking me about my discovery of the communication codes from the stars.  It was a report
er who had somehow read an article
that I’d published in a journal quite a few years ago. 
H
e was intrigued by the idea and wants to come here and interview me.  I’m really in a quandary about this whole thing.  I thought I’d left that life behind when I moved to this small town and began gardening.  I’m not very sure it’s a good idea to open up that topic.  I don’t want to go back to that place or dive back into that deep hole of depression.  Plus it only reminds me about my wife and daughter not being here.  I know that I can communicate with them whenever I want, but it’s still not the same as them being here with me in the physical.” 

 
Sally was the first one to speak, “I understand your concern.  Sometimes it’s best to let the past remain in the past.  I think your best guidance on this will have to come from how you feel about revisiting your research and your discovery.  If you need to have some closure on everything, having a reporter write an article might do the trick, or it might bring unwanted attention to your quiet peaceful life here in Evergreen.” 

  “I know that I felt good that someone was interested in my discovery, but I also know how the scientific community turned their backs on me and basically shunned me.  I really need to sit with this for a few days, but would like your opinion.  I trust both of you and respect you.  This is a decision that I don’t want to make alone.  What do you think Calli?  You are the skeptic of this group.” 

  Calli didn’t like being called a skeptic but she knew the label was true.  “I don’t know Jim.  It seems like a good opportunity on one side of the coin but if you flip to the other side of the coin, there’s the fact that you were institutionalized after your depression.  They might use that to smear your reputation and make you look crazy.  And no one needs that reputation, it’s hard enough to gain people
’s
respect in a small town.  You’d probably be out of the vegetable business
instantly
and have to train those elephants and start your own circus.”  Calli had managed to bring back the fun into their conversation.  Jim laughed, “Thanks I needed that.  There’s no reason to bring up my past.  I love my life here and
even
more so now that I’ve gotten to know both of you better.”  The rest of the evening was filled with elephant jokes that they’d heard as children. 
As Calli was driving home, she was thanking her lucky stars that she had agreed to go on her first
date with Jim, just then she saw
another shooting star.  She wasn’t going to share the wish she made with anyone, not even Sally.  This one was for her and her alone to know.

  Tomorrow night was the wedding and Calli was starting to get excited about going with Jim.  She loved weddings, the emotional ceremony, tears of joy in everyone’s eyes, the reception with all the dancing and of course the wedding cake.  That was one of her favorite ‘vegetables’ --  wedding cake with lots of frosting and those cute little roses made of more frosting.  She was pleased that she had a new dress and then remembered that she would need some dancing shoes.  Searching through her closet there wasn’t a pair that went with her dress.  Guess it’s time for a trip to the city to look for shoes.  Evergreen didn’t have a shoe store, and Wal-Mart didn’t have any good dancing shoes.  It had been awhile since Calli had taken a drive to Prairie City even though it was only 45 minutes away.  Most of the time she was content to shop in the thrift store or the Mom & Pop stores, they carried the essentials but nothing very fancy and she felt like fancy would be a good idea for the wedding.  She might even look for some new color of lipstick to go with her dress.  Maybe Roger would like to ride along; he was outside working on some project in the barn.  Delighted with her plan for the afternoon, she found Roger pounding on some old barn boards.  “What are you making?”  Roger looked up, almost startled; he hadn’t heard her come in because of the hammering.  “Oh, hi, I didn’t see you come in.  I’m fixing this old door, it’s alm
ost falling apart,
and you
know
you don’t want to leave the barn door open, the cows just might get out!”  He laughed at his own joke.  “I’m going to drive over to Prairie City this afternoon and wondered if you would like to ride along.  My mission is to find some dancing shoes to go with my new dress for the wedding tomorrow night.”  Roger’s face lit up, he liked hearing that Calli was going out and hopefully enjoying herself. 
“I’d like to ride along.  I need to get some equipment from the hardware store for our bees.  You’re welcome to come with me
and see what’s availa
ble since
we are going to be bee keepers extraordinaire.”  “That sounds like a plan, I’ll fix lunch and we can leave afterwards.”