He pointed to a cluster of hives set apart from the others. “The ones on the end there, those are my grandfather’s. I’ve had to replace the frames, of course, but the boxes are his. I’ve painted them a few times over the years.” Besides Lilah, he’d never pointed this out to anyone, certainly not Sophie. Hewasn’t sure why he was telling Cassie, but she seemed genuinely interested.
A few late foragers heading home ducked into the tiny entrances at the bottom of the hives. “Are all these bees descended from your grandfather’s?” she said.
“Some of them. Bees only live about a month, a little longer in the winter, so it’s a lot of generations, but some are from his stock. I wish he’d known I became a beekeeper. He would’ve liked that.”
“You really love them, don’t you?”
“I do. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than out here.” He gently brushed off a bee that had become too inquisitive and was crawling up his arm. “It’s peaceful. I never get tired of watching them. And if you think about what they do in the world…it’s humbling. People don’t realize we wouldn’t eat without pollinators.” He stopped, fearing he might be on the verge of a lecture, but she just looked thoughtful.
They made their way back to the deck and watched the sky deepen until the trees turned violet and finally black, and the light slipped away entirely. When the sauce was ready he found some utility candles in the closet and set them on small plates. Not five-star, but the candlelight was a nice touch.
“You grew up here,” he said, curious. “How did you end up being such a city person?”
She was quiet for a moment. “It’s not that I set out to be a city person, it sort of turned out that way. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it here and the hike last weekend was gorgeous. And I have to say when I was in the city last week, it felt loud and chaotic.”
“But? It sounds like there’s abutcoming.”
“Nobuts. I love the energy of the city. I won’t deny that. Growing up here was pretty dull and with my mom sick and all…” Her voice trailed off. “I guess it became easier to stay away.”
“And now you’re back when you don’t want to be.” He felt a tug of disappointment. As soon as she got her dad taken care of, she’d be on the first train back to Manhattan.
“I haven’t come back enough over the years. I’m not a good daughter.” She held up a hand when he started to protest “It’s true. I’m not proud of it. My dad needs me. I should have seen that sooner.”
“You’re here now. That’s what counts.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t sell yourself short; you’ve put your own life on hold to help him. That’s pretty selfless.” He poured them more wine, and they talked about other things. She told him she’d given up red meat for heart and brain health, which were interconnected.
He sipped his wine, amused. “I don’t have a chance on either count then.”
“Tofu’s an easy substitute. You can throw on a little soy sauce and bake it in the oven. It has a lot of protein and believe it or not, it tastes pretty good as long as you season it.”
He pulled a face. “I can’t imagine a universe where Lilah would eat tofu.”
“Don’t blame it on Lilah. You wouldn’t either.”
He grinned. “You’re right.”
“I’m a bit of a nut about all this stuff, I admit that. But you—” She looked at him frankly. “You’re in great shape. Is all that from lifting hives?”
“All what?” He felt himself getting warm. Something about the way she was looking at him. “I um…I like to hike. That and working the bees. That’s pretty much it, I guess.” He got up to get them seconds so she wouldn’t see him squirm. She was way more up front than any woman he’d ever known. But in a good way.
“You mean you don’t do anything else, like go to a gym? I find that hard to believe.”
“I put in a swing set for Lilah, if that counts.” He laughed. “But that was years ago.”
“Too bad they outgrow that stuff,” she said. “They’re five and then they’re twenty.” She regarded him over her wine, her eyes flickering gold in the candlelight. “What happened with your marriage? Do you mind if I ask?
His shoulders tightened reflexively. Talking about his marriage felt like poking at a scab with a fork. Healed over but still unpleasant. “What do you want to know?”
“Were you having problems for a while? Did you have any idea she was going to leave?”
He forced himself to unbunch his shoulders. She’d asked a fair question. “I should have known, but I guess I didn’t want to see it. We met in college and I was head over heels. Never really dated anyone else. And the way she was…basically self-absorbed…I didn’t know it could be any other way.”
She twirled her wine thoughtfully. “You don’t have any point of reference when you’re that young. Phil and I met in law school; we were kids too.”
Surprisingly, now that he’d gotten started, it was easier to talk about this than he’d expected. “She never told me what she was thinking. In all the years we were together, I don’t think we ever had a conversation like this. I knew she cared about her art, but I didn’t understand what she wanted from life.”
