Bee Happy (8 page)

 
The rest of Sally’s lunch hour flew by, two friends agreeing to not agree about everything spiritual.  Sally’s patience with her friend could win her an award, but she knew that eventually there would be common ground for them regarding unseen forces of the world.  Calli gave her friend a quick hug and headed to the New to You clothing store.  There just had to be another fabulous dress for her to wear to the wedding next weekend.  After her realization that her closet didn’t contain much in the way of dresses, she was on a mission to add to her wardrobe easily and quickly.  The easy part had to do with the fact that she could get some fabulous dresses for a fraction of the cost, and most were in excellent condition and some even still had the price tags attached.  Must have been an impulse purchase and then recycled here, their loss and my good fortune.  As she tried on the dresses she had chosen, there seemed to be a ‘presence’ in the dressing room with her.  Calli looked around the tiny cubical quickly and didn’t see anything there, at least nothing in the physical.  This sometimes happened to her, especially after being with Sally and talking about all her spiritual stuff.  Calli didn’t want to discount what her friend believed in but she wasn’t buying everything she said, at least not yet.  She almost felt a little dizzy and crowded by something; sitting down on the chair she closed her eyes and tried to figure out what was happening to her.  She knew that sometimes when she’d been in the sun too long picking peas she would feel this way, but never inside a store.  After a few deep breaths, she felt ‘normal’ again.  Back to decision time.  She had brought only $20 cash with her and there were actually three dresses that she wanted to take home, for future dates.  Ha!  That’s a fun thought, more dates.  I might even start to like this!  Asking the clerk to hold the third dress until next week, Calli hurried back to the van with her great looking bargains.  She
felt a certain
satisfaction in finding
these dresses.  She’d return next week and there might even be more choices. 

  Roger was sitting on the front porch, sipping some ice tea when she walked up the steps.  “How was your lunch with Sally?  Looks like you did a little shopping too.  Are you going to be seeing Jim again?”  There, he’d finally broken his silence about her date, and he hoped that she’d give him at least a little information to satisfy his curiosity.  He was well aware of her distaste for Jim at the farmers market, so there had to be something good that had happened for her to be in such a good mood and buying more dresses.  “Sally was fine.  She’s always trying to convince me there’s things happening that I can’t see or touch.  But that’s Sally, gotta love her no matter what.  I found a couple dresses that will be fun to wear.  Plus I needed something to wear to the wedding next weekend.”  Roger almost choked on his ice tea, she said wedding next weekend.  That was absolutely the most powerful first date on record, especially if they were getting married next weekend.  Calli laughed at the look on his face suddenly understanding what he was thinking.  “Oh, no.  Not me and Jim.  He invited me to join him at his cousins wedding next weekend at the Presbyterian Church here in Evergreen.  It was a good first date, but we’re not the ones getting married.  You almost looked like you were going to have a heart attack or something.  Believe me you’ll be the first to know when I decide to get married.  And just remember that I’m not in a hurry and I still am keeping my score card going where Jim is concerned.”  Roger again looked puzzled, “You have a score card about Jim?”  Calli patted him on the shoulder, “This is for me to know about and for you to never find out about.  I’ve got to get these hung up in the
closet and start loading the cooler
for market tomorrow.  How are we doing with our harvesting?”  They discussed what else needed to be picked and then both set about getting the vegetables in the coolers for tomorrow.  The afternoon turned into evening and they both relaxed on the front porch
watching the stars come out.  Calli was the first one to turn in for the night, knowing that the morning would come early.  Roger watched the stars twinkle and wondered if they were sending Morse code messages.  He also wondered if his beloved wife was out there somewhere in heaven.  Surely heaven had stars; he missed her company the most in the evenings.  They used to sit here on this porch and try to count the stars.  They never did finish—he wished she was here right beside him, laughing as they got lost in the constellatio
ns, had they counted this one or
not?

