The Bee Charmer

by Jamallah Bergman

  “I need your driver’s license as well as your social security card, so I can make photo copies.”

  She handed them over.

  He walked across the hall to another room where a copy machine was. The humming of the machine could be heard as she peered over to see him standing there with his arms folded against his chest. Then, he opened up the lid and came back over with the paper and her cards. “So, how do you like living here so far?” He put down the cards in front of her as he sat back down to look over her paperwork.

  “So far so good, my neighbors have been very nice and friendly to me and I’m enjoying my new home. It’s the first time I’ve actually had the chance to own a home. The place I used to live at was small, my neighbors on one side were two college guys who had parties every other weekend and the other side was an elderly man who would call the cops on me because he thought I was the one who was having the parties every other weekend.”

  He chuckled and shook his head.

  Pamelia smiled, flipped over the paper to put her signature down at the bottom. “But I like it here, it’s a new beginning for me and I plan on enjoying every minute of it. I think I’m done with this.”

  Jeremy looked the paper over, while a hint of a smile crept along his lips. “So, we’ll have a name tag ready for you tomorrow when you come in, which will be nine in the morning. I’ll have your schedule done up and ready for you by then as well. Lily will have both of those things for you at the gift shop.”

  “Well, I thank you and your mom for giving me this job.” She grabbed her purse and went to shake his hand.

  He took it, holding it gently within those long fingers of his.

  Pamelia gazed into his eyes, she felt herself wanting to gush and talk to him some more, but to prevent further embarrassment, she decided to cut this short.

  “You’re welcome and I hope you enjoy working with us. Let me take you back to the restaurant then.”

  “Well, it’s not that far from here really, I think the walk would do me some good anyway.”

  They got up, making their way down the stairs and towards the door. “At least let me walk you back then?”

  “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

  “No, I insist on making sure you get back to your car.”

  Pamelia couldn’t help but shake her head and giggle when she opened the door. The air smelled of warm honey, a scent that would be a lasting reminder of where she would be working from now on.

  Chapter Seven

  “This one is almost full, can you hand me another bottle?” Lily asked as she stopped to cap off the bottle of milk and honey lotion.

  “Here you go.” Pamelia handed her five more bottles, then she grabbed the ones she’d filled up and began to wipe them down with a dry cloth, so she could put on the labels on.

  Pamelia had been working her for almost six months and she was doing a wonderful job. Lilly felt grateful that Athena had hired her. “So, what are your plans for tonight?” Lily asked her.

  “I’ll probably end up doing the same thing I always do every weekend, stay at home, watch television and order something in or fix myself something to eat.”

  “Why don’t you come with me and Tyler to this art exhibit going on in town tonight? My friend Stacy is presenting some of her artwork there. She’s serving champagne, food and she even told me that she got some musical entertainment as well.”

  “Sounds like it will be a nice time but I’d hate to be a third wheel, going with you and Tyler like that.”

  “Well, invite someone,”

  “I don’t know of anyone I could invite,” Pamelia replied, putting another label on the bottle.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll figure out someone to go with us. Now, go on and put these up in the store while I finish off the rest.” Lily watched her as she took the bottles out of the work area. She knew exactly whom she could get to come. Ever since Pamelia started to work here, it seemed that more people came to the shop and business had been booming even more than it was before. Everyone in town wanted to get a gander at ‘new girl’ in town. She brought a bit of sparkle into the place which seemed to be noticed by some of the Hewitt men, one in particular was her brother in law, Jeremy.

  Lily thought it was cute how he would come in every day after he had his lunch to ask her the same two questions, ‘How are you today?’ and ‘Are you getting along with everything’ but of course, he would mix it up but often, it was always those two questions. He would often end up bumping into things, like when he almost knocked down the display of Honey Bee essential oils. Thank goodness he didn’t, because that would have been the biggest mess around if he hadn’t watched where he’d been going. But it wasn’t just her who noticed but also Athena. She said to Lily one day, how it was cute because even though he would eat at the restaurant from time to time, Jeremy was now coming every single day and then he would head to the gift shop.

  Athena would call her up after the shop closed for the day and ask her the same question every time, “Why hasn’t he asked her out yet?” It was completely unlike Jeremy to not ask a girl out on a date, especially one who he obviously had a thing for.

  So Lily felt excited when Stacy decided to invite her to her art exhibit, it was the right ‘seed’ that needed to be planted to make this relationship bloom.

  When she walked into the shop, Lily saw Pamelia talking with a customer while putting up the lotions.

  That was when Jeremy came in.

  It was like watching déjà vu every single time Lily saw him.

  He would walk in, look around for her and when he did see her, he would pretend to be looking over some of the items, items in which he’d seen over and over again for years. He would take his time, and peer over to see what she would be doing. This would last for several minutes, depending on whether Pamelia was busy or not. Then he would either strike up a conversation with her or he would leave the shop altogether. But since today was a very busy one, he continued to look around and then over at her.

