The Summer We Saved the Bees

by Robin Stevenson

  I played with the zipper on my hoodie—up and down, up and down. “All she thinks about is the stupid bees,” I said.

  “The end is nigh,” Ty intoned. “Death, doom, destruction…These are the end times.”

  “Shut up,” I said. It was one thing for me—and even Violet—to criticize Mom, but Ty wasn’t part of the family.

  He just laughed. “Buzz, buzz, buzz.”

  Violet shoved him. “Enough. You’re not funny, Ty.”

  He was right though. Mom was so stuck on this idea that disaster was lurking just around the corner that she wasn’t even seeing what was right in front of her face. I imagined the days and weeks ahead: all of us crammed into that stinky van, driving from town to town, parking in strangers’ driveways or shopping-mall parking lots. “This trip was a really bad idea,” I said quietly. “Wasn’t it?”

  “Duh,” Violet said. “It’s a freaking nightmare. It’s even worse than I thought it would be, and I thought it would be pretty bad.”

  “I know.” I wished I was back at school, petting Ginger and listening to Duncan talk about his games and working on some idea for a new project—the history of comic books or Shakespeare or rocket science. Anything other than bees.

  Violet turned to Ty. “Screw it. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Sure, babe.” He gave her a slow smile. “Where d’you want to go?”

  Violet hesitated. “I don’t know. Home, sort of, but I guess we don’t have one anymore. And I’m not going to my mom’s place.” She bit her lip. “Maybe Nelson?”

  “To your grandmother’s?” I wondered what she was like. Someone with Anna’s warmth and common sense maybe. Someone with a dog and bookshelves and board games and a busy kitchen, like Eva and Mary.

  Someone who didn’t think the world was ending.

  “Take me too,” I said impulsively. “Take me with you.”

  Violet looked at me. “What about the twins?”

  I couldn’t believe she hadn’t just said no. I looked at Whisper, who was stockpiling cones at the base of the tree. Violet was right. We couldn’t all take off and leave the twins behind. “Them too,” I said. “She’s their grandmother, right? Maybe she can help Whisper. Get her to a doctor or something.”

  Violet raised her eyebrows at me. “Well, aren’t you Mr. Responsible?”

  “She’s your sister too,” I said. “And she hasn’t spoken a word in days. And what does Mom do?”

  We all watched Whisper in silence for a long moment.

  “Nothing,” Violet said. “Like, not a single freaking thing.”

  “Worse,” I said. “She tries to force her to dress up as a bee and talk to total strangers.”

  Ty rubbed his hand over the stubble on his scalp. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s messed up.”

  Twenty-Two

  WE SPENT LUNCH hour at the school, and when the bell rang and all the kids were swallowed back up by the building like it was a giant vacuum, we followed them inside to use the toilets and then walked back to Anna’s house. Mom put everything away in the van, got changed and helped Saffron get back into her regular clothes. Violet and I made peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches.

  “Saffron did such a good job,” Mom said. She stroked Saffy’s hair. “She handed out lots of flyers and she even answered questions, didn’t you, love?”

  Saffron smiled. “I told the people about the bees,” she said proudly. “And I told them how we had to get the queen to make people stop using pesticides.”

  I looked at Mom over the top of Saffy’s head. Her blue eyes were laughing. “The queen, huh?” I said.

  “Yeah. Because she shouldn’t just be on coins and things.” Saffron lowered her voice. “Mom? I have to go to the bathroom.”

  Mom groaned. “We just went pee at the school, remember? How can you have to go again?”

  “The other thing. You know.”

  “Oh. Come on, we’ll…find somewhere with a bathroom.” Mom looked at me. “Watch Whisper, okay? We’ll be back. There’s a convenience store on the corner; maybe they’ll let us use the washroom.”

  “Buy some milk,” Violet said. “And more peanut butter. We’re out.” She sat down on the lawn, and Ty lay down with his head on her lap. She patted his stubbly hair, and he pushed his head against her hand like he was a cat. “Want a sandwich, Ty?”

  “Nah. Not hungry.”

  Whisper had climbed into the van with her sandwich and was sitting in her seat as if she thought we were about to drive off. I felt like I should get in and sit with her, but the van still smelled like feet, so I sat on the lawn with the others.

  I was eating my second sandwich when Curtis walked up. He had his hands buried in his pockets, and he did not look happy. “Where’s your mother?” he asked me.

  “The store.” I pointed down the street. “Did you get the part for the van?”

  He shook his head. “They won’t be able to get it before next week. Tuesday at the latest, the guy said.”

  “That’s almost a week away. It’s Thursday today, right?” I was counting backward. Monday we’d left home. Three nights we’d been gone, and it felt like forever.

  “At the latest,” Curtis said. “Hopefully Monday.”

  “So we’ll stay here until then?”

  “Well, we can’t go anywhere if the van won’t start.”

  I didn’t think Anna had counted on having us parked in her driveway for that long. I hoped she wouldn’t mind. Secretly, I was glad we weren’t going anywhere yet.

