Honey Tree Farm

by Brenda Spalding

  "Jesse, take the biscuit and hand it on, then pass the butter, please," Doris said, reaching to serve herself.

  While clearing the table, Jesse asked to be excused and joined the men on the porch.

  “What’s up with Jesse?” Doris asked.

  “Oh, he just wants to talk to my dad about something,” answered Katy.

  Jesse stood at the door considering his next move. As well as he knew Jim and as often as they had talked comfortably, this was different. He swallowed hard and pushed through the door. He went to stand by Jim and started to speak then forgot what he wanted to say. Jesse was not a shy person, and when he realized he was shuffling his feet, he immediately stopped. He held his head up and began to put his hands in his pockets, then changed his mind. "Mr. Hailey, can I ask you something?

  "Of course, Jesse, how can I help? Is this about the bees?"

  "Uh, no sir." Jesse cleared his throat. Maybe it would be best to just jump in with both feet. What's the worse he could do? He could say no. But that wouldn't be the worst. What if he laughed? Jesse cleared his throat again.

  "What is it, Jesse?"

  "Well, you see, some friends and I were thinking of going to a movie tonight, and I'd kind of like... It's a good movie, everyone says so, and I thought maybe, well, I'd like to take Katy. Can she come? It’s Saturday night, and there’s no school tomorrow. But we have to leave pretty soon if we're going to make it before it starts and..." Jesse realized he had suddenly run out of words.

  “I don’t know, Jesse. We were going to get on the road soon. I have to be up in Brandon early tomorrow morning to pick up a load of hives to move to another farm.”

  “Jim, you and Katy should stay here overnight." Doris was standing at the screen door wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. She stepped out onto the porch. "You can leave for Brandon from here in the morning. You would have a soft bed and a hot breakfast, and then be on your way. It is just a suggestion, but it would save time.”

  Jesse held his breath and looked from his mom to Mr. Hailey.

  "I don't know," Jim began.

  There was a moment of silence that felt like eons to the seventeen-year-old boy standing almost shoulder to shoulder with the girl's father. He saw Jim glance over at Katy. Was he looking for a response from her? She didn't react but stood to wait.

  "Well, if you promise to be careful and come straight home after the movie, all right?"

  What had felt to Jesse like slow motion suddenly snapped back into real time? "Oh yes, sir. I promise. Thank you. I'll take real good care of her. I'll drive carefully and have her home on time; I promise." Jesse grabbed Katy's hand, and they ran to the house.

  "I haven't thought much about Katy growing up and going out on her own; never mind with a boy. It scares me a little, you know, to see my little girl grow up. But, honestly, I'm glad it's Jesse asking.

  Doris followed the kids into the house.

  "Jesse is washing up," the girl told Doris.

  "Come with me. I'll help you get ready." Doris pulled Katy's long flaxen hair up, pinned it in place and added a bow. Then she applied a light shade of lipstick on her lips.

  "I've never used make-up on before." She checked her reflection in the mirror atop Doris’s dresser and liked what she saw.

  “You look great,” Doris said. “Let’s go down and show you off.”

  Jesse’s eyes lit up when he saw Katy. They said their good-byes and ran to the truck. Jesse opened the passenger door and helped her in. He hurried around to his side.

  The parents watched the Ford truck pull out of the farmyard and turn down the drive heading for the road. Then they walked back toward the house.

  “I can’t say I’m not nervous about Katy being out with Jesse. It’s not that she’s with Jesse; it’s that she’s out at all... and with a boy. I suddenly feel very old. My little Katy going with a boy to a movie,” Jim said. Taking off his ball cap, he ran a hand through his hair; a habit they knew he employed when he was worried.

  “It’s getting chilly out here. I’ll put the coffee on while we wait for them to get back. There might still be some rhubarb pie left in the fridge.”

  Doris hurried into the kitchen while the two men stood on the porch talking. They could hear her bustling around, opening cabinet doors, drawers, and the refrigerator door.

  “Ted, I don’t mind telling you this is all new to me. You have to be so careful with a girl.”

