Beekeepers

There was a natural windbreak in the right place on the property, and with summer coming, the colony would soon be out pollinating, and Willa would be getting ready to start collecting data and run the first of many experiments to try and isolate the cause of CCD.

Once she had the money she needed, Willa gave her parents and Vicki a final hug then got into the big truck she’d recently traded her car for and headed almost due north from Manhattan where she’d been born and raised and gone to college to her new ‘home’ just outside of Fargo. It was a little after 9am, and with any luck, she’d be there by around 6pm.

The family that owned the colony she was buying lived in the tiny town of Sabin, Minnesota, located a few miles southeast of Fargo. The land she’d bought was just outside of Harwood, North Dakota, a town with a population of 718 souls—about 200 more than lived in Sabin.

Her GPS took her right to the front door of the house she needed, the only house for a mile or so in any direction. Willa had stopped twice at rest stops along the way and once to grab something to eat from a fast food restaurant, so it was nearly 7 o’clock when she pulled up.

The owner was Mr. Milton Dyer, a man Willa guessed to be somewhere around 70 or so.

She got out of the truck, stretched her legs, then walked up the driveway and knocked on the door. A dog barked, and a few seconds later, a familiar man wearing bib overalls opened it.

“Dr. Parker! It’s so good to see you again!” he said as he invited her in.

The Golden Retriever she knew was named Lady, sniffed her up and down while wagging her tail, so Willa bent down and petted her and gave her a hug.

“Is Lady pregnant?” she asked as she looked at the dog from the side.

“She is. She’s gonna be havin’ herself a litter her real soon,” Mr. Dyer told her. “I’ll save you one if you want it.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I like dogs, I’ll just be so busy,” Willa told him as she stood back up.

His wife came out, and her husband re-introduced them, and Mrs. Dyer asked if she’d like to stay for supper, the term most people used for the evening meal around that part of the country.

“It’s no trouble,” she assured the younger woman. “And with you driving all day, the last thing you’re gonna want to do is cook or eat more restaurant food, right?”

“That’s true. I really don’t want to eat another burger today, so...if you’re sure.”

Willa found the Dyers to be as warm and friendly as they were honest. But when Milton mentioned a problem, she became very concerned.

“Problem? What kind of problem? Please don’t tell me you’re losing the colony,” Willa said as the fear of CCD swept through her.

“No. Nothing like that. No, they’re fine,” he assured. “Busy as bees!”

He laughed, and once Willa realized the bees were safe, she did, too, but only out of relief.

“No, uh...that’s not the issue,” he told her.

“Okay....” she replied.

“Well, you see, there was this young fella who stopped by late yesterday, and he wanted a hive.”

“Uh-huh,” Willa replied without emotion. “And?”

“Well, he uh, he was a vet’ran, you know,” Milton told her, leaving out the ‘e’ in veteran.

“And?” she said again, her concerning growing.

“Well, he was such a right nice young man and all, and he really, really wants to get into the business, and....”

When he paused, Willa got impatient.

“Mr. Dyer. We had a deal. Please don’t tell him you sold him the colony!”

“No. Of course not. I’d never do that,” he replied.

“Thank heavens!” Willa said.

“We uh, we only sold him one hive.”

“You...what?” Willa said as she shook her head in disbelief.

“Well, yeah. We knew there was a new queen by the way the bees was a swarmin’, you know, so we set out a new hive’s worth of boxes hopin’ they’d take to it. And as luck would have it, they did.”

“So...this hive. It wasn’t part of our original deal?” she asked.

“Well...kind of,” the older man told her.

“Meaning?”

“What my husband is trying to say, dear, is that he sold this young man one of your hives along with the new one,” his wife explained as her husband gave Willa an ‘I’m really sorry’ kind of look.

Willa knew that one hive wasn’t that big of a deal, but were she to start losing them, every one mattered.

“We uh, we never shook on it,” Milton said in his defense.

That part was true. Willa hadn’t signed a contract nor had they shaken hands. But he’d given her his word that she could have all of the bees on his property as he and his wife wanted out of the business for good. They had plans to retire to sunny Florida and couldn’t wait to get out of frigid North Dakota at the end of the summer.

“Tell ya what, doc. We’ll move your bees for you,” Milton told her. “At no charge.”

Willa had a large truck and could move them in two trips, but she didn’t want to offend them in spite of what had just happened.

