The Bee Charmer

by Jamallah Bergman

  “When do you want to go?” veronica asked.

  “How about Friday, I can get some cleaning supplies and we can go up that way.”

  “Sounds like a plan sis, we can leave in the morning, and I’ll come and pick you up.”

  “Great and that give me time to call around some more to people as well as find some boxes and tape. Check you later sis, love ya.” Once she hung up, Pamelia felt calm and relaxed as if a huge weight was finally lifted from her body and her mind.

  Maybe this was the direction she needed to go.

  ~* * * *~

  For the next month, Pamelia embarked on what she felt would be a ‘change for a new life’. Her sister helped with cleaning up the house, which was extremely dusty. She decided to get the hardwood floors waxed which brought about a new look to the house. Even though at first, she wasn’t going to change a thing in the house, she decided that since this was her home now, that she would paint the rooms. When she was living in her apartment, she wasn’t allowed to paint the walls and if she did, she’d have to pay for someone to repaint them back to their original color. Now, she had the freedom to do what she wanted, so she painted them with beautiful calming pale colors of green, blue, pink and lavender for her room.

  Then she realized once she got the walls painted that she needed new furniture. She ended up getting a new living room and then a dining room set as well as a new bedroom set with a beautiful dark mahogany sleigh bed that she got from an antique store in town. She even went and got two rocking chairs for outside on the porch, along with a wooden table and benches for the back yard. One of the guys who’d worked on her yard also made things with wood from chairs, tables, even beds and when she saw one of his tables, she had to get them to make everything complete for her new home.

  Once her clothes were brought over, along with her stuff for the kitchen, Pamelia had the men go with Veronica to the storage unit and when they came back, they brought in two taped up boxes and sat them down in the living room. It wasn’t until after they were paid and they were gone when Pamelia and Veronica opened up the boxes.

  “Oh, my God,” Pamelia gasped as she took out Aunt Marlene’s patchwork quilt.

  It looked just the same as it did the last time she saw it. She put it up to her nose, inhaling the faint scent of her Aunt’s rose petal perfume that she wore every day. Pamelia felt herself tearing up when she put it down beside her on the couch and continued exploring the box. She found some of the figurines that she would have around her house, the ones that she always would ask her about.

  “Where are you going to put them?” Chris asked.

  “I’ll put some of them around the living room here,” Then she grabbed the one that meant the most to her, a beautiful figurine of a black ballerina doing a pirouette. Her arms outstretched high above her head, a lovely smile spread sweetly along her face. “This one here will go on my dresser.” She got up, walked to her bedroom and put it down in the middle of her dresser, right in front of her mirror.

  When she walked back into the living room, Pamelia watched as Chris pulled a very familiar big brown leather bound book from the box.

  “Will you look at that,” Veronica took the book from Chris’ hands. “It’s the family bible.”

  “I thought this was long gone.”

  “Family bible,” Chris was clueless to what they were talking about.

  Pamelia smiled and said, “In our family, we would record the family births, deaths and marriages in this bible.”

  The two sisters sat down on the couch as Veronica opened the pages, which were slowly going brown along the edges and the pages showed the dates and names. But they were still there, all their family members, starting with their third times great grandparents Ethel and Marion. “Here they are, Ethel and Marion.” They turned the next page as she was looking for her name and found it along with Veronica. “Look, there we are and there’s yours and Chris’ marriage recorded right here. There’s dad and mom, their marriage and the day they both died.” Then as she went down further along the page, she saw Aunt Marlene’s name. “Do you have a pen?” Pamelia asked her sister.

  “I think so, let me check my purse.” Veronica got up to go into the kitchen.

  “What are you going to do?” Chris asked.

  “Going to put down the day Marlene passed away, yeah here is the day she was born.”

  Veronica came back over with a pen.

  Pamelia scribbled down the date of her passing, which made everything complete within the bible. “I think I’ll put this in the bookcase, so that way I will know where it is.”