  "She doesn't go out with boys at home?" Ted asked.

  "Well, no. I mean she never seemed interested. But, I guess she is growing up. Maybe it's good that I met Malinda when I did."

  Just then Doris called, “Come on you two, coffee’s hot and pie’s ready.”

  Chapter 9

  Jesse pulled the truck into a diagonal parking place in front of the movie house. Several kids were standing near the large poster displayed in a lighted glass front frame. It depicted a pensive blond looking back over her shoulder at a ghostly woman. Substantial white letters spelled out the movie's title: The Invisible Woman; the black and white film stared Virginia Bruce and John Barrymore.

  The kids all waved and walked over when they saw Jesse get out and open Katy's door.

  "Brice insisted on this scary science fiction film. I don't like scary movies. I don't know why we couldn't drive into Myakka City. Maybe the movie there would be better." Janice folded her arms across her chest and silently pouted.

  "Hey, what's this? Jesse has a date? And isn't she cute." Brice walked behind her checking her up and down. Katy blushed.

  Brice liked being a jock and strutted, rather than walked. At five-foot-nine he was shorter than the other two boys. Nonetheless, what he lacked in height he more than made up for in self-confidence. Hank, a burly six feet player on the school football team, was a mountain to be dealt with on the field, but off it he was a tender-hearted, gentle giant.

  "Just ignore him," Janice told Katy, taking Katy’s arm and moved her away from the guys. Cora joined the girls. "He is the quarterback on our football team, and he likes to grandstand. I think he's been knocked in the head once too often. My name's Janice, and this is Cora. What school do you go to?

  "I, uh... I don't go to school. I study at home," Katy said. She watched their expressions of shock and waited for the teasing to begin.

  "Really? Wow! I don't know anybody that studies at home."

  "I think it sounds like fun." Cora smiled easily and had friendly eyes.

  "The movie is about to start. We'd better go," Jesse called to the others as he took Katy's hand.

  "Is this Brice your friend?" Katy whispered to Jesse.

  "I don’t know him that well. We share a couple classes, but that's all. Hank and I are close friends. We've been pals since kindergarten. I don't know Janice, but she seems pretty nice. She and Cora are cheerleaders.

  Katy kept close to Jesse. Once in the theatre, he stood back to allow her in the row of seats first, and then he followed. Jesse didn't want her to end up sitting next to Brice.

  The interior looked very glamorous with velvet drapes and small balconies lining the side walls. Kate observed that the balconies were not real, but they certainly added to the ambiance. The seats were puffy and comfortable and tilted back allowing more room to move past. This movie theatre had four chandeliers; the theatre back home did not.

  As the theatre grew dark music began, and the Movietone News flashed on the screen with the voice of Lowell Thomas. When the movie started a black car pulled to a stop. An elderly man and a woman draped with a scarf over her face - actually, she's covered from head to toe - gets out. The man tells her to go behind them and undress. She says, Oh, let me go like this... and removes the scarf. She has no head! With a gasp, Katy grabs Jesse's arm. Then she chuckled. "Sorry, it just surprised me."

  He squeezed her hand reassuringly... and neither let go.

  After the movie, they walked outside.

  "I thought this was supposed to be a scary movie. I thought it was funny," Katy said to
Jesse.

  "I thought it was about a woman who kept taking off her clothes," Brice grumbled.

  "That's exactly what it was," Janice replied.

  "You know what I mean."

  "Yes, we all do," she said, and the others laughed. “Why don’t you have Jesse bring you to one of the football games? You can see us in action and maybe grab a soda with us after,” Janice suggested.

  “I’d like that,” said Katy.

  “Let’s stop at the ice cream parlor,” Brice said. “I’m hungry.”

  “Sorry, I have got to get Katy home. You guys go. I’ll see you at school on Monday.

  “Why? Does she have you whipped already? I bet you’re just going to go up to the point and get yourself a little.” Brice jabbed Hank in the ribs with his elbow.

  “Brice cut that out,” Hank said. He was getting annoyed.