“That’s very kind of you, but I’ll be okay,” she said as the anger drained away.

“No, it’s the least we can do,” the older man told her. “Just tell us when, and we’ll get ‘em loaded up.”

He hesitated then said, “We made the same offer to that young fella that, you know....”

“Oh. So...where is he setting up his hive?” she asked out of curiosity. “Or rather—hives.”

“Well, he uh, he bought an acre of land up near Harwood,” Milton told her. “I guess they’s a cabin nearby, and he was a little concerned about that.”

When Willa’s jaw dropped, his wife asked if she was okay.

“Yes. I’m...fine,” she told her as she tried to let her growing anger show.

But as she thought about, that might not be such a problem, and it could end up working to her advantage if this new beekeeper decided this wasn’t what he was expecting. She might even be able to buy his hives at a reasonable price. Then again, the honeybee business was exploding around the country, and hives were selling for a premium price. She felt very fortunate to be getting as many as she was for the amount they’d agreed on, and after thinking it all through, Willa’s newest round of frustration drained away as she enjoyed a delicious home cooked meal before heading north.

The Dyers offered to let her stay, but she was excited about getting there, and she knew if she left right then, she could get there before dark and get things put away. The power company had assured her the electricity was on, so as long as that was true, she’d rather sleep in her own place than with people she barely knew.

Willa thanked them sincerely for dinner then told them she’d call to set up a date to move the bees.

“No hurry! We’ll take good care of ‘em,” Milton promised her.

Trying to be funny, he said, “And I promise not sell another to hive to anyone!”

Willa forced herself to laugh then told them goodnight and got back in the truck then back on I-29 until her GPS told her to exit in ‘one-quarter of a mile’.

As she drove up to her property she passed a truck similar to the one she was driving and felt certain that had be the ‘nice, young fella’ Mr. Dyer sold the hives to. If it was, he had nowhere else to sleep, but she didn’t see anyone or a light on in the cab of the truck so she drove the last two hundred yards to the cabin, pulled up as close as she could, then shut off the engine.

Finally ‘home’, Willa sat there for a few seconds, her eyes closed, letting the tension of the long day on the road drain away. Feeling better, she opened her eyes, grabbed her purse, and got out and slammed the door before opening the door of the ‘extra cab’ so she could bring in one small bag on her first trip.

When she picked it up, she turned around and kicked the door shut, but before she could take a step, she looked toward the cabin, and what she saw made her scream.

“No! Hold on!” the man on her porch said. “I...I’m not going to hurt you! I swear!”

His hands were out in front of him and then up in a surrender pose.

“I wasn’t stealing anything, either,” he said very loudly. “I was just looking for an outside source of water. That’s it.”

Once her cerebral cortex overcame the fear the amygdala raised and her heart rate slowed enough to let her speak, she said, “You’re the one who stole my bees.”

“What?” the man said, not sure what he’d heard her say.

“You. You stole...bought...the bees I’d already been promised.”

“Wait. That’s...you? You’re the woman Mr. Dyer told me he wasn’t sure was coming back, aren’t you?”

Willa had rarely ever been angry in her life. Even when Chris told her it was over, she wasn’t angry. She was deeply hurt, but anger never entered the picture. Now her she was getting angry for the second time in one day.

She walked toward the trespasser and said, “He told you that?”

As she got closer, she could see his face. He was definitely young, and even though she didn’t yet know his name, she knew it was him.

“Well, yes. I called him several times when I was researching bee owners and trying to decide who to buy from. I finally settled on him when he told me he’d give me a discount because I’m....”

Jared hated the word ‘disabled’ and said, “A veteran, I went with him.”

Willa dropped the bag and said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “Gee, let me thank you for your service!”

She really did admire veterans, but this particular veteran wasn’t one of them, and it had nothing to do with his service.

Rather than say something equally snide, Jared looked down at her bag on the ground and asked, “May I give you a hand with your things?”

Willa was so taken aback by his gentle voice and kind offer that it stunned her into silence.

“Ma’am? Are you okay?” he asked after a good five seconds passed in silence.

Now feeling even worse than she had for letting her emotions get the best of her with Mr. Dyer, she apologized.

“It’s been a very long day, and I didn’t mean to be rude. Please forgive me,” she said.

“I understand. I drove here from Seattle two days ago myself. I’m getting ready to build a house over by my....”