  “Well, I’m going to put all these boxes out back,” Chris said as he gathered them all and made his way through the kitchen.

  “Thanks so much for doing that you sweet man,” Veronica called out after him. “So, have you found yourself a job yet?”

  “Actually, I’ve been talking with a lady down at the Hewitt Honey Farm. They are in need of help. She hasn’t found anyone yet that will fit the bill for the job.”

  “Well, what’s the job?”

  “Working in the gift shop as well as helping out with some of the other things around the farm.”

  “What the heck are you going to be doing at some farm? You haven’t been on a farm since we were kids.”

  Pamelia laughed. “Yeah, I remember that, but this will be something different, and I would be out in the fresh air instead of a stuffy, musty cigar smelling office.”

  “True but a farm Pamelia, I mean really.”

  “I’m going over there in the morning, so we shall see what happens then.”

  “Well, I wish you all the best. Why don’t we head into town and grab something to eat?”

  “Sounds good to me,”

  Both women went to freshen up a bit, and then they all left to go into town.

  Chapter Six

  Bright and early the following morning, Pamelia put on her outfit. A pair of blue jeans, sneakers and a red plaid shirt short sleeved shirt with a white camisole underneath. She’d tried not to get too excited, because she didn’t know whether or not she would get the job. But the fact that she was starting something new in her life did excite her.

  While driving to the farm, she spotted a sign, ‘Hewitt Honey Farm and Athena’s Restaurant and Gift Shop Turn Right’ with an red arrow pointing the way and soon, she saw another even bigger sign that was over the entry way of the road, ‘Hewitt Honey Farm, established 1915.

  This had to be the longest dirt road she’d ever been on as the area was vast with open fields of wild flowers. Then she came across a large white building where a lot of trucks were but as she drove a bit past that building, she saw a yellow brick building that said Athena’s over the front of it. There were a few cars parked up front but she was able to find herself a spot next to an old Chevy Truck.

  Checking herself in the mirror, nothing seemed out of place as she fluffed up her hair a bit. Grabbing her purse, she got out. Even before she stepped inside, she could smell the wonderful food as the aroma filled her nose and reminded her of her grandma, mom, and Aunt Marlene cooking.

  A waitress at the counter smiled at her. “Hello ma’am, would you like to look over our menu?”

  “I’m here to see Mrs. Hewitt for an interview.”

  “Why yes, please wait right here and I’ll get her.” Then the young lady went behind the yellow hinge doors that flapped back and forth.

  Within minutes, a woman came through the doors along with the young girl. She wore a white apron that she was taking off from around her slim waist. Her forehead was dusted lightly with flour and sweat. It looked like she’d probably been in the kitchen all day as her cheeks were a bit flushed. Quickly, she wiped her hands along with her face and smiled at her. “You must be Ms. Stewart, would you like something to drink dear?”

  “Thank you, sweet tea if you have some?”

  “Sure thing, Tammy can you bring us two sweet teas over to the table?”

  “Yes, ma’am,�
�

  “Please come on over and we can sit down.” They both walked over to a table that was in front of one of the windows. “Now, I want to tell you about what goes on here on the farm. Basically, as you might already know, we make honey and we also ship it out to those who want it.”

  The waitress came over with the two glasses of tea and left them once again.

  “Here in my restaurant, we use the honey in making some of my desserts as well as in some of the dishes too. My daughter in law Lily has a shop next door where she makes soaps, lotions, body scrubs, scented candles and other things with beeswax and honey. She is in need of the most help because the girl who was helping her moved away. I haven’t been able to find anyone yet to fill the spot.”

  “Well, Mrs. Hewitt, I am a hard worker even though I have to say that I haven’t done anything like this before. I worked mainly in offices as a secretary or someone who just answered the phones at the front desk. I decided to move back here to Oak Glen because my Aunt left me her house when she passed. I think she kind of knew I needed a change from the life I was living, so I decided to make that change. But as I said, I’m a very hard worker and a quick learner.”

