Page 60 of Honey Sugar
She started making huge batches of whiskey honey candy and selling them in the sweet shop. She also figured out a way to make honey soda and sell it on the sidewalk. It worked to pull in thirsty customers from the street. I worked on the recipes she gave me for cannabis candy and we began selling them alongside the moonshine from the back of the shop.
Business was booming and money was starting to pour in…finally. I wasn’t the only one to notice the uptick in business at Honey Sugar. Uncle Beau noticed it too. He’d been crying like a baby for weeks about not getting any money from the profits but we’d managed to keep him at bay by pretending like there wasn’t enough money and we didn’t know where it had all gone.
We had to play dumb.
It wasn’t working anymore though and Beau started demanding money. Sometimes, I’d hold him off by giving him a little money here and there to get coke but he was steadily crashing because he wasn’t getting the amount he was used to.
“I’m going out to collect honey from the hives. You wanna come?” Ivy smiled at me and I nodded. I was tired of working on moonshine anyway.
With Aunt Liv gone, Ivy and I both realized quickly how much work she put into running Honey Sugar. She harvested honey directly from the hives on the property and most of the time she made the moonshine too. That was supposed to be Uncle Beau’s job but he was always drunk or high somewhere.
That day was no different. He got some coke from a friend willing to do him a favor and he did line after line until he passed out.
I got dressed in a beekeeper suit and trekked out back with Ivy. We walked for ten minutes until we came to the hives Aunt Liv kept. We gathered all the slots ready for collection then carried them in a wagon to the shed where we separated the wax from the honey. Doing everything by hand that way made me want to fight even harder to keep Honey Sugar afloat and keep Uncle Beau away from it like Aunt Liv wanted.
When we had a few gallons of honey ready, we started our journey back to the house so we could change clothes and go to Honey Sugar.
“While you make the syrup, I’m going to get the cannabis candies ready for tomorrow,” I told her.
“Okay. How are we looking on moonshine?”
“I’m almost done. I’ll have it ready to be flavored tomorrow.” Working side by side with Ivy only served to make us closer. Whenever we weren’t collecting honey or making candy and soda, we fucked like rabbits. I never missed a moment to be inside of her. She made everything else seem minor. As long as I had Ivy, I didn’t care what else I had to deal with, and I had a lot on my plate.
I had to talk to Mario daily and pretend like I didn’t know he killed my mother. I had to put on a front like I didn’t want him dead at my feet. I knew it would all be worth it in the end but it was hard to keep up the façade.
My mind wandered in and out of thoughts concerning him. I thought about how I should kill him when the time came. I thought about that a lot actually. I wanted it to be slow. I wanted my face to be the last face he ever saw.
“Titan, you’ve been quiet for a while. What are you thinking about?” We’d collected the honey and drove to the sweet shop all in a sea of silence. I ran a hand over my beard and pushed out a slow breath.
“I’m sorry, baby girl. I was thinking about Mario,” I admitted.
“Again?”
“Yeah. I’m taking a batch of candies and cookies to New Orleans soon. I know I’m going to have to see him.”
“When are you going to talk to Bear?” She asked.
“Soon. Don is setting up a meeting. Naturally, Bear is skeptical about it but Don is putting in a few good words because he’s highly trusted.”
“Good. I can’t wait for all this shit with Mario to be over with. He needs to die.” I blinked a few times and looked at Ivy. Was this the same meek, shy girl I grew up knowing?
I walked over and put my hands on her waist. “I think I like hearing you talk like that,” I told her.
“I think you should cut it out before neither of us gets any work done and we’re scrambling to do it in the morning before we open.”
“You’re probably right,” I said. I couldn’t help leaning down and kissing her sweet neck. She smelled like so sweet and I always wanted her on my tongue. She slapped my chest playfully and moved behind the counter. I looked down at the floor and remembered us sitting there as skinny kids.
I knew if our mothers were alive we’d never be the way we were. We’d never explore the thoughts racing through our minds no matter how intense they got. Something breaks in you when you lose your anchor to the world though. You don’t care about a lot.
Well, the only thing I cared about was her.
Ivy pulled the shades down behind the windows and started cleaning up. With as much money as we were positioned to make by the end of the year, it would be time to hire help in there. It would make our jobs a lot easier.
Ivy’s phone rang and skittered across the wooden counter. I grabbed it before it crashed to the floor and she thanked me profusely. “Ugh, it’s Daddy,” she frowned. She hit the decline button then her hand shot up to her ear.
It had been hell trying to get her to leave her ear alone. Just like it had been hell trying to stop her from taking pills. I stood and watched her search for Xanax online a few nights. She never knew I saw her because I didn’t say anything but I monitored her. If I needed to step in, I would.
“I thought he was passed the fuck out somewhere,” I sighed.
