by Dave Corrick
Chapter 17
Preparations for the wedding are made.
It is now the second week of spring. Louie and Lulu have put behind them the terrible trauma of the car accident and are concentrating on getting things organised for their wedding.
It is a Saturday morning and the pair are sitting (close to each other) outside on the deck of their streamside home.
The wedding date has been firmly set for the last Saturday in spring.
There are eleven weeks to go. There is quite a lot to be done, however eleven weeks should be enough. In the insect world things can be done unbelievably quickly as we shall soon learn!
Lulu has almost finished getting the invitations ready.
The happy couple are enjoying a cup of Louie’s TG Tips. Louie is deep in thought about the number of guests that would be arriving and where they might stay.
Louie summed it up in his mind. There were about five rooms available underneath the Nest Café, he had built an extra room onto their house and expanded the lounge. Pearl had a couple of spare rooms in her apartment. The Country Club could accommodate all of the guests if required, but that was too far away. No it was best if the guest accommodation could be along the stream close by somewhere. Louie had an idea.
Louie put his arm around Lulu. Louie as we know has become quite an assertive bee and he wanted things to be just right for the beloved Lulu that he nearly lost.
Lulu was thinking along the same lines as Louie about guest accommodation and she raised the subject.
‘Louie, where do you think all our guests for the wedding should be accommodated?’ Lulu had turned her head and looked into Louie’s eyes then gently kissed him. ‘I don’t really want them to have trouble finding accommodation if we can avoid it. The problem is there isn’t anything close by that is big enough’.
‘Lulu I have been thinking about it too’, said Louie, ‘and I really have an idea that I am quite excited about’.
‘Tell me’, said Lulu smiling.
‘As you know Lulu’, Louie continued. ‘At the Nest Café there are several rooms underneath that are quite nice for guests. What I suggest be done is to build more rooms here and make it into extensive hotel’.
What Louie was saying here was indeed a good idea. The insect community along the stream had grown over the years and was woefully short of accommodation for visitors. Virgil Blue had expanded his operation and it had become somewhat of a nuisance to have visitors to the area accommodated out at the Country Club, nice as it was.
Louie continued. ‘There is a new company called Beehive Apartments who can quickly assemble luxury honeycomb units. They have a very large team of honey bees and we could get Sparrow Construction to build the roof over the finished accommodation so that it matches the Nest Café’.
‘That sounds just wonderful my clever bee’, said Lulu now sitting up and giving Louie her full attention. ‘Do you really think it could be done?’
‘Don’t see why not’, said Louie. ‘I would need to get approval from Pearl to use some of the Reserve dollops and scents. However I am sure she would say yes, mainly because it would be good for the area, tourism and all that’.
Louie went on to say. ‘One real advantage of building more accommodation at the Nest Café would be that it would give the Nest Café more business as well. Actually while we have the contractors on site it would be good to refurbish and extend the Nest Café, I am sure Basil and Sybil would welcome the opportunity’.
‘Gosh’, said Lulu. ‘Quite the entrepreneur, aren’t we! It sounds wonderful Louie. I am so proud of you’.
‘I have even got a name for the new hotel’, said Louie proudly.
‘Tell me’, said Lulu, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
‘Well’, said Louie quite excited by now. ‘The stream outside where the hotel would go, just babbles on past and down to the village. So let’s call it the Hotel Babbleon!’
‘You clever bee’, said Lulu. ‘It sounds very posh and inviting’.
‘Right’, said Louie. ‘How about we go up and see Pearl and get things moving. If we get her approval I will contact Beehive Apartments today and we can all meet on Monday’.
Louie phoned Pearl and she was free for the pair to call up and see her. Two very excited bees were off.
On arriving at Pearl’s apartment Pearl said laughing. ‘Gosh what’s exciting you two now!?’
Louie went over the plan and it didn’t take long before Pearl said. ‘Yes Louie, I believe this is a truly marvellous plan!’ She looked at Louie and smiled, he really had become such an assertive but still loveable bee. Pearl thought the name Hotel Babbleon was just “spot on” and told Louie so.
‘Well’, said Pearl, ‘to get things moving Louie, phone Beehive Apartments now and let’s arrange a meeting with them at the Nest Café on Monday at 10.00 a.m. We can show them what we want, discuss cost and I’ll sign the contract, simple!’
Lulu jumped up and down with excitement.