  “You said your Aunt passed away?”

  “Yes, ma’am,”

  She looked at her for a moment then smiled. “Don’t tell me that you are Marlene’s niece?”

  “Yes ma’am, I am.”

  “Your Aunt used to come here every Wednesday for the blue plate special and sometimes, with the ladies from the church on Sunday. She had such a free spirit. Come, I’ll show you around the farm and I’ll introduce you to the family.” They both got up as the two women walked to the kitchen as she introduced her to the cooks while making their way out the back where a golf cart waited for them. “Now, put on your seat belt and hold on tight, I’ve been told I am a bit of a lead foot with this thing.” With the turn of the key, the two ladies were off and about up the dirt road.

  “Okay, over here is where we make and package our honey for distribution, my husband and sons work in there as well as helping with gathering the honey from the hives.”

  “Oh really, have you ever went into the hives?”

  “Why yes, several times I’ve done it before. At first, I was very scared but after the first few times I did it, I was able to get the hang of it. Would you like to try it?”

  Pamelia nervously giggled, “Um, I’ll think about that.”

  Pulling up to the building, the two ladies got out, headed to the door as Mrs. Hewitt opened it.

  All Pamelia could hear was machinery whirling and humming around her as several people were manning them. They walked up some stairs along the catwalk where she could really get a good look at everything. “Here is the office where my son Jeremy works at and it seems he’s not here. Let’s go and see if hubby is around.” When they went over to the office next door, Pamelia saw an older gentleman sitting at his desk.

  He was big in stature, wide shoulders and chest with short grey hair.

  When she walked inside, she noticed that he had very beautiful blue eyes that looked warm and happy.

  “Why, hello sweetheart, who do we have here?” He got up from his desk.

  Pamelia saw that he was not only big in stature but tall as well.

  “Weston dear, this is the new girl that I’m hiring for the farm. Do you remember Marlene that use to come to the restaurant all the time? Well, this is her niece, Pamelia.”

  Pamelia felt shocked by what she heard Mrs. Hewitt state. Did she say that she was hired?

  He came over to shake her hand and then smiled, “I can see the resemblance for sure. Well, it’s really great to have you as part of the Hewitt Family Pamelia, now Jeremy is the one you need to talk with as far as paperwork and all. I think he’s at the hives as always.”

  Pamelia looked over at Athena.

  She rolled her eyes. “Come on.”

  When they got to back to the golf cart Pamelia could hear Athena chuckle while turning on the cart. “I call my son the Bee Charmer. When Jeremy was young, he loved going with his dad to gather honey. We couldn’t keep him from going to the hives, playing in the fields and messing with the bees. One day, we found him without the protective bee clothing that we normally wear, so that we wouldn’t get stung and he was just a smiling and happy while the bees were buzzing and crawling all over him. I got scared because of course being a Mom, I thought he would get stung. But when we checked him over, he wasn’t stung at all, not one single sting on his body. Now, he doesn’t have to wear the protective clothing like the rest of us, he just walks around like nothing is going on.”

  “That’s insane. But I do have to ask you Mrs. Hewitt, did you say that I was hired?”

  “Yes, I did my dear. I’m going to hire you for the job. I can tell that you will do just fine here on the farm. I can see Marlene’s spitfire in those eyes of yours.”

  Pamelia couldn’t help but blush from her comment. It’d been a long time since anyone made that particular remark to her. She would hear from time to time how folks always thought that she was her Aunt Marlene’s child, instead of her mother’s because both were one in the same. From the way they both went off on someone who made them mad or when she was up to no good, how she would have that same mischievous twinkle in her eye. Yeah, she was indeed her Aunt’s favorite.

  ~* * * *~

  “Easy now, that’s it,” Jeremy told Ralph who was carefully taking out one of the wooden frames. He used the smoker to calm the bees down a bit, even though for him he didn’t need it but since Ralph was here, it needed to been used.