  Calli was up before the rooster started crowing.  She hurried through her morning shower and headed down the stairs to finish loading the van.  Roger wasn’t up yet, which surprised her, usually he has breakfast ready and a sack lunch for her to take.  He must have stayed up late last night watching the stars, she knew that he and her grandmother loved the stars and knew most of the constellations by name and also the myths behind them.  After she got the last bucket loaded, she found Roger in the kitchen mumbling to himself about sleeping in and not being ready for the day.  He apologized to Calli and handed her a sack, “Sorry I overslept, here’s your lunch, guess you’ll have to drive through somewhere for breakfast, don’t know why I stayed in bed so long today.  I’ll be along this afternoon to help you haul all the money bags home.”  At least he still had his sense of humor although Calli didn’t think he looked right.  Something was bothering him and there wasn’t time to find out what it was.  “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.  There are always some homemade kolaches there at the market.  My favorite is poppy seed; hopefully they won’t be gone before I get a couple.  See you this afternoon and rest a bit you still look a little tired this morning.”  Roger nodded and shooed her out the door and they both knew that he wouldn’t take a nap if his life depended upon it. 

  Jim’s multicolored hippie van was already there at the market.  The cars were fast filling up the parking lot, and all the vendors were laughing a
nd
joking.  It felt like a party although everyone knew it was serious business.  They all worked many hours in their gardens, many hours of what normal people would call overtime.  And the fruits and vegetables of their labors were what put the cash into their bank accounts.  These were hard working people who loved the land and loved growing food for their neighbors.  Not a single one of them would ever consider a different career, it was like a genetic pattern that couldn’
t be broken or altered
no matter how many hail storms, blights, bugs or vermin attacked their gardens.  This was their mission in life.  Growing food and feeding the community, and it was a community that Calli felt very comfortable being a part of, even though she’d only been raising vegetables for a few years, it was part of her genetics and in her blood.

  As she bega
n to unload her van, Jim appeared
almost out of thin air.  Grabbing a couple of th
e plastic buckets her produce was in, he led
her to the booth right beside his.  “Thought I’d save you the trouble of getting your booth reserved.  As you know these are the primo spots in the entire place.  We’ll be able to sell out quickly and maybe you’ll agree to have supper with me again.”  His smile melted the protective shield Calli had placed around her heart.  Her first instinct was to say ‘no’ and as his smile grew larger she changed the answer to ‘yes’.  “That sounds like a perfect plan.  Although you know that my grandfather always comes here in the afternoon to help me tear down and we usually go together to the Burger Barn to celebrate.  So if you’re okay with a third person, the answer is yes I’ll go to supper with you, provided we go Dutch treat.”  There she’d drawn the line, now it wasn’t a date but a couple of people going out to eat after a long day at the market.  “Fine by me.  I love to hear your grandfather talk about growing up here and all the stories he has that most people don’t want him to remember.  Let’s get everything organized and find some breakfast rolls.  I didn’t have time to fix mine this morning.”  Calli found it interesting that neither of them had eaten yet, she was always looking for confirmations or signs about how her life was flowing.  Sometimes everything fell into place without any effort at all and sometimes it felt like going up a mountain without a path.  “I’m in the mood for some poppy seed kolaches.  Hope that Mildred is here and that she hasn’t sold out yet.  I know that the vendors are her best customers, sometimes there aren’t any left for the public.”  Jim grabbed the last bucket from Calli’s van and set it into place.  “There.  All done.”  As he grabbed her hand, she felt a blush of exciteme
nt wash over her, a
nother sign to pay attention to.  “My grandmother used to make kolaches but I’m partial to apricot.  That was her specialty.  I wish I’d learned how to make them before she passed on.  There’s no one in our family to carry on the tradition.”  Jim seemed a little sad, but shifted the mood by pulling her faster down the aisle.  “Hurry, I see Frank ahead of us, he’ll probably buy every last one if we don’t get there and stop him.” 

