Like a Bee to Honey

by Jennifer Beckstrand

  Some of the people in the community were siding with Paul even though the Honeybee sisters had done nothing wrong. A few members of the district thought Aunt Bitsy was odd, too odd to belong in the community. She tinted her hair pastel colors and prayed right out loud. Some of the neighbors wouldn’t have been too sad to be rid of her. Rose didn’t know why people were so concerned about it. If members got shunned for being odd, there would be no one left in church to preach the sermons.

  Mammi and Dawdi seemed to think that Aunt Bitsy and her nieces would be shunned any day now. Rose was concerned about the possibility of being shunned, but someone had tried to burn down their honey house last week, and Leonard Nimoy and her sharp claws were in danger of being banished from the house, and Josiah Yoder wanted to make Rose his project. She had bigger worries than Paul Glick. Lily had immediately gotten engaged to Dan after she’d broken it off with Paul, and Paul’s heart was surely in pieces. Rose could forgive him for taking out his heartbreak on the Christners.

  She strolled up the short sidewalk to Suvie’s house and looked to the west. The sun was more than two hours from setting. She’d easily be home before dark.

  Suvie Nelson was Josiah’s sister and the only immediate family he had left. She and her husband, Andrew, lived a short walk from Josiah’s house on the same farm that Josiah and Andrew worked together. Rose looked down the road. Her heart tumbled about in her chest like a pebble in the river. Josiah’s house was close, but there wasn’t any chance she’d run into him today. She was delivering honey to his sister. Surely she’d be safe.

  A child was crying inside the house. Make that two children. Suvie must be having a hard day. The door opened, amplifying the sound tenfold, and Rose’s lungs collapsed when Josiah, not Suvie, stood at the threshold.

  Despite the fact that Josiah had a screaming baby in his arms and a screaming toddler at his feet, he smiled as if he’d just seen his first sunrise. “Rose,” he said, so softly that Rose wasn’t exactly sure she’d heard it over the screaming.

  Suvie’s two-year-old, Aaron, was clinging to Josiah’s trouser leg much the way Leonard Nimoy had done two days ago. Aaron was screaming and crying at a pitch that might have summoned all the dogs in the neighborhood. His face was wet with tears, and his curly hair was matted to his head with sweat.

  Baby Arie in Josiah’s arms was also screaming. She would occasionally find her fingers and suck on them for a few brief seconds and then wail again. Josiah bounced her up and down, but the bouncing only seemed to make things worse. It would have made Rose motion sick.

  “Is everything okay?” Rose asked, and it was probably the stupidest question Josiah had ever heard.

  Josiah bounced and bounced, and his smile bounced with him. “I’m babysitting. Suvie said there was an emergency, and she and Andrew ran out of here like the house was on fire. I can’t get the baby to take a bottle, and Aaron has a stinky diaper. But we’re doing okay.” He smiled wider, which, considering the situation, was quite an accomplishment. “It’s just so nice to see you. How are the cats?”

  Rose peeked around Josiah and into the house. A strand of toilet paper stretched from under a closed door across the living room and around Josiah’s ankle. A puddle of water seeped from under the closed door and looked to be spreading by the minute. In the kitchen, a pot was boiling over on the stove, and something was definitely burning. Three-year-old Alvin sat quietly on the sofa in the front room with his hands clasped in his lap as if Josiah and the babies were his entertainment for the evening.

  “Hello, Alvin,” Rose said.

  Alvin grinned and waved at her.

  Rose hesitated and looked up at the sky. Much as she wanted to be home before dark, she couldn’t abandon Josiah or Suvie’s poor, temporarily motherless children. Josiah might very well manage to burn down Suvie’s house or at least cause a major flood before Suvie got home. Josiah seemed to have a strained relationship with water in general.

  Rose pressed her lips together. Her own selfish fears didn’t matter. The babies needed her. Josiah needed her. She would push aside her misgivings to help them out and deal with the consequences later.

  “Would you like some help?” she said, trying valiantly to ignore the thumping of her heart against her ribs.

  He looked like a dying man who’d just been granted a few more hours of life. He didn’t even try to pretend he didn’t need her. “I would be so grateful.”