‘This is truly excellent’, said Pearl reflecting further on Louie’s idea. ‘It really will be good for our little community. Let’s celebrate. This is a very special occasion, not only from the point of view of your wedding but it will be a milestone for the community as well; we’ll have some red wine. Lulu we can go and sit out on the deck and talk wedding things while Louie gets it for us’.
First Louie phoned Beehive Apartments; yes they would be there at the Nest Café, 10.00 a.m. on Monday. It was all go. Louie poured some red wine and went to join Lulu and Pearl out on the deck.
The trio discussed and formulated in their minds what the hotel should look like.
‘I think we should try for a hundred rooms or more’, said Pearl. ‘Let’s have it extended out to the back of the Nest Café so that views from the Café aren’t obstructed’.
Pearl went on to suggest five stories high so that the top levels would have a good view along the stream.
The three spent the rest of the morning discussing the final details for Monday. Pearl put together an agenda for the meeting. The Hotel Babbleon really was all go!
Louie and Lulu left Pearl and headed back down to their house for lunch. Lulu made some delicious dandelion leaf sandwiches toasted in buttercup oil.
With the Hotel Babbleon project virtually under way, Lulu spent the afternoon adding to the invitations that there was to be a new Hotel built close by to the wedding venue. Lulu requested as part of the R.S.V.P. for respondents to indicate if accommodation would be required.
Yes indeed, things were starting to move along.
Later in the afternoon Louie suggested that they go for a fly along the stream and drop in to see Virgil to let him know about the latest developments with the hotel. Louie suggested that first they go downstream and fly over the Nest Café area to have a look before going to Virgil’s.
Lulu agreed, she was a bit tired of being inside sorting out the invitations. It would be good to get out for awhile.
The pair lifted off the deck and on down to stream level. Louie laughed and put on full power. ‘Bet you can’t catch me!’
‘Oh yes I can’, said Lulu. She was soon alongside her mate and just to show how clever she was she did a barrel roll around Louie shouting ‘yippee’ at the same time. What happiness!
Louie and Lulu arrived over the Nest Café and looked from above at the area where the Hotel Babbleon would be constructed.
‘Look Lulu’, said Louie easing back on the power. ‘There is plenty of room at the back of the Nest Café, probably need to clear a little of the vegetation’.
Yes indeed, the site would be excellent. There were some large ferns hanging over the stream just a little distance behind the Nest Café. It was quite a beautiful setting for the Hotel.
For fun Louie and Lulu dropped down to the stream again and flew down to the village bridge.
At this point Louie shouted. ‘Race you back to Virgil’s place - Go!’
Off they went, just above the stream surface a
s fast as they could go, Lulu slightly behind because Louie had cheated by saying “go” before Lulu had a chance to turn around.
Lulu didn’t mind, she would get her own back!
Lulu shouted to Louie. ‘Look back there!’
‘Where?’ said Louie, looking back.
‘Fooled you!’ said Lulu laughing and shot past her mate and into the lead.
‘Ha Ha, very funny’ said Louie. ‘I’ll catch you!’
But he didn’t, Lulu was the first to arrive at Virgil’s hangar. ‘I beat you’, she shouted with glee.
‘You’re a clever bee’, said Louie stopping beside Lulu. ‘What would I do without you?! You rascal!’
Louie picked Lulu up and pretended he was going to throw her in the stream. Lulu screamed in a ‘stop it I like it’ sort of manner. Virgil came out of the hangar to see what all the commotion was. ‘Might have known it was you two’, said Virgil laughing.
At that moment Virginia flew in and landed. She had just come back from taking some tourists up to the cave for the night.
Virgil and Virginia came over to see Louie and Lulu. ‘Good to see you guys, how’s it all going?’ said Virginia.
‘Everything is going really well’, said Louie. ‘I think we have got some good news for you guys’.
Louie told them about the hotel project; Virgil and Virginia were really pleased at the prospect, it had affected their operation in not having accommodation close by.
Virgil suggested that it would be a good idea to incorporate a landing pad on the roof of the hotel so that he and Virginia could land to pickup and drop off guests as required. Louie took a mental note for the meeting on Monday.
Louie and Lulu went over the plans for the big day with Virginia who was organising the hangar for the ceremony. Lulu kept on having sort of tingly feelings of excitement and found it hard to sit still and concentrate.
Louie confirmed with Virgil that for their honeymoon he and Lulu would be staying at the cave for a week. Virgil was organising it so that at the cave there would be adequate supplies of food, including chocolate cake, red wine, honey nectar and a few other things that bees were partial to. Not forgetting of course a week’s supply of Beehive Matches!
