Bee Happy

by Marcia C Brandt

  Brent knew that he wasn’t going to be writing his story about Jim. He felt that fate was on his side, he was ready to propose to Calli and buy the newspaper and live here forever in Evergreen. He headed to the bank to make sure the money from the sale of his stock had been deposited. Then he’d go to the newspaper office and buy the paper. Whistling as he approached the bank, he saw Jim’s van parked in front. That’s strange; he said he was going to work in the orchard today. He must have changed his mind. As Brent was about to enter the bank, Jim came out whistling. “Hey, fancy meeting you here. What are you doing? I thought you were going to work in the orchard today?” “Oh, I’m going back soon. Are you going to buy the newspaper this morning?” Brent grinned, “As soon as I make sure I have the cash to do it.” Jim knew that this was the perfect time to talk to his friend. He didn’t want to wait until tonight. “…ah, could you meet me at the coffee shop after you’re through? I have something to tell you. I finally got to talk to the guy from Germany.” Brent agreed, “Sure, this won’t take long.”

  Jim ordered breakfast; he’d been in such a hurry he’d forgotten to eat. He was finishing up his stack of pancakes when Brent arrived. “I’m all set to buy the newspaper. Will this take long? I’m anxious and want to make sure no one else beats me to this!” Jim took a sip of coffee trying to prolong his speech as long as he could. “I have something to tell you and it’s not the easiest thing I’ve ever had to do. In fact it’s probably one of the hardest things. Brent, you’ve become a good friend in such a short time and I want you to know how much I value our friendship. I would never do anything that would upset you and I hope that what I’m about to tell you won’t.” Brent was puzzled, what in the world could he say that would damage their friendship? In the back of his mind, he scrambled to figure out how to tell Jim about Calli and him. “I know that I told you at the first that Calli was my girl and that you should stay away.” Oh, no, here it comes he’s going to tell me to back off, how would he know about us? Brent started sweating even though the air conditioning was working. “I like Calli a lot. She’s a really good friend and we’ve had some great dates. But here’s what’s happened in the past few weeks, I’ve gotten to know Sally better and better, and well….” This was going to be the hard part, “I’m in love with Sally and not Calli.” There he’d said it. Now it was public knowledge. Brent exhaled, he wasn’t even aware that he’d been holding his breath. “Wow! That’s awesome man. I mean ….” Now it was Brent’s turn not to know how to tell Jim. “I’m happy for you. And I have something to tell you that’s just as important. This is going to sound like a repeat. I know that you were dating Calli and I also know that she liked you a lot. But here’s what happened, I … we….um…I’m in love with Calli and she’s in love with me.” The two guys just looked at each other in amazement. This was the most unusual experience for both of them. “You mean that you and Calli…..” Jim was dumbfounded; he had been so focused on Sally that he hadn’t noticed that Calli was into Brent. Both of them stood up, slapped each other on the back and had a few laughs. “Sally and I made a plan and figured out a way to tell you two tonight, but that’s not necessary now.” Brent saw the opportunity to have some fun. “What if we play along and then string the girls along for awhile, making it uncomfortable for them as it was for us?” Jim thought about it for all of two seconds, “Naw, I don’t think that’s a good plan. We might be in deep trouble with our women. Let’s just tell them and then we all can live happily ever after.”

  Jim showed Brent the papers from the project in Germany. They discussed all the possibilities and the opportunity that Jim had. “What are you going to do with your farm? And the apple orchard?” Jim scratched his head, “I’m not sure. Any great ideas? I’m open.” Brent shook his head. “I’ll think about it. Great minds can always come up with a plan.”

  Brent left the coffee shop feeling like he’d just won the lottery. He headed for the newspaper office planning to become the editor in chief as soon as possible. Maybe he could convince the owner to stick around for a few weeks and show him the ropes. This was a great day to be alive and an even better day to be in Evergreen. He could hardly wait until tonight when the four of them got together in the park. It was going to be quite the evening. He wasn’t going to tell Calli a thing, at least he’d have that much fun and hopefully it wouldn’t get him in too much trouble.