  Rose gave him a half smile and marched past him into the living room. With Aaron clinging to him like a burr, Josiah shut the door and shuffled a few steps toward her.

  The most urgent problem first. Rose pulled the bubbling pan from the burner and turned off the LP gas stove. She lifted the lid, and steam ascended to the ceiling. A mushy glob of what used to be noodles sat in the bottom of the pan. The bottom was burned black, the pan ruined. She’d come just in time.

  Still bouncing his crying niece on his hip, Josiah twitched his lips sheepishly. “Mac and cheese,” he said.

  Rose tried to be encouraging. “It would have been delicious.”

  Still sniffling and fussing, Aaron let go of Josiah’s leg and headed straight for Rose with his arms outstretched. “Hold you,” he said.

  Rose picked up Aaron and propped him on her hip. She pulled a tissue from the box on Suvie’s kitchen cupboard and mopped up Aaron’s face. He wasn’t screaming anymore, but Josiah was right. He was definitely stinky. Even the dirty diaper wasn’t the most pressing problem. With Aaron in her arms, Rose went to the closed door. Water was still seeping out from under it, threatening a fuzzy pink blanket on the floor. The door was locked.

  Josiah seemed to notice the water for the first time. “Ach. It’s leaking. Aaron threw something in the toilet, and it clogged. I locked the door so he couldn’t throw anything else in there.”

  “Do you have a key?”

  He grimaced. “I didn’t think that far ahead.”

  Rose pointed to the top of the door frame. “We leave our bathroom keys on that little ledge,” she said, loud enough to be heard over the screaming baby. The poor thing. She was obviously starving.

  Rose was too short to reach, but Josiah was plenty tall. With the baby, he tiptoed through the puddle of water and felt along the top of the frame until he burst into a smile. “Here it is.”

  Rose kissed Aaron on the cheek and set him on the sofa next to Alvin. He started screaming again, but Rose needed both hands. She quickly unlocked the door, handed the key to Josiah, and splashed into the bathroom. Water trickled out of the overflowing bowl as the toilet ran and ran without shutting itself off. Rose jiggled the handle, then lifted the lid to the tank and pulled up the float. The toilet stopped humming, and the water stopped running. She opened the cupboard above the toilet and said a prayer of thanks when she found a stack of fluffy bath towels. Suvie probably wouldn’t be too happy about her nice towels being used to wipe up toilet water, but she wouldn’t be too happy about her living room flooding either. Rose would have wanted a dry floor.

  Rose spread four towels around the toilet and sopped up the water. The fuzzy pink blanket was safe.

  Josiah drew his brows together. “I didn’t even notice the water. I should unclog the toilet before Suvie gets home. I did Bitsy’s sink. How hard can a toilet be?”

  Rose wasn’t sure what Suvie would want, but under no circumstances was Josiah to get near that toilet. “We should see to the kinner first,” she said.

  He looked at her as if she were a gift left on his doorstep.

  Rose eyed Aaron and Alvin, who were wrestling on the sofa. In an attempt to get on top of his brother, Alvin kicked his foot and made a nice black smudge on the wall. “Do you know how to change a diaper?”

  Josiah nodded. “Jah. I change Aaron’s diaper all the time. I’ve just never had to babysit all three of them at once. It’s hard.”

  “Of course,” Rose said to reassure him. “You’re doing a fine job.” Surely a little white lie was harmless. She would never want to hur
t his feelings.

  He chuckled. “Nae. I’m not. But you are very kind to pretend.”

  Arie had found her thumb and made loud slurping noises between her upset hiccups. She was a chubby baby with kissable cheeks and peach fuzz on top of her head. The peach fuzz was a lighter version of Josiah’s auburn hair, and she was adorable, even with a bright red face and a runny nose. Rose took Arie from Josiah’s arms. “Is there a bottle?”

  “Suvie said she wouldn’t be hungry.”

  “She’s definitely hungry,” Rose said.

  Josiah smoothed his hand along Arie’s soft head. “There’s formula, but Suvie has never been able to get her to take a bottle.”

  Rose gave him a warm smile. He was doing his best. “We’ll have to try.” A bottle and a can of formula sat on the counter, as if Suvie had expected Josiah might need it even though she’d said otherwise. Rose picked up the formula and handed the bottle to Josiah. “Fill it with four ounces of water. Warm water but not too hot.”