  “That’s it, isn't it? Jesse is getting him some. Why else hang out with a girl like her? I bet she puts out for all her homeschooled buddies.”

  Jesse turned on Brice so quickly he didn’t see it coming. He caught him with a right hook on his nose and Brice went down. Jesse stood over him, fists clenched. “Don’t you ever say anything like that about Katy!” He turned to her. "Come on, we’re leaving.”

  Katy was stunned. She had never seen anyone get hit before. She had never seen Jesse mad.

  Brice was seething. No one had ever stood up to him like that. No one had ever hit him, not even his father; no one.

  “Janice, get in the car,” Brice barked. It was a liquid, raw sound. Actually, there had been two sounds: the first was a sound like the breaking of the wishbone on Thanksgiving, and the second was the muffled, nasal sound of a person holding his nose as blood dripped down his hand and sleeve. “Those two had better watch their backs. I won't forget this!”

  Janice tried to approach him with a hanky to wipe the blood, but he brushed her off.

  Cora asked as she and Hank got in their car. “What do you think Brice will do?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know him well, but from what I’ve heard, he can be bad news.”

  “I’m worried about Janice. She’s only dated him a couple of times, and I have a terrible feeling about Brice.

  “Why don't you give her a call when you get home? Make sure she’s okay.”

  Jesse gripped the wheel of the truck so tightly his knuckles turned white. He had never been mad enough to hit anyone before. Brice had made him angry, and he was also mad at himself.

  “Jesse, are you mad at me?” Katy asked.

  “I could never be mad at you. Brice had no call to say what he did. I’m sorry you had to hear it,” Jesse took a deep breath and tried to relax.

  “I don’t know what he was talking about, Jesse. It was like he was talking in code or something. I just don’t get what it was all about. I guess I'm just stupid,” Katy started crying.

  Jesse pulled off the road and set the break. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. “It’s clean. I didn’t use it."

  Katy wiped her eyes and gently blew her nose. “I am so sorry.”

  “It isn't your fault,” he began. “Brice is a bully. He was just picking on you because he could.”

  “I love traveling with my dad, but I guess I missed out on a lot of things other kids know and talk about.”

  “Katy that is one of the reasons I like you. You are kind and generous, you have a good heart, and you don’t try to be someone you’re not, just to impress people. You are who you are, and I like that.”

  “But I feel so..." she shook her head. “What did Brice say that made you so mad?”

  “Brice was saying he thinks the only reason I’m going out with you is for sex.”

  “Oh, my God! What did I do to make him think that?"

  “It’s nothing you said or did. You have nothing to be sorry about. Guys like him are all the same. All they want from a girl... and they think every other guy is after the same thing.”

  “Poor Janice. Is he treating her like that?”

  “Janice can handle him. Come here.” He put his arm around her and murmured until he felt her relax against him.

  “I’ll talk to Cora at school on Monday. She’ll know. But it's really up to Janice, and she'll probably tell me to mind my own business.”

  “I like those girls,” said Katy. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to either of them. I would like to have girlfriends.”

  “That is another reason I like you,” Jesse said taking her hand. “We'd better go.” Jesse started the engine.

  They were quiet on the way home, each lost in their own thoughts. But their thoughts were the same. What would it be like?

  No one was on the porch when they pulled up. Jesse held the door while Katy got out of the truck. He held her hand all the way to the steps, then stopped. Jesse turned Katy to face him. He drew her closer. She knew he wanted to kiss her. Katy felt a strange sensation in her stomach as he leaned in and kissed her ever so gently on the lips. This was her very first kiss from a boy.

  Jesse heard Katy murmur 'Oh, wow' and then hand in hand they entered the house. Doris and Jim were seated at the kitchen table. Jim walked over and hugged his daughter.

  “Did you enjoy the movie?”

  “Yes, it was funny,” Katy answered. “It was not a scary sci-fi. I don't think that would be my type at all. I like Jesse’s friends. Janice and Cora are very nice.” Katy avoided telling her father about Brice or the fight with Jesse. He might never let her go out again.

  Doris gathered the coffee cups and put them in the sink to wait ’til morning and then they all walked out to the yard.

