The Summer We Saved the Bees (13 page)

She wasn’t even hearing me.

In the morning, we packed up the tent and piled back into the van. Violet wrinkled her nose and opened her window. “Wherever we stay tonight, there better be showers,” she said.

I tried to breathe shallowly. The van stank of sour milk and stinky feet and French-fry grease.

Anna came outside to wave goodbye. “Bye,” I called out. “Thanks for everything, Anna!”

Anna waved. “Good luck!” she said. “Stay safe.”

Curtis nodded and gave her a thumbs-up and turned the key in the ignition.

Ka-thunk.

He groaned and tried again.

Ka-ka-ka-ka-thunk.

“What’s wrong with it?” Mom asked.

“How should I know?” Curtis snapped.
Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka…
He swore loudly, and I looked at Anna, hoping she hadn’t heard.

“You’re the mechanic,” Mom said.

“Yeah. Right. I’m not a mechanic, Jade.”

“Not
technically
. I just meant the van’s your department.”

He turned to her, his voice tight as a fist. “This is my fault? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Don’t twist my words. I just thought you might know, that’s all.”

“Well, I don’t.” He got out of the van and opened the hood. We all sat there, and I held my breath. The air felt thick with tension.

“Uh, maybe I could take a look with him,” Ty said. “You think?”

“Be my guest,” Violet said.

Whisper started to cry. “Don’t worry,” Saffron told her. “George will be okay.”

“Look, Mom, maybe I should take the twins and…”

“Fine,” Mom said. “Don’t go far. Hopefully, this won’t take long.”

Nineteen

“WHISPER’S TUMMY HURTS,”
Saffron told me. We were sitting on the lawn, watching Curtis and Ty gazing into the engine like it was a crystal ball. I had a feeling neither of them really had a clue.

I looked at Whisper, who was crying quietly and chewing on a lock of her hair. “Does it? Does your tummy hurt, Whisper?”

She turned her face away from me.

“Saffy?” I nudged her.

“Yeah?”

“Has Whisper said anything to you?”

She shook her head. “She doesn’t talk anymore. I
told
you.”

“I know. I just thought…How do you know her tummy hurts?”

Saffron looked at me like I was dumb. “Because her tummy always hurts when they argue. Mom and Dad.
She doesn’t like that. Or if she has to go somewhere, like school or something.” She wrapped her own arms around her middle and squeezed herself. “And she goes like
this
.”

“Maybe we should take her to see a doctor,” I said. I couldn’t imagine how I’d talk Mom into that. She thought doctors were best avoided.

Curtis straightened, walked around to the passenger window and talked to Mom. She got out of the car and walked over to where we were sitting. “Well,” Mom said. “It looks like we’re stuck.”

“Oh dear,” Anna said.

Mom gave her an apologetic sort of smile. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to impose on your hospitality for a little longer.”

“You’re very welcome to stay,” Anna said. “Very welcome.” She clapped her hands together. “Oh! Perhaps you can go swimming after all. Or there is a nice park, just down the street…”

“Swimming!” Saffron said. “Please, Mom? Can we?”

“We’ll see,” Mom said. “Hopefully Curtis will get the van running by lunchtime.”

“Whisper wants to swim too,” Saffron said.

“I said, we’ll see.”

“I am sorry,” Anna said. “I’m afraid I have caused an upset.”

“Not at all,” Mom said stiffly. I could tell she was annoyed though.

Curtis walked over to join us on the lawn. “Anna, is there a garage nearby? Somewhere I might be able to get an engine part?”

“There’s a Canadian Tire,” she said. “Not too far away. On Vedder Street.”

He nodded. “Saw that yesterday, come to think of it. Thanks, Anna.” He turned to us. “Well, gang, looks like you’ll have to find a way to amuse yourselves for a few hours.”

“Swimming!” Saffron shouted.

I looked at Mom hopefully. “If we’re stuck here anyway…”

She got to her feet and brushed grass off her butt.

“Ty and me are going into town,” Violet said.

Mom put her hands on her hips. “Can we just remember why we are here, please?”

“Uh, because the van won’t start?” Violet said.

“This whole trip.” Mom sounded angry. “Why are we doing this?”

“For the bees,” Saffron said.

“That’s right. So why, as soon as one little thing goes wrong, are you all forgetting about that?”

There was a long silence. Anna looked uncomfortable. “Ah, perhaps I’ll just…” Her voice trailed off, and she backed away from us, turned and walked into the house.

“We’re not forgetting,” I said.

“I told Dad not to get a stupid Ford,” Violet said.

Saffron put her hands on her hips. “George isn’t stupid.”

Whisper ran over to the van and climbed inside, banging the door closed behind her. Back home, she would have run to her room. The van was the closest thing she had to a bedroom now. It was the closest thing we had to a home.

No wonder she was upset that it was broken.

“The point is,” Mom said, “that if we’re stuck here, we should make the most of our time.”

It seemed to me that taking the twins swimming would be a very good use of our time, but I knew that wasn’t what she meant. “You want to do another show?” I said.

“Why not? We hardly spoke to anyone yesterday.”

“Where though? I mean, we can’t drive…”

Mom pointed down the street. “We’re within walking distance of a high school. I looked online; it’s only a few blocks. And young people, well, who better to be talking to, right? They’ll be the decision makers in just a few years’ time.” “Count me out,” Violet said resolutely. “Ty and I will meet you back here.”

“That is not acceptable, Violet.” Mom’s voice got louder. “You are a part of this family whether you like it or not.”

“I’m not even in the show,” Violet said furiously. “What difference does it make?”

Ty put an arm around her. “It’s okay, Vi. We can go, right? Why not?”