“What?” Willa asked, the anger flaring up again. “Build a house? Are you kidding me?”

Now it was Jared who was stunned into silence.

Once again, Willa realized she was being unreasonable and apologized a second time.

“It’s okay,” the younger man told her. “And I really would be happy to help you with whatever you need to bring inside.”

She took another look at him and decided she had very little choice but to trust him.

“That would be very nice of you,” she said as she grabbed the bag she’d dropped.

“Is anything not coming in?” Jared asked before picking anything up.

“Um...no. It’s all coming inside,” she said. “And...thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he told her.

She didn’t see him stop and take each of the two steps one at a time, nor did she see him wince when he tried to catch a bag that rolled off the side of the truck and hit his right leg.

By the time she came back out, she saw him picking it up. She noticed he was struggling with it, and playfully called out, “It’s not that heavy, is it?”

He laughed and told her it wasn’t as she went by him and grabbed a large bag herself. He was coming out of the cabin on his second trip when she saw him go down the steps one at a time and asked if he was okay.

“Did you pull a muscle or hurt your back picking that bag up?” she asked with no hint of teasing.

“Oh, no. I’m fine,” he told her making sure to smile again even though his legs and back were killing him. He hated pain pills almost as much as the word ‘disabled’ but he knew he’d be taking one once he got back to his truck.

Once everything was inside, Willa thanked him sincerely then finally introduced herself.

“Pleased to meet you, Doctor Palmer,” he replied. “I’m Jared Crisler.”

“I...I only said ‘doctor’ out of habit. I’m not actually a doctor. Not an MD, anyway. I am a PhD doctor...but....”

She stuck out her hand and said, “Please just call me Willa.”

“Willa. Okay. Will do...Willa,” he told her, again remembering to smile in spite of the throbbing in his leg.

Willa tilted her head and rolled her eyes as if to say ‘you gotta be kidding me’ then told him she thought the water should be on. The electricity was, so she was hopeful there was also power to bring up the well water that was just outside.

Jared slowly walked over to the kitchen sink and turned the handle. When he did, the wonderful sound of running water followed.

“Maybe let it run a minute or two before you take a drink,” she advised.

The advice was unnecessary, but after trespassing and scaring her half to death, Jared decided not to tell her that went without saying. When he felt it was safe to take a drink, he opened the bottle of pills in his cargo pocket without pulling it out, removed one, then popped it in his mouth and chewed it up before taking a drink.

He thanked her then Willa suggested they sit down and talk.

“Right. I uh, I kind of owe you an explanation, don’t I?” Jared replied a little sheepishly.

“Several,” she told him as they both took a wooden chair and sat.

“First, I really am sorry about scaring you,” he began.

“No. That’s fine. Considering where we are, access to fresh water is a big deal, and you’re welcome to it anytime. There is a bib out back, and when it’s light tomorrow I’ll show you where it’s at.”

“Thank you, but I do have bottled water. I was just curious about whether or not a well could be dug here. I was told it could, but I wanted to be sure.”

“What does concern me,” Willa said, “is you building a house so close by. And the reason is it concerns me is related to the main thing I’m still steamed about, and that’s you buying bees that were supposed to be mine.”

“Again, I apologize, but Mr. Dyer told me you hadn’t....”

“Yes. I know. We didn’t have a contract or shake on it.”

Jared could tell she was agitated, so he decided the best course of action was to let her talk. And when he didn’t say a word, she figured out that’s what he wanted, so she explained why she was there.

“So every hive is important. And while building a home isn’t the worst thing I can think of, the noise and the way it might impact the bees, is just one more issue to have to deal with,” she explained.

“I don’t know if this helps, but I’m not actually building it. I’ve already had it built, and they’ll be bringing it up here tomorrow.”

“Wait. Bringing it? You’re putting a mobile home on the lot?”

“No. Well, it is mobile. It’s just not a mobile home.”

“Then I don’t understand,” Willa told him.

“It’s a tiny house. You know, like the ones they build on the HGTV shows?”

Willa finally understood and breathed a sigh of relief, mostly because she wouldn’t have to live in something that small, but also for the lack of noise she wouldn’t have to deal with. The cabin wasn’t big, but it was at least adequate.

“So the only things I really need to have done are dig a well and a septic tank, and that’s supposed to start tomorrow. And as far as the bees are concerned, I kind of have plans for them, but you’re right. I really don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m open to any advice or hints to keep them safe and healthy.”