  Mom was not happy with the news. Apparently she’d set up meetings with local politicians in Hope and Kamloops and a presentation to some high-school classes in Kelowna, and now her schedule was all messed up.

  She pulled her laptop out of the van and sat down on Anna’s front steps. “I have to see if I can rearrange things.”

  “Do you have Wi-Fi?” Violet asked.

  “Anna gave me her password,” Mom said, her fingers drumming on the edge of the computer as she waited for it to start up.

  “Can I check my email?” I asked. “I should write to Duncan. And Katie.”

  “Katie?”

  “My teacher. I said I’d send updates.”

  “Hmm.” Mom looked like she was only half listening. “Sure, sweets. Just let me do this first.”

  “Hey, if we’re not leaving today, maybe I could take the twins swimming,” I said. I spoke quietly in case she said no—the twins were a few feet away, hidden in the tent but probably listening to every word. I didn’t want them to get their hopes up and then be disappointed all over again.

  Mom nodded absently. “Sure, sure. Good idea.”

  “Yay!” Saffy’s head stuck out of the tent flaps. “Swimming!”

  So much for stealth. Saffron had hearing like a bat.

  “Can’t believe this,” Mom said, sighing. “That useless van.”

  Saffron clambered out of the tent, looking offended. “George isn’t useless!”

  Mom looked at her and sighed. “No, he’s not. Sorry, Saf. I’m just frustrated that we are still here.”

  “I like it here.”

  Mom turned away from the computer and tugged gently on a lock of Saffron’s hair. “I’m impatient to get to Hope.”

  “To hope for what?”

  “It’s a where, kiddo. Not a what,” Ty told her. “It’s a town.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s, like, when you want something.” Saffron’s hands were planted firmly on her hips. “Like if you want to go swimming, then you
hope it.”

  “I’ll take you swimming,” I said, laughing.

  “Yeah, we’ll all go,” Violet put in.

  Which was weird—Violet never willingly did anything with me. I didn’t say anything, though, just started hunting through the piles of bags in the van, looking for swimsuits and towels.

  A minute later, Violet was beside me, bending her head close to mine. “Very smooth, Wolf. Nicely done.”

  I frowned. “What?”

  “We’re going to the Greyhound station,” she whispered. “So take what you need. The twins too.”

  I straightened up so fast I whacked my head on the van door. “Ow—I—really? Seriously? Like, leaving? Right now?”

  “Shhh. Yes. Are you in or not?”

  My heart was thumping like crazy, and I felt short of breath. “I don’t know. Um. Yes. I think so.”

  “Fine.” She started pulling clothes out of her duffel bag and shoving them into a small day pack.

  I tried to think what we’d need. Changes of clothes. Whisper’s special blanket. The My Little Ponies the twins got from Tess. Snacks. “I don’t have any money,” I said.

  “Ask Mom.”

  “What? Are you nuts?”

  She rolled her eyes at me. “For swimming, doofus.”

  “But I thought we were…”

  “Wolf. Seriously, sometimes I think you’re, like… deficient.” Violet blew out a long breath. “Mom thinks we’re going swimming. That’s, I don’t know, five bucks each. So ask her for some money.”

  “Bus tickets will cost more than that.” I picked up Whisper’s Ritz crackers.

  “Ty’s got money,” Violet said. “And I have a bit.”

  I swallowed hard. I couldn’t believe we were doing this.

  “Hurry up.” Violet zipped up her day pack. “Before Jade changes her mind and drags us all off to do another bee show.”

  I nodded. I couldn’t imagine what Mom would do when we didn’t come home after swimming. When dinnertime came and there was still no sign of us. “Should we leave a note?”

  “Yeah, I guess. So they don’t freak out. But somewhere they won’t see it until later. In the tent?”

  Mom didn’t usually go in the tent at all. Ty, Violet and I slept in it, and the twins liked to play in it, but there was no real reason for Mom to go in. “She might not find it,” I said. “I don’t want her to think we got kidnapped or something.”

  “What about in Anna’s mailbox?” she said. “Like, in an envelope? We could put Anna’s name on it, and she probably wouldn’t open it until later.”

  “She might check for mail when she gets home,” I said. “Which could be any minute.”

  “Fine, you think of something.”

  I made a face. “I don’t know. I guess the mailbox is okay. I mean, today’s mail would already have come, so Anna probably won’t check there until tomorrow.”

  Saffron appeared between us, pushing her little body against my legs. “Wolf, did you get my goggles?”

  “What? Oh, right. Do you really need them? I’m not sure where they are.”

  “I need them. So the pool doesn’t sting my eyes.”

  She wasn’t going to be happy when she found out we were getting on a bus instead of going swimming. I felt a twinge of misgiving—was this going to make things better or worse? Maybe it was a bad idea…

  I pushed the thought away. We had to do something.

  Violet scrawled some words on a piece of paper and folded it over several times. “I don’t have an envelope,” she said. “Think you can put it in the mailbox without Jade noticing?”

  “I guess so,” I said, taking the note from her. “I’ll go ask her for swimming money. Here, Saffy—found your goggles.”

