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“Bruce Nylon. He’s a breeder in Cotati. He’ll set you up with the best queens. He breeds them for productivity and friendliness.”
“But make sure you tell him that you know me. He doesn’t sell to just any novice beekeeper.”
“Got it.” Mae shoots me a look that I can’t help but respond to with a grin.
After that, we follow Dwight back to his car and call out for the kids to join us.
“Dwight, this is Mina, Mae’s daughter, and Dylan. You briefly met once at a Christmas party or something.”
“Charmed,” he says, which leaves us with confused looks on our faces.
When he turns his back to get something out of his car, I just scrunch up my nose to suggest they ignore his eccentricities. Mina grins at my face, and I notice again how much she looks like her mom.
“Okay, so I have the ‘Dwight Summers Beekeeper Accessory Pack 101,’” Dwight says, his arms full of stuff.
“Wow, that’s great.”
“But first, I want to show you the Sentinel Pro 3D Bee Suit. This is for the little lady with the allergies.”
“That’s me,” Mina says.
“Ah. Well, this was developed by a man in Wales…”
“I explained that.” Of course, I only told her mother, but I can tell by the glazed-over look on Mina’s face that she has little interest in learning the back story.
“I see. Well, this thing was designed specifically for people like you.” He looks at Mae’s daughter. “The material is three and a half millimeters thick, whereas the common bee stinger is about one point eight millimeters. So, even if you get stung, your skin has less chance of being punctured. And I went for the veil option over the hat.”
“Thank—thank you.” Mina beams at Dwight. So does Mae, for that matter. Pride swells in my chest. Everything’s going according to plan. By the time the condos are built, Mae and I will be friends, and she’ll be nothing but happy with the neighbors.
“Of course. Just because someone is allergic to these majestic beings…” Dwight stops and chortles. “Get it? Bee-ings?”
I do my best to fake a laugh.
“Anyway, that shouldn’t keep you from promoting their lives and honey production.”
“Thank you, Dwight,” Mae jumps in to say.
“Mhm.” He gives the rest of us our more traditional protective gear and gloves before continuing, “Okay, so this is the steamer. You’re going to use this to spray the hives to calm the bees down.”
“How does that work?” Dylan asks.
“I’m glad you asked. Well, they excrete pheromones, and that’s how they talk to each other. So, when they’re stressed out, they emanate this odor that’s almost like…cherries? That’s the closest thing I can think of to describe it. Then, when you spray them, that calms them down, and they stop communicating that there’s a danger.”
“Oh, so that prevents them from freaking out and trying to attack you?” Mae posits.
“Exactly.”
And he goes on to describe the use of the bee brush and a hive tool that has both kids in rapt attention.
I can’t help but think how adorable it is to watch them listen so intently to Dwight’s lecture. It’s almost like we’re one big happy family about to embark on this adventure together. Even Dylan seems to be hanging off Dwight’s every word.
I can see it on the marquee now: The Cornel-Dale Bunch Does Beekeeping.
I just hope we can all still hang out like this once the condos are built. For Dylan’s sake, of course.
Chapter eight
Mae – Shared memories