  Josiah turned on the water. “How do I know if it’s too hot?”

  “Test it with your elbow.”

  His face was a mask of concentration as he examined the bottle to find the four-ounce line and filled it with water. He tried to stick his elbow into the bottle. When he realized it wouldn’t fit, he groaned and shoved his hand against his forehead.

  Rose couldn’t help herself. Josiah was so earnest and so eager to do a gute job. He hadn’t counted on his elbow getting in the way. Arie was crying, Aaron stunk like a manure truck, dinner was a glob of mushy macaroni and cheese, and Josiah was trying to stick his elbow into a hole the diameter of a silver dollar. He had obviously had a very hard afternoon.

  Rose started to giggle.

  He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. A low chuckle rumbled in his throat. The chuckle became gut-splitting laughter. Aaron and Alvin stopped wrestling and looked at their onkel as if he were doing tricks for their entertainment.

  He laughed until tears sprang to his eyes. “I’m sorry, Rose. For sure and certain, Gotte brought you here to save my niece and nephews from their onkel Josiah.”

  Rose laughed. “Maybe I came to save you from them.”

  He smiled with a soft light in his eyes. “I’ve never heard you laugh before.”

  “Really?”

  “Jah. This is the first time.”

  She was probably blushing all the way to her toes. He acted as if her laughing was the greatest thing to happen to him all week. Surely she was imagining things. She lowered her eyes and studied the words on the formula can. She didn’t even know what she was reading. “Do you want to try the elbow thing again?” she said.

  “What should I do?”

  “Stick your elbow under the running water, then, when it’s the right temperature, fill the bottle.”

  He grinned. “Seems so simple.”

  He emptied the bottle, turned the water on again, and stuck his elbow under the stream of water. He filled the bottle and studied it very carefully to make sure he’d gotten just the right amount.

  “Put two scoops of formula in with the water and shake it,” Rose said, bouncing the baby with increased desperation. The baby’s fussing would soon become screaming again.

  Josiah shook the bottle, and little drops of formula flew all over the kitchen. Rose did not even comment on it. Neither did he. He simply wiped a spot of formula from his cheek and handed her the bottle. Rose sat down in the chair next to the sofa, cradled Arie in her arms, and pressed the bottle to Arie’s lips. Arie clamped her gums together and arched her back as if Rose were trying to feed her a sprig of asparagus. Rose pulled the bottle away, and Arie started screaming.

  Who knew such a little baby could make such a loud noise?

  Rose stuck the nipple into Arie’s open mouth, and Arie coughed and choked and screamed all the louder. Okay. Not a gute idea to trick a baby. Rose tried again. Arie would have none of it. She was hungry but wouldn’t eat.

  Josiah knelt beside her chair. Aaron immediately jumped on his back. “Do you want me to hold the bottle?”

  “Okay. We can try it.”

  Josiah growled like a bear, picked up giggling Aaron, and deposited him on the sofa before coming back to Rose and taking the bottle. Rose cradled Arie while Josiah tried to press the bottle into her mouth. Arie cried as if her heart would break.

  “I’m sorry,” Josiah said. “I don’t know what to do.”

  Rose took the bottle from Josiah and stood up. She bounced up and down while cradling Arie in one arm. With the other hand, she tried again to feed Arie. Arie smacked her lips and opened her mouth. Rose kept bouncing with one arm clinging to Arie for dear life. Arie decided she liked being fed while standing. She clamped down and started sucking.

  Josiah cocked an eyebrow. “That is one determined baby.”

  Rose smiled at him. “If she’s happy, I’m happy.”

  “Me too.”

  While Rose bounced around the room and fed Arie, Josiah changed Aaron’s diaper, cleaned up the ribbon of toilet paper, and led his nephews in gathering up the wet towels and putting down dry ones in their place. Once the floor was somewhat dry, the three of them played grizzly bear. Josiah made very realistic bear noises and tickled them until they begged him to stop and then begged him to do it again. Rose couldn’t help but think of her own fater. Had he ever thrown her up in the air like that when she was little? Had he ever tickled her or read her bedtime stories? She had no memory of his loving her the way Josiah clearly loved his nephews.