  The moon made the park seem like daylight. Calli arrived first and hoped that this evening would end with everyone remaining friends. She’d fretted about it all day, there wasn’t a weed in her entire garden and her back ached with all the hoeing she’d done. Sally pulled up in her car. Parked and saw her friend, she prayed that they’d still be friends after tonight. Getting out of her car, she walked up to Calli and gave her a hug. “Can we talk before the guys get here?” Sally wasn’t going to wait any longer she had to get this off her chest. “Sure. What’s up?” Taking a deep breath, Sally began, “I know that you and Jim have been dating for awhile and I also know that I told you about my vision of the two of you getting married and being happy. Plus you had that dream of you walking down the aisle with Jim at the front of the church. I was the one who convinced you to at least attempt to get to know him. And from what I can tell you two like each other a lot.” Calli was getting very uncomfortable, she didn’t know where this was going and she hoped that her friend would understand. “….and then Brent appeared with all the reporter stuff and I think Jim got jealous for some reason and began to pay attention to me. I didn’t plan this and I didn’t even want to see the vision I was getting about my future. I couldn’t tell you before but I have to tell you now. My vision has been showing me and Jim being together and the two of us are living the ‘happy ever after dream’.” At least Calli wasn’t crying or getting ready to hit her or … wait a minute, she didn’t even look mad, she was actually smiling and almost laughing. Calli stood up and grabbed Sally in a bear hug. “Oh, my God! You aren’t going to believe me, but maybe you will with all your psychic abilities. Brent and I are in love. We want to get married and live our very own ‘happy ever after dream’. And you’re telling me that you and Jim are there too!” They laughed and cried and then laughed again. Each one of them couldn’t believe what was happening. “So, are we going to tell the guys or let them suffer a little?” Calli was being the instigator of this idea. “Nope, I’m ready for all of this to be in the open and ready to start planning our wedding. I haven’t even told you the best news yet. Jim talked to the guy in Germany and he is being offered a position on a research project to create communication and contact with other worlds.”

  When the guys arrived they saw their women laughing and hugging and from a distance it seemed that everything was okay. Jim grabbed Sally and turned to see Brent grab Calli. The four of them stood and looked at each other, wondering how the universe had arranged this meeting and how lucky they were to have found love and their best friends all in the same package. There was no need for the ‘plan’ to be carried out, they all agreed to go to the Dairy Barn and celebrate with their favorite sundaes. The girls linked arms and began discussing their weddings. The guys rolled their eyes and stuck out their tongues. Ick. That was girl talk.

  The next month evaporated before them. Brent bought the paper, Jim made plans to move to Germany and the girls planned the wedding. On the second Saturday in September the church was filled with friends and relatives from across the country. Calli was dressed in the most beautiful white wedding dress, and she had her best friend right beside her. When she took her father’s arm for him to walk her down the aisle she looked to the front of the church and there standing beside the minister was Jim, just like in her dream and right beside him was Brent. Sally laughed as she took her father’s arm; and they followed Calli down the aisle. The laugh was on all of them, the double wedding was the most beautiful the county had ever seen.

  EpilogueFive Years Later

  Calli was driving their bright pink golf cart to the orchard to see B
rent. She had their two children strapped into their special seats. Whenever Emily, who was almost two, rode in the cart she called it ‘bumpy’. Kyle, their fair haired four year old, thought he was big enough not to be strapped in, but Mom knew better. Brent was working in the orchard planting more dwarf trees. They were expanding the varieties they had; he was excited to be adding peaches and cherries to the established apple trees. Brent loved the fact that when the bees pollinated the blossoms, he knew that they were coming from Calli and Roger’s hives. That seemed like a perfect circle of life, the work that they did with the bees benefited everyone in the surrounding community.

  Calli was bringing Brent lunch; she had iced tea in a quart jar for him, sandwiches, and special cookies that the kids had helped decorate. They were going to have a picnic together under the shade of the apple trees. Calli also wanted to check on the nettles she had planted behind the orchard. She purposely had them as far away from the road as she could, not wanting the county to spray her crop of herbs. Most people avoided the stinging nettles, afraid of being ‘stung’ and itching for days. But she had learned how to work with the herb and harvested it safely without getting stung. Nettles infusions were one of her favorite herbal remedies. Her monthly meetings at Gwen’s shop had given her a community of like minded people and the best herbal education you could want. Calli was now the proud owner of ‘Natural Herbals’, her very own business. She was specializing in herbal preparations for children. Emily and Kyle would never have to use commercially prepared remedies. Her sunscreen was all natural and so was her bug spray. There were several other potions she was developing, this fulfilled her love of nature and inspired her creativity. Their home library had shelves of herbal books, some very old and out of print and some just newly published.

  “Dada, out.” Emily was ready to be released from her seat. She was very clear in her communication, even though most of the time it was only one word. Kyle on the other hand talked a mile a minute and asked thousands of questions every day. Calli decided she was an encyclopedia with two legs, and two arms, but sometimes she needed at least four hands to manage everything. Brent pulled Emily out of the seat and tossed her in the air, squealing she said ‘more’. Calli spread out the checkered table cloth that had been her grandmother’s, they used it on special occasions, not wanting to ruin it or destroy the happy memories that it contained. With everything ready for lunch, Brent put Emily back in her seat and strapped her in so she would eat instead of roam the orchard. She was okay with the arrangement as long as there was food on her tray.

  “Have you talked to Sally today? I know that she is getting anxious for our visit.” Calli put more food on Emily’s tray. “No, I was too busy getting lunch ready for us and making sure Emily didn’t climb up on the table. She’s full of energy and wants to be included in everything. I will Skype her this afternoon while Emily’s taking her nap. Thank God, she still takes one. I’ll get Kyle to watch a movie and hopefully I can have a little time to catch up with them.”

