Page 109 of Must Love Bees
“This is a good place to start.”
Astrid headed for the observation deck. Tonight was an invite-only audience. Most of the guests were Junior Beekeeper parents. This was a time for their kids to show off their knowledge base and get time working with the bees. As far as she was concerned, nothing could compare to hands-on experience.
“Hey, Astrid.” Crissy Abraham waved. “I was wondering if Halley was coming?”
Nicole said the two became instant best friends at the sleepover. Which was exactly what Halley needed.
“I’m not sure.” Astrid managed a smile. “I did invite them.” Part of her hoped they wouldn’t come. She knew her meltdown wasn’t entirely due to Charlie. She was tired and worried about Camellia—Charlie leaving was the cherry on top of her emotion-laden sundae.
“I hope so.” Crissy crossed her fingers.
“Me, too.” She was almost to the observation deck when she heard Nova calling her name. The little girl was running straight at her, Scorpio bouncing and jiggling from one hand. “Hello, Nova.” She caught her, lifted her up and braced the little girl against her hip. “Did you and Scorpio come to see the bees?”
“We did.” She grinned widely. “Where are they?”
Astrid pointed at the cluster of hive boxes on the far side of the observation deck. “They’re still inside. We should go in before they open up the hives.”
Halley waved but headed straight for Crissy.
“Sorry we’re late.” Charlie looked as beautiful as ever.
“Lucky for you, they’re running behind.” His smile melted her insides and had her heart shuddering. “Let’s go.”
“It’s more like a screened-in gazebo, isn’t it?” Charlie gave the structure a once-over. The screen would keep the observers safe while being able to hear everything they were being told. “Only bigger.”
“Pretty much. Dane and Tansy are hoping to branch into agritourism. Honey tastings and hive experiences, that sort of thing.” Astrid put Nova down but held her hand. “There’s a lot of interest in beekeeping. The more interest, the better. Doing something like this can only help.”
“Because bees are important,” Nova said, swinging their arms.
“They sure are,” Astrid agreed. “Without bees, we wouldn’t have any almonds.”
“Really?” Charlie looked at her.
“It’s true. They pollinate lots of fruits and flowers and vegetables, but almonds are pollinated exclusively by bees.”
“Did you learn something?” Nova asked Charlie.
“I did.” He chuckled.
“Astrid is supersmart.” Nova grinned up at her.
“I do know a lot about bees.” She gave Nova’s hand a squeeze. The observation deck was surprisingly crowded but Astrid managed to get them up front so Nova could see.
“This is so cool.” Halley pressed in beside them. “I would so be freaking out if I were them.”
“You think so?” Astrid laughed.
“Um, I know so.” Halley’s expression was of mock terror.
The first thing in the demonstration was lighting the smoker. It wasn’t hard, but making sure to keep the kindling burning was key. “There’s nothing worse than working with a hot hive or doing a bee removal and having your smoker run out.” Tansy held up one of the smokers and pumped the bellows twice. Clean white smoke billowed out.
They moved on from the smoker to the tools.
“That’s the scary thing,” Nova said, pointing at the frame grip.
Tansy laughed. “Let me show you what it’s for, Nova.”
Benji used the L hook to break the seal on the hive. Kerrielynn puffed some smoke into the open box and Tansy reached inside with the frame grip. A wiggle and the frame came out.