Lulu’s toes just curled up with excitement, she clutched Louie very tightly.
Louie and Lulu’s happiness was infectious; Virgil and Virginia reminisced, talked and laughed about their recent wedding too.
It was late afternoon by now. Virgil’s wasps were returning one by one and parking themselves in the hangar for the night. Here they would refuel and be ready for the next day.
It was fascinating to watch the wasps returning in the reduced light as evening was fast approaching. Initially there would be the sound of a wasp at cruising power some distance away along the stream. This sound would reduce in pitch as the wasp approached. Finally with power off the wasp would come into view, bank to the west and sweep in from the stream and land perfectly outside the hangar. Louie and Lulu stood together and watched for awhile, they both felt very special being part of the insect community.
Virgil had to go and attend to the needs of the wasps so Louie and Lulu bid adieu and headed back down the stream to home.
It had been another good day. Louie and Lulu sat out on the deck again until the sunset had gone and it was starting to get cool. Louie held Lulu to keep her warm, neither spoke, words weren’t necessary to express what the two bees felt.
On Monday, Louie and Lulu called into the Factory about 9.00 am to check that all was well. The Factory was back to working five days a week again.
At 10.00 a.m., Pearl, Louie and Lulu met with a representative of Beehive Apartments at the Nest Café.
The representative from Beehive Apartments was a really nice bee called “Buzz”.
Buzz was an unusually short bee; Pearl wondered what Buzz was short for. Maybe his parents hadn’t fed him as a child!
Basil (the manager of the Nest Café) joined them and Buzz laid some plans out on the table. It was truly marvellous what Buzz had done at such short notice.
It was an intensive morning; Buzz had several different options for the hotel. He carefully explained advantages versus costs to help with the decision making process.
After much discussion it was agreed that 120 rooms would be built, there were to be no expenses spared. As Pearl had originally suggested it would be built on five levels. Buzz explained how with their highly trained team of bees, the honeycomb units could be put up in a very short time.
Beehive Apartments were very comprehensive in what they offered. Included in the contract price was the staffing of the hotel. Beehive Apartments would arrange to employ all the necessary person birds for reception and room services together with a team of professionally trained beetles to manage the hotel.
All rooms were to be fitted with Fly TV, oh yes all the mod con’s right down to beeswax soap on a rope in the bathrooms.
Buzz went on to confirm that when the rooms had been completed, Sparrow Construction would put a roof on the Hotel to match the Nest Café. An area on the roof had been allocated for Virgil Blue to land and take off for the flying in and out of guests as required.
While Beehive Apartments were building the new hotel it was agreed with Basil that it was a good time to refurbish the Nest Café and extend it with a new bar facility. Basil felt that with the new bar added they would have built more on! Hence the new bar should be known as the “Builtmore”.
It was all settled. What a grand concept, the Babbleon Hotel, 120 rooms and fully staffed. Then of course directly connected to the hotel was to be the refurbished Nest Café with the new Builtmore Bar. Everybody was very pleased with the whole concept. Pearl signed the contract and it was a done deal. Beehive Apartments would be on site within a week. The Hotel Babbleon was due to be finished three weeks before Louie and Lulu’s wedding.
The meeting finished just after midday, Buzz left to get his wings and things moving. Pearl, Louie and Lulu stayed on and had a spot of lunch.
Over lunch the trio talked about and planned the wedding day itself. Pearl of course was marrying Louie and Lulu and it needed to be discussed how and when the couple would arrive, what time the ceremony would be etc. The fact that they were all together now was a good time to finalise a few things.
It had been a good day. Many exciting things were about to happen. Pearl headed back to her apartment about 3.00 p.m. Louie and Lulu stayed a little longer and talked some more about the wedding day and their future together.
‘Right’, said Louie. ‘Come on my Lulu, let’s head back to the Factory and check all is OK there. Then I think we will call it a day!’
Back at the Factory, Louie and Lulu called the Ten Ants into the office and let them know about the new hotel. They also let the Ten Ants know that their being very special to them they were all invited to the wedding and that they would be seated at the front in the hangar!
The Ten Ants cheered, ‘Hooray for Mr Louie and Lulu’.
Louie got out some chocolate cake and honey nectar and they all chatted and talked until it was time to go home.
The Ten Ants went down to their home in the floor of the shed. Louie and Lulu held each other and reflected once more on the future happiness they would share.
A little later was the now familiar scene of two small figures close together, silhouetted against the setting sun, flying down the stream to their little home on the stream bank.