  “Looks pretty good huh, Jeremy,”

  He looked on either side of the frame which was capped with beeswax and filled with golden honey. “You’ve done really well, now all you have to do is just get the others out and replace them with the other frames. Then we can take them to get extracted.” He could hear someone coming up the road and saw the golf cart in view. “Continue on,” Jeremy slowly made his way from the hives as this seemed to let the bees get off of him quicker. When the cart stopped, he saw his mom along with someone he’d never seen before as they walked from the other side.

  The woman’s hair was a halo of dark brown curls that once the sun hit them, casted off a lighter hue. Those jeans that she wore hugged her hips perfectly, he thought while watching her sashay her way towards him. Who the hell was she he wondered?

  “Hey son, I see you’re playing in the bees again?”

  Jeremy chuckled. “I don’t have any on me do I?” He turned around for her to check.

  “No, you’re fine. I wanted you to meet our newest employee, Pamelia Stewart, Pamelia this is my son Jeremy.”

  “Nice to meet you Mr. Hewitt,”

  “You can call me Jeremy, here on the farm we all are on a first name basis.” He smiled noticing her hazel eyes were shining brightly up at him. She had a smile that was just as sweet as her voice. When he grabbed hold of her hand, it felt soft yet her grip showed a bit of strength. “Well, why don’t we head on back to the office and we can get started with all of that dreaded paperwork.”

  Athena dropped them both off at the office and they went inside. “So, where are you from?”

  “Meriwether,”

  “Oh, that’s not too far, I think about two hours from here.” They went into an office where a lone table and some chairs stood. “Wait right here and I’ll bring you the paperwork.” He walked out of the room when he saw his brother and Lily walking along the catwalk.

  “Hey, there,” his brother called out.

  “Hey, did you get everything straightened out with Norman?”

  “Yeah, he’ll have the part we need on Wednesday. What are you getting?”

  “Paperwork for our new hire,”

  “Oh, it’s the girl that your mom was talking about,” Lily interjected.

  Jeremy went into the file cabinet to find the proper paperwork that she needed to fill out. “Come and I’ll introduce you to her.” They all made
their way back.

  She sat in the chair waiting for him and seemed to sit up in her chair when she saw Tyler and Lily walk in with him.

  “Pamelia, I’d like for you to meet my brother Tyler and his wife Lily who works in the gift shop.”

  “It’s really nice to meet you both.” She stood up.

  Tyler’s mouth was agape when he went to shake her hand.

  Lily was the one who got him to shut his mouth when she jabbed him in the side and shook the young lady’s hand as well. “It’s wonderful to meet you Pamelia, when you get done with everything, come down to the gift shop and I can show you what all we do there.”

  “I sure will and thanks so much.”

  Jeremy sat down in front of her and began to open up the folder but looked over to still see his brother and sister in law watching. “Was there anything else that you needed or wanted to say?”

  Snapping back into reality, Tyler replied, “Oh, um—no. I’ll check you later bro. Nice to meet you Pamelia.”

  “Same to you both,” She nodded her head.

  Jeremy felt amused as Lily pulled his brother out of the office.

  Pamelia smiled at their antics. “Does your brother always act like that?”

  He chuckled. “Only when he sees a pretty face,”

  The compliment hit home as an uncontrollable blush slowly spread along her face while she cleared her throat.

  “Now, let’s get started with this paperwork.”

  ~* * * *~

  So handsome, Pamelia thought. When she first saw him outside his hair shone with a brilliant golden hue along with those beautiful blue eyes like his mother’s. Even his brother wasn’t that bad of a looker either, but instead of the blonde hair and blue eyes like his younger brother had, his hair was dark brown and his eyes were hazel like her own. She didn’t know what it was about his eyes that seemed to keep her riveted, but his really drew her in. Her concentration was supposed to have been on the paperwork she was filling out. She knew she needed to complete them but once she looked at it real good, she realized she’d put her address down twice. Once she fixed that mistake, Pamelia focused entirely on the paperwork.