  Saffron took them from me and put them on, pulling them straight down over her head so that her bangs were caught under the seal. “My hair’s stuck in them,” she said.

  “Yeah, maybe you could just wait until we get there,” I said.

  Saffron stuck out her bottom lip and tugged her hair free. “Ow, ow, ow. No, Wolf. This way I’m all ready.”

  I had a vision of her wearing her goggles on the Greyhound all the way to Nelson. “Whatever,” I said. “Tell Whisper to come on out of the tent, okay?”

  “She doesn’t want to.”

  “What? I thought she wanted to go swimming.”

  Saffron shrugged.

  “We can’t go without her,” I said.

  “Why not?” She looked at me, frowning.

  I couldn’t answer that. “Look, just go talk to her, okay? Remind her how much she likes swimming. And tell her I’ll buy you both an ice cream.”

  Saffron scooted back inside the tent, and I walked over to Mom, the folded paper tight inside my fist. She was sitting cross-legged on the steps, hunched over the laptop. The mailbox was right behind her, on the wall beside Anna’s front door.

  “Mom?” I sat down on the step beside her. “Um, we’re ready to go swimming.”

  “Good.” She smiled at me. The sun was on her face, and I could see the scattering of freckles on her nose and cheeks. “Sorry it’s been so crazy today. I’m glad you’re taking the twins for a swim—it’ll do them good.”

  I nodded, feeling guilty. “Yeah. I’ll need some money though.”

  She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a twenty. “Have fun, love.”

  “We will.”

  “Wolf?” Mom grabbed my hand as I reached out to take the money. “Thanks for all your help with the little ones. I don’t know how I’d manage without you.”

  I wished she’d stop being so nice. Maybe we shouldn’t leave after all. “Mom? Can I just talk to you for a minute?” I lowered my voice. “About Whisper?”

  We both turned and looked at the tent. Whisper and Saffron were still inside.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  I got to my feet. “Just…I’m kind of worried about her.”

  She frowned. “Not this again, Wolf.”

  “She hasn’t said anything for three days,” I said. “Not since we left. Not one word.”

  “She’s always been like that,” Mom said. “It’s just who she is. Quiet. She’s a thinker, not a talker.”

  “Yeah. But she’s not happy. She worries about stuff a lot. And all this stuff—the bees and everything—I think it scares her.”

  “How do you know?” she challenged. “I thought you just said she wasn’t talking.”

  “I just know,” I said.

  “Well, if she is scared, isn’t that reasonable?” Mom asked. “I think that’s a normal response when our whole future is threatened.”

  “Yeah, but…”

  Mom kept going. “Fear is more healthy than the denial of the politicians and corporations and the general public. That’s what the real problem is. If people were a little more scared, maybe they’d actually be willing to make some sacrifices.”

  “She’s just a little kid,” I said. “I thought, since we’re stuck here anyway, maybe we could take her to a doctor or something.”

  “And make her think that something is wrong with her? How exactly would that help?”

  I shrugged. I didn’t really see how a doctor could help either. “I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t think this is helping though. Making her dress up and everything.”

  “Saffron had a great time.” She pulled her long hair forward over one shoulder and started weaving it into a thick braid. “She loved talk
ing to all the students. And she feels like she’s doing something. She’s contributing, being part of the solution. That’s what Whisper needs.”

  I stepped behind her, onto the porch, keeping my eyes on the back of her head to make sure she wasn’t looking as I dropped the note into the mailbox.

  “Whisper’s not like Saffron,” I said.

  “It’s what we all need,” Mom said firmly. “Don’t you feel more hopeful about the future, knowing that we’re taking action?”

  I didn’t. Not really. The future was going to happen regardless of what I did, and even though I knew all the bad stuff about the climate and the bees and whatever else, all of that seemed a long way off. Whisper’s tantrums and the stinky van and the awful bee costume…that was all right here, right now, and nothing about it made me feel good. “If I was at school, I could be learning more science and stuff,” I said, remembering what Duncan had told me about Harvard and the robotic bees. “And then maybe I could help in other ways. When I’m older.”

  “Maybe,” Mom said, turning to look at me. “And maybe we don’t have that kind of time.”

  I stared at her for a moment. She was shaking her head slowly, and her lips were a thin, straight line. I looked away. She wouldn’t listen. Not ever. “Yeah,” I said. “I know.”

  I didn’t really want to run away. I just couldn’t see what choice we had.

  Twenty-Three

  VIOLET, TY, THE twins and I walked down the street, carrying bags that were stuffed with a lot more than swimsuits and towels. Saffron was still wearing her goggles, and Violet had her phone in her hand, trying to find an unsecured Wi-Fi network to connect with.

  “I hate this stupid phone plan,” she said.

  “At least you have a phone,” Ty said. “Mine totally died yesterday.”

  “So charge it at the bus station,” I said.

  He shook his head. “No, dude, it’s dead dead. It was, like, fully charged and then it just went black. It won’t even turn on.”

  Violet was still waving her phone around in search of stray Wi-Fi signals. “I mean, sure, unlimited texting is great, but no data? Who has no data?”