Bee Happy Page 10

  Chapter 17 Moving the Bees 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 nets 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 overjoyed 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 nerves 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 shooting 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 second hive. All the time Calli was 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 in 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 telling 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 t
heir 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 reporter who had somehow read an article that I’d published in a journal quite a few years ago. He 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.

  Chapter 18 Herbalist 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 almost 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 available since we are going to be bee keepers extraordinaire.” “That sounds like a plan, I’ll fix lunch and we can leave afterwards.”

  The rest of the morning flew by, Calli whistling a happy tune as she fixed the holes in the fence around the garden; those rabbits can discover the tiniest little bend in the wire and squeeze through making her lettuce look like a tornado had passed through. This was all part of living on the farm, trying to plant enough to feed the resident animals and the humans too. Lucky for her there hadn’t been much damage done last night. Maybe she should have wished on the first shooting star for a ‘rabbit free’ garden. No, that one was for Roger -- he’d been positive it was June wishing them well. The cat bird was singing and singing in the tree. What a joy, to hear the melodious song, she wondered if birds had their own language. ‘Here I am, come over here; this is the best place to be today’. She started making up bird conversations, then realized that some people would think she had been in the hot sun too long and was losing her sanity. Too bad, I’m happy and so are the birds, the rest of the world can think I’m crazy but I don’t care. She had a favorite book, ‘What You Think of Me Is None of My Business’ and the title was all she’d ever read. Most days she was able to live by that saying, and today was one of those days.

  Roger kept both of them laughing all the way to the city. He was telling about when he was a boy and the ‘trouble’ he and his friends would cause for the teachers. She had no clue what a mischievous boy he had been. All of the pranks they had pulled had been harmless but funny. A far cry from the crazy stuff kids do today, she thought. “You have to be kidding! You put a goat in the outhouse at the one room school house? I’m surprised that the teacher didn’t have a heart attack.” Roger laughed again, “No, she was quite used to all the shenanigans that we pulled on her. Most weeks, we had to stay after school and clean the black boards and scrub the floors. But we didn’t mind, it was worth it.” Calli wondered what it would have been like to have gone to a one room school. She could only imagine how much work it had been for the teacher, teaching K-8th grade all by herself. Calli parked in front of the hardware store, it seemed huge compared to all the shops in Evergreen. Together they wandered down just about every aisle, filling a cart with essentials that weren’t available at home. When they came to the area where all the bee keeping supplies were located, Calli was in amazement. There were so many tools to get that were supposed to make this easier. Roger just shook his head, “My grandfather and I were the most successful in the county, and we didn’t have half of this stuff. We’ll just get a couple of things and make do with our skills no need to spend money on what isn’t necessary.” Calli respected his frugal mindset. In order to be profitable it was imperative to keep the costs down, depending on only five months of produce to support them for the entire year, they both knew how to utilize their personal resources instead of buying unnecessary equipment. She knew that being outdoors and using hand tools kept her in great physical shape. No need for her to watch what she ate in order to stay healthy. She had the entire vegetable garden as her own personal ‘gym’ and personal training center.