 
They each bought a half dozen kolaches in a variety of flavors.  As they walked back to their booths, they sampled each others.  And hands down the lemon was both of their favorites.  “I’d never have believed that lemon would be the winning kolache. I’ve always thought poppy seed was the best.  Of course then you have to spend the rest of the day picking the tiny seeds out of your teeth.”  Calli was totally loving their bantering back and forth, it felt easy and fun.  She’d not been this relaxed in a very long time with a guy, not since Cal.  “Looks like we’d better get ready, I see they are opening up the gate.  If you need any help today just whistle, I’ll be right there in a flash.”  Jim was pleased with himself for having gotten their booths side by side.  As the first customers of the day poured past them, the selling began at a rapid pace.  Weighing and bagging and helping people choose took all of Calli’s attention, most of the time.  She managed to sneak a few looks at Jim and whenever she did he was looking right back at her and grinning.  The morning seemed to fly by, and Calli had to replenish her buckets of produce more than once.  Jim jumped at the chance to help her carry them back to the booth.  She was enjoying the attention and grateful for the help in carrying the buckets.  After a few of them, they started to get a little heavy, especially those filled with water for the flowers.  Lunch time came and went with a flurry of customers, about 1:30 pm it slowed down enough for them to rest a bit and eat the lunch that Roger had fixed.  Calli shared her sandwich and chips with Jim.  He offere
d part of his PB & J sandwich and some of the apple slices.  They were from his apple orchard, last year’s crop of course.  She hadn’t realized that he had an orchard.  That would keep him very busy in the fall with the harvest.  That explained why he wasn’t there very often during the fall farmers market. 

  About 4 pm Roger arrived with his money bag.  He cruised the aisles talking to his friends and picking up a few baked goods that were left.  All the kolaches were gone.  Calli had saved one for him.  She k
new that would make him happy.  Jim was sold out of everything and had his van loaded and ready to go. 
As he started helping Calli, Roger returned
and carried the last of the buckets to her van
.  The two of them had everything loaded in nothing flat.  Calli stood back and watched
; she
most definitely could get used to
all
this attention and help.  “Looks like we’re ready to roll.  Jim is going to join us at the Burger Barn for supper.  I’ll stop by the bank and make the deposit.  Meet both of you there.”  Calli was pleased with her earnings for the day.  Again she’d brought in more cash than she expected. This year was going to set records for her produce and flowers.  What a great life I have, she mused.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

  The Burger Barn was almost empty, except for the waitresses and bus boys.  They had even gotten there before the senior crowd arrived.  Roger and Jim were sitting at a table near the front window, talking and laughing as Calli entered.  Jim got up and pulled out the chair for her.  She smiled and internally added another check to his list.  Sa
ndy, their favorite waitress, brought the glasses of water with lemon.  She knew exactly what they’d order, because they had been coming here after the farmers
market for a long time and they hadn’t changed it yet.  “What can I get for you Jim?  I already know what these two want.”  Jim paused and looked at Calli, “I’ll have whatever she’s having.  I know it will be exactly what I want!”  Calli felt a surge of energy pass between them, she wasn’t sure exactly what it meant but it felt good.  This connection was getting stronger each time they were
together;
she couldn’t put her finger on what was happening but decided to just let it be. 

  All three of them
enjoyed their bacon cheeseburgers and fries.  Jim added mustard to his which made Calli cringe.  “Ooh, how can you ruin a perfectly great burger with that yellow stuff?”  She was enjoying the teasing that was going back and forth between them. 
“I’ll have you know that mustard was invented for the gods and maybe goddesses!”  The twinkle in his eyes just added to the lighthearted mood of the evening.  Roger seemed too quiet and Calli thought he looked a little pale.  She didn’t want to worry, but knew she’d better keep a close eye on him.  Everyone ordered Mildred’s famous apple pie with ice cream.  How did she keep up with everything?  Her kolaches were always a hit at the farmers market and now tonight she’s serving fresh pie.  When did she have time to sleep?  The restaurant was filling up with the Saturday night cr
owd; the music was only going to
get louder.  “Looks like it’s time for us old folks to go home.”  Roger said it with a smile that Calli felt was forced.  “I’m not admitting to be old but I am ready to go home.  Thanks for joining us Jim, this was fun!”  On the drive home, Calli relived the day, taking note about how Jim had made her laugh, helped her with the booth and was not even a tiny bit irritating even once.  She was totally amazed at her continued transformation of her opinion
of Jim.  Life sure has surprises
lined up for us.  Next she turned her thoughts to her grandfather, he was her main concern. 
She hoped that he just needed some extra rest and that there wasn’t anything major going on with his health.  He was her rock and her foundation.