THE BUSY BEE
Every Wednesday evening I do a bit of a shop at the Busy Bee Market.The Busy Bee is over on Main St., so it gives me a nice excuse to get out for some excercise on a nice early evening. Expecially in the Spring when its just a little crisp and new growth is tryin to bust itself inside out on the limbs of the trees and explode from beneath the packed earth of a long hard Winter. It's always nice on a clear, dusky Spring's eve and the moon shinin in a steele blue sky. Yes, Busy Bee Marketing on Wednesday evenin for me was definitely just an excuse to be out in the world next to nature. I guess Madge and everybody knew that I would be steppin out at the same time every Wednesday night. That was somehow comfortin. Just like I knew, as usual, Billy'd be walkin me home after shoppin and we'd be sharin some Stick Candy along with the days news.
I guess I knew a lot about boys Billy's age. Before I moved to this town I'd been workin at a Private School for boys and learned a lot about their secret ways. Most of the boys lived at the school and so did I, so it was hard not to get in on the inner workings of the boys goings on. I guessed Billy wasn't much different from those boys at all. All basically good kids with a blue streak running in their blood that could take a surprisin direction at any moment. Yes he was a good kid alright, but like any other kid his age he could turn on a dime.
Anyway, hadn't I just stepped out and hit the pavement when Alice Kemp should come along. Yup, I guess everybody knew I'd be steppin out at about this time. She was nice enough, except she was that hulkin kinda woman where you just knew her kids came when they were called, and not a moment later. Well I'd heard the news of her daughters up and comin wedding from Billy the previous Wednesday night but hadn't given it a whole lot of thought, if you know what I mean. Didn't she just stop me and start on about it. The way she went on! Well, she says, they'd be needin flowers and didn't they just finish off a picture. Didn't I have such a bountiful Rose Garden come June and didn't I have such a wonderful patch of Wild Flowers out behind my Weepin Willow tree every Summer and hadn't I done such a gorgeous job of paintin a picture at May Cannington's daughter Suzie's wedding only last year and wouldn't her daughter Jean just be tickled pink to think that I'd be so kind as to help her do the same on her very special day. You know, she says, as a reminder, Jean made such a beautiful Bridesmaid at Suzie's wedding and weren't they still thicker than thieves at an Art Auction.
Well, Alice I could take most times and wasn't I that proud of my garden. People did talk about my Roses and I supposed that the Flotsam and Jetsum out back was prettier than I'd seen in the countryside. Well, by the time I'd stopped puffin up and she'd stopped paddin my pride I'd agreed to make Jean's Special Day even more special and didn't I watch Alice trundle off like she'd won the War. She's said what she wanted to say, got what she came for and off she went triumphant. Veni, Vidi..whatever.
June wasn't that far off and I hoped that my garden would be just as wonderful as ever. There's never any accountin for the weather and what goes on in God's gardens. Although I always took great care in helpin Nature along when it came to gardenin. I guess it was my way of being part of the grand picture. Oh, now what was I worryin about. I never gave it a thought before and just went along with things as they happened. Things, I knew, never came out natural by stewin about them and they never work out the way you plan them. Wasn't this a case in point.
By the time I reached the Busy Bee Market it was well after my usual time and Billy'd done most of the stockin up chores and was glad to see me at all. Didn't look my cheery self he said. As I was checkin out the few things I managed to remember I needed I began thinkin that somethin was feelin amiss, probably just that feelin you get when you were doin something you wanted to do and somethin else takes you away from it. I don't know. This Wednesday night wasn't so pleasurable as the others. Billy walked me home and we shared a stick of Butterscotch candy. I told him I was doin Jean's flowers. We caught up on other news and Bowser greeted us as happy as ever on my front lawn.
April turned to May, May turned into June and we were a couple weeks away from Jean's special day. My garden was lookin as grand as ever and I pondered on that moment of doubt I'd had in April and chuckled a little. God has a plan I thought and ever was I in it.
It was interesting how Alice Kemp started to take a great deal of interest in the way I was takin care of my garden. Jean made regular visits. Alice'd send her half-baked husband over regularly to see if I needed any help. No I'd say, it's in God's hands and I knew that would worry them til the cows came home. Of course everything would be fine! I knew it.
Everybody was takin an interest in the state of my Garden it seemed, including Billy. As we got nearer to Jean's Special Day I began to realize that Billy'd taken a serious interest in Jean. An interest that had been in existance a lot longer that one can guess. An interest that was seriously botherin him, if you know what I mean. Didn't glimmer on to me til we were workin on the seed rows of some experimental plants George Lumas put me on to. Seeds were becomin an interestin article to my friend Billy. Along with my Roses he was seriously considerin the Blossoms, if you know what I mean. Talk about turnin on a dime. We'd talk a blue streak about nothin. We'd circle love and life and eternal love. We talked like we've never talked before, but in circles. In Billy's circle of life and according to Billy. That was fine by me.
Come the Day. Come the day of Jean we gathered together in a house full of all the beautiful flowers that Billy and I had gathered together. We silently watched as the gatherin grew. Alice, her half-baked husband, Madge Farquarson, May Cannington, Suzie Cannington and the rest of the Wedding Party, Bobby Turner was there to cover for the Gazzette and the rest. Billy brought Bowser and it was ok since he'd worked so hard. We listened intently to the ceremony and Billy very quietly put his hand in mine. He had tears rollin down his little cheeks. His little body was shaking. He was in love, maybe for the first time. I don't know. I knew this one counted for him. I knew we'd be friends for a long time comin and I was glad. Good thing love comes I thought. It gives us hope. If you know what I mean...
Harmonyville - Home
The Folks of Harmonyville
Madge Farquarson
Dick Barrymore
The Talent Competition
May Jones...A Story
Dog Days...A Story
Hank Brown...A Story
The Bake Off!...A Story
Guiness - A Billy Story
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