  Lily walked over to him, shocking him for a moment when she said, “Hey there Jeremy, did you see something you liked?”

  “Oh, no I was just looking around is all,” His eyes never left Pamelia, as if he’d been contemplating his next move but never left the spot he was in.

  “Would you like some lip balm then?” Lily joked.

  “Huh, what did you say?”

  “Lip balm for your lips.”

  As if he hadn’t heard her, he continued to study Pamelia like a hawk in a tree watching its prey. After another minute or so, he started making his way towards the door but not before bumping into another display, this time some handcrafted soaps.

  This was when Pamelia glanced over at him while the customer continued talking with her. She smiled and waved and he did the same.

  The customer took her purchase and left.

  Then she walked into the back of the store.

  Lily watched him slowly follow her in. “Too cute!” She shook head and continued on with her work.

  ~* * * *~

  Jeremy couldn’t figure out what was happening to him.

  He never acted like this before in his entire life. It was like reliving the days when he was a little kid and he had a crush on that red headed girl in second grade who always wore those cute little pigtails. He would find himself following the poor girl all over the place like some lovesick puppy dog. And here he was now, doing the same thing to a woman who probably thought he was some crazy man who kept walking into the shop day after day, just to ask her how she was doing.

  Every time he watched her around the farm, at the shop, or when she was chatting away with his mom at the restaurant, every part of her personality shined. Her smile and eyes were what drew him in when he first saw her. Sure, she had a body that filled out every bit of clothing she wore from the simple floral print dress or those blue jeans and peasant top. But it was her beautiful smile that captivated him. It always made him feel warm, like he coul
dn’t continue on with his day if he didn’t at least make her smile.

  Then her eyes—he would often find himself thinking about when she looked at him, how he was unable to even get out any sort of verbal expression. Those hazel eyes of hers really did something to him that he hadn’t felt in years. Jeremy knew he looked like a complete idiot, coming in every day to the shop, just to say hello. But he really wanted to look at her. To see her smile, hear her voice, just to be in her presence was enough for him.

  Now here he was, following up behind her like she was the queen bee and he was one of her drones. He stood in the doorway and saw her trying to reach up to the top shelf for something in a box. He was thankful that he came when he did, because as she was reaching into it, it suddenly tipped over just a bit. “Wait a minute let me help you with that!” Jeremy ran over towards her to push the box back onto the shelf a bit before the contents spilled out on top of her.

  “Oh, thank you, I thought I could get it.”

  He picked up the box, which was a bit heavy, with both hands and placed it on the counter. When she opened the box, Jeremy saw that there were some glass Mason jars and lids, stuff that was used for the sugar scrubs that Lily made.

  “If you hadn’t been here, I probably would have had a bunch of glasses broken or got knocked upside the head with a jar or two. So, what are you up to today?”

  Jeremy found himself staring at her while she picked out some of the jars from the box. “I came to see you.”

  “To see me,”

  “Yes, I hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, of course not, actually it’s rather nice seeing you coming to say hello.”

  Jeremy smiled at the compliment, “Well, I’ve always been attracted to beautiful things as well as a beautiful woman.”

  She chuckled. “So, you think I’m beautiful huh?”

  “Don’t you think so?”

  “Of course I do, I just like it when someone else says it,” she joked.

  That’s when Jeremy moved in closer.

  Now, she gazed over at him with those beautiful eyes while they stood side by side.

  “I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in a very long time.”

  “I bet you say that to all the girls you run across.”

  “Not really, only the ones I show interest in.”

  “And I seem to be the one you’re interested in, huh?”

  “That you are ma’am, for quite some time you’ve peaked my interest.”

  “Do you say this to every woman employed by you?”

  He looked around. “We don’t normally have pretty girls working here. So, I have to say that you are the one and only woman who I can say for a fact is beautiful, next to my mom of course.”

  “Of course…” Pamelia giggled. “…You can’t forget about mom.”

  He found her laugh to be so cute. It was music to him. He then decided to go one step further as he cornered her against the work table and they stood eye to eye. When Jeremy gazed into those eyes, he thought she might be scared off by his sudden action, but she wasn’t. It seemed like she was waiting for him to make the next move. Jeremy ached for months now to make that move. He’d anticipated a moment like this, having her alone in a room but his dream was of them in a bed together. Jeremy moved closer to her, inhaling the scent of her hair which smelled of coconuts as he heard her breathing heighten a bit.

  “What if Lily comes in?” she asked

  “I doubt it,” Jeremy replied.

  “You never know because she might.”

  He really wasn’t paying any attention to her voice he was just enjoying how wonderful she felt against him. His cheek rubbed softly against hers, hearing her softly sigh against his ear. “Do you mind me being this close to you?”

  Pamelia put her hands on his chest. “We better stop Jeremy.”

  Then as quickly as he had her in his grasp, she pushed him away.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be, I should have stopped before you even started.”

  “Well, why didn’t you?”

