“Here,” I said, shoving the screen toward him. “I found this around the back when I was searching for Charlene’s mother last night. It smelled terrible.”
His face lit with amusement.“Like a skunk?”
“Yeah, actually. How did you—?”
“That’s skunk cabbage. Doesn’t make much sense to have it in a garden that’s as well maintained as this one. Then again, given the condition of the stairs, maybe the garden isn’t as well maintained as we once thought.”
“What is going on with this place? It’s nothing like my mom described, and I doubt it’s anything like she remembers. Almost as if everything that could go wrong has.”
“Shhh, you’ll jinx it,” Charles said with a playful wink. Well, at least I had the best possible company for my week in hell.
10
I fed the kitten inside our downsized room while Charles grabbed a quick shower in the first-floor communal bathroom. When he returned, claiming to feel much better, we both got dressed so we could head outside to further investigate the gardens.
“I couldn’t find a place that delivers this far out,” I revealed as Charles pulled on his shoes. “So let’s eat some of the snacks you brought last night and then we can go to town for an early lunch after we’ve spent a few hours searching.”
“Fair enough. I’ll grab the snacks,” he offered without complaint.
“I’ll grab Charlene.” She’d wasted no time in sandwiching herself between the mattress and pillow of the new bed.
After a brisk walk across the property, Charles and I settled ourselves at an iron bistro table that stood flanked by two ornate chairs.
“Doritos and beef jerky for breakfast,” I quipped, eagerly digging into the snack food. “Living the high life.”
“Only the best for my wifey,” Charles teased, crunching into a bright orange tortilla chip. “And if you’re really good, I’ll share my Oreos with you.”
“Can’t refuse an offer like that,” I joked right back.
The two us ate in companionable silence as the three of us kept our eyes and ears peeled for Charlene’s missing mother.
“Do you hear that?” I asked after a short while had passed.
Charles straightened in his seat.“What? A cat?”
I strained to hear more clearly but was met with little more than a stream of hushed whispers from across the garden.“I’m not sure. There’s multiple voices. They’re quiet, though. I can’t hear what they’re saying.”
“Well, let’s go find out.” Charles stood and brushed his hands together to rid them of the flavor dust.
I sucked each of my fingers clean, then we headed back toward the yellow roses that had so enchanted me the previous afternoon.
“Do you hear them? The voices?” I asked, glancing around but still not finding the speakers.
He shook his head.“Must be an animal. You know I’m useless when it comes to that.”
“You’re not useless,” I insisted before glancing to the kitten in my arms for aid. “Do you hear anyone, Charlene?”
“No, sorry,” she mewed sadly. Huh, that was weird.
“Hello?” I called hesitantly as we continued toward the yellow roses.
Finally the words started to make sense.“And that’s another thing. I know the lights went out, but if they couldn’t see, they should have stayed put. Someone trampled the flower beds out back. They almost stomped right on the queen. The queen!”
“Humans, they’re the worst. Almost as bad as that pesky skunk,” a second mystery speaker agreed.
“Hear, hear!” several voices chimed at once.
“Hello?” I tried again. “Who’s there?”
“What are those two humans doing so close to our hive? Should we sting them?” one of the soft voices ground out.
“Please don’t sting me,” I cried, now understanding without a doubt whose conversation I was overhearing. “I’m a friend to all creatures. Including bees.”
“Is she talking to us? No human has ever done that before.” A confused buzzing followed.
I lifted Charlene closer to my face and asked.“Are you sure you can’t hear anyone?”
“Nope,” the little kitten confirmed. Usually animals had no problem understanding each other, but then again, I’d never spoken with insects before. I’d never heard them until now. I swear, this honeymoon of ours just kept getting stranger and stranger.
With my companions unable to offer assistance, I pressed forward all on my own.“Hello, bees. I’m talking to you. I’m sorry about the trampled flowers and that someone almost hurt your queen. I can help, if you’ll talk to me.”
I waited as the voices whispered amongst themselves, clearly not wanting to be overheard until they reached some kind of unanimous decision about me.
Finally, one plump bee flew out to greet me face to face.“Greetings, human. I am Aldrin and this is Lightyear.” He waited as a second buzzing insect joined us.
“Hello. I’m Angie.” I stayed stock still, but Charles jumped behind me.
“Oh boy. More bees. I’m just going to go grab my EpiPen, just in case. I’ll take Charlene too.” As soon as I transferred the kitten to his arms, my husband took off like a shot.
“You do not fear us, human,” Aldrin noted, bobbing in the air.
“Angie,” I reminded him with a gentle voice. “Call me Angie.”
“Apologies. We have not spoken to any human before. Are you the one who lives in the house?” I couldn’t tell whether this came from Aldrin or Lightyear. I wasn’t sure that it mattered, since the bees all seemed to act and think as one.
“No, I’m just here on vacation.” I chose not to point out that Madame Blue and I looked nothing alike, seeing as she was several decades older, much shorter, and much louder as a general rule. I’d guess that all humans looked the same to bees, the way all bees tended to look the same to humans.
The two bees buzzed back and forth to each other, communicating with a series of movements rather than words. When at last they seemed to agree, they spoke to me again.“Then would you share our complaints with the human who does?”
“I can try,” I answered truthfully. I could barely share my own complaints with Madame Blue and Billy, and I was a paying guest. I didn’t think they’d agree to do anything to help the bees, but I would at least try.
“Good enough for us,” Lightyear decided, and both bees bounced up and down.
Aldrin was the one who delivered their list of grievances.“Our gardens used to flourish, giving us an abundance of delicious honey, but lately the landscape is looking bleak. Some of our favorite flowers are disappearing, only to be replaced with poor substitutes.”
“The skunk cabbage,” I said, thinking back to last night plus Charles’s later identification of the plant.
Both bees zigzagged in a frenzy before calming down enough to speak again.“Skunks are natural enemies of bees. Someone is attempting to threaten us, and we do not take kindly to it. Our honey is also being over-harvested, and it’s not leaving enough to nourish our hive. We are happy for humans enjoy the fruits of our labor in moderation, but now our sustenance is being stolen right from under us. We work hard and yet our bellies remain empty into the next day.”
“I’m really sorry. That sounds horrible.” I sympathized with them even though I had little basis for understanding the secret lives of bees.
“It is quite horrible,” they said in unison, moving in a synchronized aerial dance.
“I will see what I can do for you,” I assured them. Maybe if I asked some questions about the skunk cabbage I’d found and where I could buy some local honey, Madame Blue would inadvertently open up to me.
“That is all we ask,” one of the bees said before both flitted back to the hive somewhere out of sight.
Charles and I had come to this old stone mansion nearly a thousand miles away from home to get away from it all. Yet somehow we found ourselves plagued by mystery after mystery. If it weren’t for one very sweet kitten needing our help, we would already be gone. But since we were stuck for the time being, we might as well try to solve a couple of these mysteries and hopefully leave the place better than we found it.