Willa had been listening intently, and after hearing his plans, she felt terrible for being so rude and judgmental.

“Jared. I...I’m the one who needs to apologize. Nothing excuses the way I’ve been acting, but I recently went through a pretty terrible breakup, and this was going to be my...Fortress of Solitude. I had no idea anyone had purchased the land next to mine, and I definitely wasn’t aware Mr. Dyer was going to sell even one of the hives I needed for my research to anyone. But as I said, that doesn’t excuse me being so...bitchy.”

Jared smiled politely then said, “To tell you the truth, I didn’t know your cabin was here until I drove up. But then again, I didn’t ask. I just knew there were two acres of land with access to a paved road, and it looked like a great place to keep bees, so I bought one of them.”

He smiled at her then said, “And the fact that a bee expert also chose this place makes me feel like I did a pretty good on my research.”

Willa smiled back, and only then did she realize he was a rather nice looking young man. A little thin but still reasonably handsome. He also seemed friendly and understanding, and he liked bees. So all things considered, she couldn’t complain too much.

“Well, we are going to be neighbors, and since you will be tending bees, I’m happy to help out in any way I can,” she told him, a very different expression on her face and the tone in her voice much gentler.

“Oh, I forgot to mention I plan on getting a dog. I hope that won’t be an issue.”

“Um, no. Of course not. When Mr. Dyer told me his dog was having puppies, I found myself thinking about the same thing.”

Jared laughed then said, “That’s where I’m getting mine from. Once his Golden delivers and the pups are weened, I should be all settled in here and be able to devote a lot of attention to him. Or her.”

Willa smiled then asked him, “Are you possibly not a people person?”

“Not really. I have nothing against them. I just need some time to kind of work things out, and this seemed like a really good place to do it.”

“Bad breakup by any chance?” she asked, the smile still there.

“No. No breakup,” he told her, not mentioning the way his leg had been broken up or the three titanium pins holding it together after the many surgeries he’d been through.

“It’s none of my business, anyway,” she told him.

“I’ve taken up enough of your time, Willa. I think I’ll get back over to um...my place,” he said, trying not to laugh.

“Nice place, by the way,” she said, joining in on the humor.

“Thanks. It’s home for at least another night, and the weather is just about perfect for sleeping outside, so....”

“Wait. You’re not sleeping inside your truck?” she asked as though that was unthinkable.

The pain pill was already taking the edge off, and Jared found himself chuckling after having slept outside in much worse during the brief, two years he’d spent in the US Navy.

“I’m a little too tall to sleep inside it,” he told her.

Willa also hadn’t noticed he was about six-feet in height, and now that he’d mentioned it, he would probably need to keep one of the doors open and let his feet hang out of keep his legs curled up all night. She knew he was young, and being a man, he probably didn’t mind sleeping on the ground, but the thought of doing so still sent chills down her back—her love of bugs aside.

“Listen. You...you could sleep here tonight. There’s a couch over there, and I can....”

“No. Thank you, but I couldn’t do that. It’s very kind of you to offer, but I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “And the daylight is almost gone, so I think I’ll uh...mosey on home.”

“Okay. If you’re sure,” she told him.

“Positive, but again—thank you,” he said as he stood up.

He’d been fine sitting down, but when he put his weight on his leg it made him flinch.

“You okay?” Willa asked when she saw it.

“Yeah. I think my leg must’ve fallen asleep or something,” he told her as he waited for the ache to subside.

She walked with him to the porch then asked if he had a flashlight.

“I do. And a couple of lanterns,” he replied as he produced one and turned it on.

“All right. Well...good night...neighbor,” she told him.

“Same to you, Willa,” Jared replied before taking the steps one at a time.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asked once he was on the ground.

He looked back, smiled at her, and told her he was just fine before turning around and doing his level best not to limp as he walked away.

As Willa took a hot shower before going to bed she felt even more guilty about the way she’d reacted. Yes, her new neighbor had been trespassing, but she’d let her mounting frustrations get the best of her.

Then as she flossed and brushed her teeth and later sat down to pee on an actual toilet she could flush, she felt even worse. By the time she crawled into bed she consoled herself with having offered to let him stay in the cabin, and also with the promise to herself that she’d be nicer to him from then on.