Violet whirled on him. “Because it’s embarrassing, that’s why! Have you seen her costume, Ty?”

He shrugged. “It’s cool. She looks good.”

Violet snorted and turned her back on him. “Whatever.”

“I’m not wearing my costume,” I said. “Not at the high school. No way.”

Mom shook her head like I was completely hopeless. “Can you help your sisters get dressed at least?” she said. “Or is that too much to ask?”

I looked down at Saffron, whose lower lip jutted out in stubborn disappointment, and then at the van, where Whisper was presumably still sobbing in her seat. “Yeah,” I said. “Fine.”

Sometimes I thought Mom was so focused on the stupid bees that she didn’t see anything else at all.

Twenty

I MANAGED TO
get Whisper out of the van, but there was no way I could get her into her costume. As soon as she saw it, she melted down all over again, collapsing in a sobbing heap on the lawn. Mom and Violet had gone to take turns in Anna’s shower, and Ty was playing some game with Saffron on the lawn. He was good with the twins. I wouldn’t have expected him to be, but he was.

I pulled Whisper onto my lap and rocked her back and forth. “Hush, hush,” I said. “It’s okay. You wanted to go swimming, didn’t you?”

She nodded and stuck her thumb in her mouth, her sobs slowly subsiding.

“And you don’t want to put your costume on?”

She nodded again.

“I thought you liked your costume,” I said. “You know? The wings and all? It’s pretty cute.”

Her eyes were still teary, but she gave me a tiny smile, the corners of her mouth lifting around her wet thumb.

“You do like it? But you don’t want to do a show now?”

Whisper ducked her head, hiding her face against my shoulder. I squeezed her tightly, feeling her sharp little shoulder blades and the bumps of her spine. “I’ll tell Mom you need a break, okay? It’s okay, kiddo. Don’t worry so much.” My stomach twisted as I said the words.

If I couldn’t stop worrying, how could I expect Whisper to?

Finally Violet came out, her hair wet and combed, and behind her, Mom, in her stripes and antennae. Saffron was dressed, wings and all, and riding piggyback on Ty. Whisper had settled down and was playing a clapping game with me.

“Well,” Mom said. “Are we ready to go?”

I nodded. “But Whisper doesn’t want to put her costume on. I mean, not yet.” I didn’t know why I said it like that, making it sound like she’d put it on when we got there. I should’ve stood up for her and said she didn’t want to do the show at all.

“Fine. Just bring it, okay, Wolf? She can put it on over what she’s wearing.” Mom hoisted her bag of juggling stuff over her shoulder. “Ty, can you help Violet and Wolf manage the poster boards? They’re not heavy, but they’re awkward.”

“Sure.” Ty put Saffron down and headed to the van.

“I’m hungry,” I said.

Mom looked exasperated. “Grab something quick then. At this rate, school will be finished before we get there.”

“No point in getting there before the lunch break, right?” I headed to the van, wondering if there were any of Eva’s cookies left. “I mean, there’ll be more kids around if they’re not all in class.”

Violet gave a low moan, like she was being tortured.

Mom whirled on her. “Enough,” she snapped. “Enough.”

“Jeez,” Violet said. “Don’t have a canary.”

I ducked into the van and rummaged through the food bags, coming up with an apple and a granola bar. I slipped the bar into my pocket for later and bit into the apple. It was too soft. I hate soft apples.

Ty handed me a piece of the display to carry, and Violet took another. Ty took the middle piece, which was the heaviest, and we headed off down the street.

“Piggyback?” Saffron asked Ty.

He shook his head. “Can’t, kiddo.” He lifted his sign. “See? Gotta carry this.”

Whisper grabbed Saffron’s hand, but Saffron pulled away. I could see Whisper’s chin start to tremble, which meant tears were not far away. “Hey, you guys want to play a game while we walk?” I said.

“Like what?” Saffron asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.

I tried to think of something fast.

“I Spy,” Ty said. “I spy with my little eye something red.”

I looked at him and grinned, grateful. “Yeah! I Spy!”

Saffron was already looking around. “The fire hydrant?”

“No…”

It was hard to walk with the sign. My knees kept thwacking into its wooden frame with every step. Plus I still had the too-soft apple in my hand. I didn’t want it, but Mom hated to see food wasted, so I was pretending to eat it while looking for a bush I could secretly toss it into.

Mom was ahead of us, leading the way at a brisk pace. Like a mother duck with a line of straggling ducklings, I thought, picturing the illustration in one of the twins’ books. Saffron was the bossy little duckling that always looked for adventures, Violet was the grumpy one, Ty was the leader, Whisper was the scaredy-duck, and I…well, I wasn’t sure which one I was. I was just following the others.

Twenty-One

THE HIGH SCHOOL
was more than a few blocks away. By the time we got there, my back was aching, and my knees felt bruised from bumping against the sign.

“Is that a school?” Saffron asked. “It’s huge.”

The only school we’d ever gone to was our tiny one back home, which was just a converted house. This high school was huge and modern, an ugly two-story building with not enough windows. “It looks like a jail,” I said.

“Great. Lock me up and leave me here,” Violet muttered.

Ty laughed. “Oh come on, Vi. Your life’s not that bad.”

She rolled her eyes. “Easy for you to say. You can leave any time.”

Mom stopped walking and put her bag down in a grassy area in front of the school. I lowered my voice as we approached. “Violet’s right, Ty. We’re going to be doing this every day for weeks. Months, even.”

He lifted one eyebrow quizzically. “I thought you were a true believer,” he said. “Bee boy, right?”

“What?” I stopped abruptly, thwacking my bruised left knee on the sign again. “No.”