Page 67 of Must Love Bees
“Potayto-potahto, whatever.” Tansy waved her aside.
“Without the queen, the bees don’t want to leave the hive.” Benji jumped in, speaking directly to Nova.
“How did you find her?” Halley waited, her money in her hands. “The queen?”
“Astrid talked to her.” Tansy paused for affect. “She was sweet and complimentary and calm, explaining that we were trying to help them and that we’d never hurt them. It coaxed the queen into walking right out so Astrid could put her into her little condo clip until we could get them moved and settled.”
“Condo clip?” Dane chuckled.
“I was telling a story. I thought it sounded better than justclip.” Tansy shrugged.
“I’ve seen her do it.” Leif sat back in his chair. “Talk to the bees. Seriously.”
“Me, too.” Aunt Magnolia looked up from her crossword puzzle.
“And find a swarm.” Aunt Camellia was still trying to fix Nicole’s mess of yarn. “And she was so mad at herself for not splitting the hive before it happened. You are too hard on yourself, Astrid.”
Astrid shot her aunt a smile.
“You want to find a swarm?” Halley glanced at Benji. “That sounds like a bad thing.”
“It isn’t great.” Astrid did feel bad for not saving the bees the hassle. She’d known they were going to swarm, but she’d thought she’d had more time. “Bees normally swarm when they’re overcrowded. They go out like a big cloud with the queen safe inside the very middle. Scout bees go out to try to find a new home but, if you’re a keeper, you do it for them.”
“You find the swarm, get the queen bee into a new hive box and the bees will follow.” Leif explained, reaching for the dice.
“How did you know where to find the swarms?” Nova was staring up at her with big eyes. “Is it magic?”
“No.” Astrid shook her head, smiling.
“Maybe,” Tansy cut in. “I sure didn’t know.”
“Astrid does have a...connection with the bees.” Aunt Camellia handed the knitting needles back to Nicole. “Poppa Tom, my father and Astrid’s grandfather, said she had the touch. And Poppa Tom was magic when it came to bees.”
“Wow.” Nova was still staring at her now.
“It’s not magic, Nova.” Astrid gave her another hug. “I’m just a really good listener. That’s all. Bees, like people, can tell us things without using words. You just have to be patient and watch.”
“But people don’t sting you.” Nova said this very matter-of-factly.
“I don’t know about that.” Dane chuckled, earning an eye roll from Tansy.
“People can do far worse,” Nicole muttered.
Poor Nicole. Astrid couldn’t imagine having a mother like Willadeene. She couldn’t imagine not having the love and support of the people right here in this room. To grow up with something less was unfathomable.
“Mom.” Benji shook his head. “Way to read the room and keep things light.”
That made everyone laugh.
Everyone except Charlie. He was staring out the window at the dark sky. She didn’t know much about his family. How had he grown up? Rebecca implied he hadn’t had the best childhood but she’d never said much more than that. The older woman had loved Charlie, that much she knew for sure.
The rain was still pounding the roof but no one seemed to care. Astrid wasn’t sure what was making her happier: how much Halley and Nova were enjoying themselves or how relaxed Charlie appeared to be. The game wrapped up almost an hour later.
“We won, we won.” Nova was ecstatic. “I’ve never won Monopoly before, Astrid.”
A clap of thunder startled the room into silence.
The pitter-patter of rain went back to a heavy downpour, earning an “Oh, dear” from Aunt Camellia. “I’d best go check the attic. Make sure that patch is holding and there’s no leak.”