  Jim and Sally had moved to Germany right after the double wedding five years ago. Jim was now head of the project there and Sally had loved traveling with him all over Europe. They spoke at conferences about the communication with life on other planets, Sally adding the spiritual pieces to the puzzle. Living in Germany had been perfect for them. They loved learning about the other cultures in Europe and traveling to all the places that they’d only read about in books. Jim had won several awards for his research and was a prominent scientist once again. Sally knew that the ten years that he’d spent in Evergreen as a gardener had given him the right balance between the earth and the stars. They traveled back to Evergreen to visit once a year, being the Godparents of Emily and Kyle was the perfect excuse for them. Now, they were going to stay put for awhile. Sally was six months pregnant with their first child. It was Brent and Calli’s turn to visit them in Germany. Hopefully their scheduled visit in a few months would be after Sally’s baby was born. Jim was hoping to have a little girl who looked just like her mother. Being the scientist, he knew that the chances of that were 50/50.

  Jim loved visiting his farm and seeing all the changes that Brent and Calli had made. His biggest concern had been who to sell his farm to. He had spent ten years rebuilding the house and barn. The apple orchard that had been neglected for so long was now producing bumper crops. Roger had been the one to suggest to Brent that they purchase Jim’s farm. Calli had been concerned about leaving Roger alone. They had spent most evenings together reading books, watching movies or playing checkers. Roger was still bragging about being the checkers king, the tally was Roger 584 wins to Calli’s 248. Unbeknownst to Calli, Roger had a plan in place that wouldn’t leave him alone at all. He and Margaret had been dating for a number of years, enjoying each other’s company and when Brent and Calli returned from their honeymoon, they were married at the court house with the two of them as the witnesses. The entire neighborhood helped move Margaret’s possessions into Roger’s home.

  “Delicious. Did you help Mom decorate the cookies?” Brent knew that the overload of sprinkles on top of the sugar cookies had to be Kyle’s contribution. “I helped Mommy do everything. I’m a big boy now.” Brent was so proud of his family and so in love with his wife. Even though he never wrote the story about Jim, he knew that coming to Evergreen had been the best decision of his life. Now he was the owner, editor, copywriter, accountant and publisher of the Good Newspaper of Evergreen. The community loved his paper, especially because he only printed the ‘good news’. There were columns written by the local residents that shared the wisdom and humor of living in a small town. Calli wrote a weekly herbal column and Roger added information about bees and honey. Margaret’s contribution was her amazing family recipes from her great grandmother’s collection. No one could get Mildred to share her kolache recipe, no matter how much they tried. There wasn’t a prize big enough for her to reveal the secret.

  That evening was the peak of the August meteor shower. The display of shooting stars were brilliant in the clear night sky. Roger and Margaret were sitting on the front porch, watching the stars, Roger continuing his stories about the constellations and their meanings. “Look, there’s another one, make a wish!” Margaret closed her eyes and wished, “What did you wish?” Roger wanted to know. “I’m not telling; if I do it won’t come true.” Roger leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You are my wish come true. I don’t need any more than that.”

  Only five miles away, on the front porch of their farm, Calli and Brent relaxed after giving the kids baths and putting them to bed. Watching the shooting stars Calli remembered the nights her grandfather had told her all about the constellations. “There goes another one. Make a wish!” Brent never got tired of watching the sky, there were so many stars here, millions more than he saw when he lived in the city. “I already have my wish. I don’t need any more. You are my wish come true and I’m living my happily ever after dream. I love you.” Brent leaned over and kissed her, “Let’s go upstairs and make my next wish come true.”

  Several hours earlier, under the clear night sky in Germany, Jim and Sally had been watching the same meteor shower. “I love watching the sky and shooting stars, even though I know that they are meteors.” Jim was being his scientific self. Sally leaned over and nudged him, “What if I told you that those supposed shooting stars were really angels flying in formation in the night sky?” Jim smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek, “I am a man of science believing only what I can see with sophisticated instruments.” Laughing at his own declaration he continued, “Honey, I am blessed to have you as my wife, for you have given me what was missing in my world. I now am a spiritual scientific man who knows the deeper meaning of life, and from you I have discovered the answer to all my questions.” Sally paused and teased him, “…and what might that be?” Jim replied with a twinkle in his eyes, “When you make a wish on a shooting star-angel your dreams come true.” They cuddled closer together, watching the night sky.
The brilliant display of stars twinkled in agreement.

  Review the Book OnlineI hope that you enjoyed reading ‘Bee Happy -- The Adventures of the Wayward Gardener. If you have a moment, I’d appreciate if you’d take a minute to leave a review on Amazon.

  Thanks, Marcia.

  If you’d like to read more of my books and for more information about my newest books and future books, please visit http://marciabrandt.com/books-by-marcia/ and sign up for my mailing list. Thanks again!

  Marcia C. Brandt lives in the country and enjoys walking to get inspirations for her books. Her hobbies include playing the piano, writing and reading, gardening and making jelly and herbal remedies. You can visit her website for more information about her other interests and classes that she offers. www.marciabrandt.com

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