“Stand still,” Glenn said. “They don’t notice you unless you’re moving.”
“It’s already noticed me!” She made herself stand still, but every nerve ending was vibrating. “It’s walking around,” she said through gritted teeth. “What do I do now?”
“Give it a sec, it’ll probably decide there’s nothing worthwhile up there.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, her skin crawling with the horrible sensation of little insect feet roaming through her hair. Six little feet! Wasn’t that what bees had? And a stinger on the end! Oh, why had she come down here?
“Don’t let it near your eye,” her father advised.
“Hang on, Mom,” Andrew said. “It looks like it’s about to take off.”
“How can you tell?” she muttered. She took a deep breath, willing herself to stay calm. The worst thing that could happen was she would get stung. She wasn’t allergic; she would survive. The bee probably didn’t want to be caught up in that mess either.
She took another breath, trying to ignore the tiny tickling sensation on her scalp. In about three seconds she would scream.
“There you go,” Glenn said with a touch of laughter in his voice. “It’s gone.”
She opened one eye, then the other to see the bee wobbling off in the direction of the hive.
Andrew gave her an approving look. “You were really chill, Mom.”
“Not everyone can hold still with a bee in their hair,” Glenn agreed.
Her knees were a little wobbly, but at least she hadn’t made an idiot of herself by running and screaming. And she hadn’t been stung like her poor dad.
Glenn offered to drive her father back to the house, but her dad, who appeared invigorated by the goings on, wanted to walk.
“I’ll walk up with him,” Andrew offered.
Cassie handed her dad the cane, which she’d brought along just in case, but he waved it off.
“Well, that was exciting,” she said as Glenn stowed the rest of the powdered sugar in the truck. She was surprised they hadn’t used it all. There’d seemed to be clouds of it in the air.
“Hopefully it’ll slow down the mites. At least we’ll be able to see how many end up on the sticky mat.”
The bees had settled somewhat, but dozens were still flying around. She couldn’t help admiring them. Such fearless creatures. Scrambling like fighter jets when the hive was opened, ready to defend their home. She didn’t like them in her hair, not one bit. But they were heroic, going about their business even in the face of adversity. Half of their brood had been wiped out by mites, but they still got up in the morning.
“What other remedies do you have, anything with chocolate?” She needed to take a shower and get to work, but the morning was warming up and she had the irresponsible urge to shuck off her shoes and sit in the sun on the stone wall.
He laughed. “No chocolate, it’s pretty much all about honey in my house. Oh, I almost forgot, I brought you some.” He reached through the open passenger window and retrieved a glass jar filled with a thick amber liquid. “Lilah designed the label for me,” he added almost shyly.
“It’s adorable.” The jar had a whimsical bee on the front and was warm from sitting in the truck. She tipped it up to the light. A wedge of comb floated inside. “Do you eat the honeycomb?”
“Sure, you can. A lot of people like it.”
She unscrewed the lid and dipped a finger into the jar. The honey clung luxuriously, unspooling in a languid stream from her finger. Thick and slow and decadent. She gave up onpropriety and licked it off. “Mmmm…” A bit more was about to drip so she licked that too. “It’s delicious. Much better than supermarket honey.” She looked up, embarrassed to find him leaning against the truck, watching her with amusement.
“Glad you like it.”
She screwed the lid back on, but her fingers were still sticky so she had to lick them again. “Don’t look. I’m a mess.”
He reached in the open window. “Want a paper towel?”
“No.” She laughed. “I’d rather make a fool of myself licking my fingers.” She inspected her hands. “Anyway, they’re clean now.” She turned the jar over again, admiring the label. “Lilah’s very artistic.”
“Yeah, she’s talented.” His face lit. “I think I’ve kept every drawing she’s ever done.”
“Let me guess, they’re all over the fridge, right?”