  “Maybe you can stay over when you have more time,” Doris said. “I’d love to have another girl around once in a while. I’m kind of outnumbered here.” She stepped close to Katy and gave her a motherly hug whispering in her ear, “You know, dear, you can always talk to me if you need to. They tell me I’m an excellent listener.”

  Doris watched Jim's truck grind and backfire off the drive and onto the road. Jesse was watching too, hands in his pockets and his mind and body creating images and feelings he’d never had before.

  "Time for bed, Jesse. Your dad couldn't keep his eyes open and went up already."

  What Doris didn’t tell was that she had seen Katy and Jesse kiss on the porch steps. She wasn’t spying. Her chair in the kitchen looked out on the steps. She was thankful Jim was in the opposite chair and didn’t see it. She wasn’t sure how Jim would react to seeing his daughter kissing her Jesse. Not because it was Jesse. He’s probably not ready to see his daughter kissing any boy. She walked down the hall to her bedroom. “Well, how did it go?” Ted asked as she got into bed.

  “Very well, I think."

  “There’s something you’re not telling me,” Ted rolled over and leaned on one elbow to look at Doris. “Come on, tell me. You know you’re lousy at keeping secrets.”

  “Jesse kissed Katy,” Doris covered her face with her hands. She wanted to laugh. The kiss was so sweet... so innocent.

  “Okay," was all he said. Now let's get some sleep, it’s late.”

  They both lay awake thinking. In separate locations miles apart, Jesse and Katy were thinking too; thinking about holding hands in the dark theatre, about sitting close in the truck, and of course the kiss on the steps. These were new feelings, and neither was sure what to do with them.

  Chapter 10

  Jim watched the cream cloud as he stirred his coffee. It swirled around in his cup until it blended into a single caramel color. He could hear Katy moving around in her bedroom. The tiny house near Myakka didn’t leave much room for privacy. He was sitting across the table from Malinda and trying to work up the nerve to tell his daughter that he wanted to get married again.

  “You know I never did tell Katy about us. Maybe we’ll go for a walk, and I'll tell her after breakfast.”

  “I think that’s an excellent idea,” Malinda said, clapping Jim on the shoulder. “I’m sure
she will love the idea. I know she wouldn’t deny you the happiness you deserve. She’s a bright and loving child.”

  “You’re right. Katy likes you, so maybe she’ll like the idea.” Jim got up, headed for the stairs and met Katy, who on her way down.

  "Oh good. You're up and dressed. I figured you'd be hungry. Melinda is fixing a nice breakfast."

  “Care for a cup of coffee? “Malinda called.

  “Yes, please,” Katy replied.

  Katy suspected her father and Melinda were up to something. They were acting strangely all through breakfast. She wondered if it had to do with her. As she took the last piece of toast and spread jam on it, Melinda started the dishwater, and Jim began clearing the table.

  "There's no use putting this off," he whispered to Melinda. She didn't respond but smiled at him and winked.

  “Katy, how about checking the hives with your old man?"

  Katy froze for a moment. What was going on? Something was up. Had he found out about the fight or maybe it was about the kiss? She took a deep breath and followed him out the door and down the porch steps.

  They walked behind the house to where their own hives were kept. The colonies set not far from a bench in the shade of the big oak tree. One sturdy branch of the tree still held the tire swing Katy had played on as a child. She hesitated when he sat down and patted the seat beside him. She sat and waited. Fear crept in, and a cold chill came over her. What could she say? What would he do?

  “Katy," he began, "you know..." he paused, running his fingers through his hair. Katy took a deep breath and waited.

  "Katy," he began again. "You know that I’ve seen a lot of Malinda?”

  “Yes?” She answered. Her throat was so dry that it came out like a croak. What did Malinda have to do with her? She cleared her throat.

  “Well, I want to ask Malinda to marry me, and I need to know how you feel about it.”

  It was as though the sun cut through the cold and warmed her to the bone. She took a deep, refreshing breath and suddenly couldn't restrain herself. Dad and Melinda! This was about them!