  It was just another way Gotte punished her for her selfishness. Her parents were lost to her in more ways than one.

  Rose thought her arm might fall off, but she kept a determined grip on the baby while she ate. After a few minutes, Arie’s eyes started to droop. Rose carefully and smoothly sat down in the chair but tried to pretend she was still standing. Arie didn’t seem to notice a difference. Rose relaxed against the back of the chair while Arie finished her bottle and fell asleep.

  Rose shifted Arie so the baby was snuggled against her chest and patted her back until she got a burp. She stood and looked at Josiah. “I’ll put her down,” she whispered and pointed up the stairs.

  Josiah nodded, looked at the boys, and pressed his finger to his lips to tell them they needed to be quiet. Alvin immediately began singing a loud song, but Arie didn’t even flinch. With two older brothers, she had probably learned how to sleep through anything.

  Rose found the crib upstairs and tucked a light blanket around Arie’s chin. There was nothing more precious than a sleeping baby, especially with two busy toddlers downstairs. She massaged her arm while she gazed out the window. It would get dark soon. A tendril of anxiety crawled up her spine at the thought of taking the buggy out on the dark roads. She should leave before it was too late.

  But there were still two hungry children and one very unsure uncle downstairs. What if Josiah tried to fix the boys something to eat and Arie woke up? Suvie only had so many pans to spare. Rose would just have to be brave for Alvin and Aaron’s sake. And Josiah’s sake too.

  She went downstairs, where Josiah had one boy thrown over each of his shoulders and was spinning them around the room. She glanced out the window again. “Who wants pancakes?”

  Josiah stopped spinning and set the boys on their feet.

  “I do,” squealed Alvin.

  “I too,” echoed Aaron.

  Josiah placed his hands on his hips and studied her face. “Are you sure? You’ve already saved me. If you’re more comfortable leaving, I understand.”

  Rose managed to smile past her anxiety. “We don’t want the boys to start eating the furniture.”

  He stared at her for a few moments before nodding. “Can I help?”

  “Can you crack eggs?”

  “I scramble myself three eggs every morning,” he said.

  Because he was an orphan and cooked for himself. The thought of Josiah all alone in that big house made Rose a little sad.

  “Hey
,” he said, leaning over to catch her eye. “Did I say something to upset you?”

  She gave him a flicker of a smile. “Of course not.” Could he truly read every subtlety in her face like that? “I was just thinking that you probably keep a lot of chickens busy.”

  “They do not like to see me coming.”

  Josiah scrambled eggs and tried to keep the boys from tearing down the house while Rose made her favorite whole-wheat pancake batter and set the table. The pancake batter sizzled on the griddle while Josiah swooped both boys into their booster seats and put bibs on them. They said silent grace, and then Josiah served each of the boys a pancake with syrup and cut the pancakes into bite-sized pieces.

  Rose finished flipping pancakes and sat down to eat with Alvin on one side and Aaron on the other. Aaron ate three pancakes and polished off a good portion of the eggs. Alvin couldn’t stop talking about his pet snake that his mamm made him keep in the backyard and how it ate mice and rabbits. Josiah listened with patience to Alvin’s stories, and Rose did her best to understand what Aaron said. Aaron was just learning to talk, and sometimes Alvin had to interpret for him.

  “These aren’t just pancakes,” Josiah said. “These would make an Amish mammi cry, they’re so gute.”

  Rose tried not to notice the darkening sky outside the kitchen window. It would be okay. Surely she would make it home this one time, and then she’d never have to go out in the dark again.

  Aaron was more syrup than boy by the time he finished. Rose gave him a kiss on the top of his head. “Do you think Suvie would mind if I gave them a bath?”

  “You’ve done so much, Rose. How could I even ask?”

  She forced another reassuring smile. The boys needed her. “If you’ll carry them up, I’ll wash them.”

  Josiah grabbed a boy in each arm and practically flew up the stairs. He deposited them in the bathroom. “I’ll do the dishes.”

  Alvin looked a little concerned about being left with a strange girl in the bathroom. “But Onkel Josiah,” he said. His lip quivered slightly.

  Josiah squatted next to Alvin and helped him take off his shirt. “When you have taken a bath, I will come and read you a story.”