  “It’s not every day that I have a handsome men getting me alone in a room, up against a table, especially when it’s someone I work for. Don’t get me wrong, it was very nice and I rather enjoyed it, and even though we have become friends while I’ve been here, I am still your employee, I work for you.”

  In a way, she was right Jeremy thought. He was her employee and the last thing that his family needed was a scandal or lawsuit for sexual harassment. “I’m sorry Pamelia. The last thing I want for you to feel is uncomfortable here working for us.”

  She took his hands in hers. “And you haven’t. Compared to the last job I had, I haven’t been so relaxed and carefree in all my life until I came to the farm here.”

  “Well, I’m glad that we are doing our part. I’ll let you get back to your work then.” He brought her hands up to his lips, still never taking his eyes from her gaze. He could tell when his lips touched her skin that it unnerved her as she bit into lower lip ever so slightly. When he put her hands back down, Jeremy gave her a playful wink and left her alone in the workroom.

  The afternoon air was a welcomed feeling while he walked out of the shop. Jeremy needed to awaken from his dreamlike state. He took in a heavy breath as he made his way to his office. He’d already come to the conclusion that he was infatuated with this woman, there was no ifs ands or buts about it…he had it bad for the hazel eyed black beauty. For the first time in Jeremy’s life, he realized that this beautiful distraction was messing him up at work. He had a hard time concentrating every waking moment. His mind was on her and her alone. Once he passed by his father’s office and made it to his own, he could hear his father’s footsteps coming from up the hallway.

  “Hey, son,”

  “Hey Dad, what’s going on?”

  “I needed those forms that you were supposed to give me two days ago.”

  Jeremy knew he’d fucked up big time, because he’d indeed completely forgot. Going into the file cabinet, he looked through the files and pulled out one of the folders with the necessary papers that he needed. “Here you go. I’m sorry about that.”

  “Is there something on your mind son? I’ve noticed how off you’ve been for a while.”

  “Let’s just say I have a lot on my mind right now. I hope to fix it soon.”

  “Alright then, I’ll check on you later. You might want to go and check on the hives.”

  He left Jeremy to once again, ponder his thoughts but of course, something else interrupted….the buzzing of his cell phone. Looking at it, he realized it was Lily calling him, “Hey Lily, what’s going on?”

  “Oh, nothing much, I wanted to ask you something but you were in such a daze and left out so quick, I didn’t get the chance.”

  “What is it?”

  “My friend is having an art exhibit at her studio tonight and she invited me and Tyler to it and told me to invite some more people. I asked Pamelia if she wanted to go and she said she did, but I know she didn’t want to be a third wheel with us. So, I thought I’d ask if you might go with us.”

  This was his chance, his chance to probably talk with her more. “Sure, what time is going to be?”

  “Just be ready by seven thirty and we’ll go and pick her up along the way into town. See you then.”

  Lily hung before he could actually say anything else, but he knew by her playful tone that she knew how he felt about Pamelia. Also…if she knew, his mother would of course…know all about it as well.

  Then Jeremy kept his mind on his work for once, dealing with calls from new clients, making sure the machines were operational. Then dealing with the hives and the bees for he felt at home amongst the hives and bees more than anything. He could sit down while listening to their harmonious music. Tyler thought he was crazy for calling it that, because all he heard was a bunch of buzzing going on. But his father knew exactly what he meant. He would tell him about how his granddad always thought that the so
und of bees were soothing. But even the calming of the bees didn’t help him today as he realized he would be going on a double date with the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid eyes on.

  It was around six when he got home which gave him plenty of time to figure out what he would wear. “What the hell do you wear to an exhibit anyways?” He searched through his closet, trying to figure it out. He took out a long sleeved black button down shirt from the rack as well as some black slacks. Maybe the all black would make him look more artsy. It was rare for him to dress up for anything, unless it was for like a friend’s or family member’s wedding. He knew this was entirely different while looking along the floor for those pair of black leather shoes he hadn’t wore since his cousin Tina’s wedding.

  Once he looked at everything he’d put out on the bed, Jeremy walked towards the bathroom so he could start up the shower. He couldn’t wait to get the dust off from his constant drives along with sweating so much in the sun. He stepped in and showered.

  Turning off the water, Jeremy got out feeling completely rejuvenated. He continued to dry himself off and then tied the towel around his waist. He put a little gel in his hair, blow dried it and went to get dressed.

  The phone rang and he knew it had to be Lily or his brother calling. “Hello.”

  “Just calling to see whether or not you were ready?” Tyler asked. “Lily is doing her makeup right now and I’m putting on my shoes.”

  “Yeah, I’m just getting my clothes on right now, so I should be ready. I thought we were leaving out at seven thirty?”

  “Oh, we are. Just wanted to make sure you were ready. We’ll see you around then.”

  Jeremy knew Lily had put Tyler up to this, to see if he’d backed out or something. Grinning, he hung up the phone. No damn way. He’d wanted this to happen for months. Determined, he went back to getting himself ready for this double date thing.