they used the swings and sliding board and chased each other all over the place. Someone came with a basketball and of course they began to shoot baskets.
This, I thought, just establishing this simple routine was a big step toward recovering a wounded childhood. We were making it the best it could be.
Archie called later that night. Sharon was out of the hospital and recovering nicely. Her experience had frightened her very badly, he said.
“I’m sure it did!” I said.
“She’s driving everyone in the restaurants crazy, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“She wants to know where everything on her plate is grown before she’ll take a bite of anything.”
“Well, in a way it’s understandable.”
“I don’t think she’s having such a great time,” he said.
Too bad, I thought.
“Well, don’t they have carriage tours like we do in Charleston? Take her into Hamilton. There’s supposed to be great shopping.”
“Yeah, maybe we’ll do that. So how are the boys? I should’ve called earlier so I could talk to them, but we were at dinner. Have they driven you insane yet?”
“Not a chance. The boys are great. The house is fine. Everything is just as you’d hope. So y’all just have fun and enjoy your time together.”
“Well, it’s only a few more days,” he said. “Are you sure you’re holding up okay?”
“Are you kidding? I haven’t had this much fun since I don’t even know when!”
We hung up, and I thought he sounded very glum for a man whose new wife told half the world that all she wanted to do was make him happy. It was awfully soon for the bloom to be off the rose, like they say, but now that she had the ring, maybe this was who Sharon really was.
“You know, honey bees can’t survive without strong lines of communication, and the queen substance is super important,” I said.
“What’s in it?” Tyler asked.
“Pheromones,” I said. “Like a smell. It tells all the bees in the hive that everything is all right. Or it sends an alarm.”
Chapter Seventeen
Bee Ware
When Archie and Sharon returned from Bermuda it was like a rigid and formal changing of the guard. The boys, of course, flew past me screaming “Dad!” He dropped his suitcases, picked the boys up, and swung them over and over. Sharon politely said hello and went into the house, which, for the record, was exactly as they had left it. She would not be able to find any fault with my housekeeping.
“Did y’all have fun in spite of the hospital? You’ve both got a nice tan!”
“We did,” Archie said. “Bermuda is so beautiful, all that aqua water and the cottages all painted in pastels.”
“I’ll get there eventually,” I said. “How about you, Sharon?”
“I wouldn’t go back there if you gave me a billion dollars!” she said.
“Why not?” Tyler asked.
“Because I nearly died there! What’s the matter with you? Didn’t anyone tell you?”
“Sorry,” Tyler said, crestfallen. “I’ll just be in my room.”
He quietly left the kitchen.
Hunter whispered to Archie, unfortunately too loudly, “See? You should’ve taken us instead.”
“Little boy!” Sharon said in a huff. “Archie! Do something!”
Hunter shrugged his shoulders and ran to his room. I was just standing there, so awfully out of place.
“What would you like me to do, Sharon? Cane them? They’re just kids.”
“I should go,” I said, and I couldn’t wait to get out of there.
“Wait,” she said. “Tell me something, Holly. Were the boys this horribly behaved for you?”
I didn’t know what to say, and I sure didn’t want to get drawn into a family dispute.
“This really isn’t my business, but I think it might help if you tried to understand that children don’t always pick up the nuances of adult conversation. They just don’t. Tyler probably already forgot that you were so sick. Last week seems like a really long time ago to him, but it’s like five minutes to you,” I said. “And Hunter still can’t understand why he and his brother didn’t get to go on the trip to Bermuda. He was actually very disappointed. He thought the whole family should celebrate together.”
“I agree with Holly,” Archie said. “Try not to have such a short fuse, babe. Kids just aren’t wired like adults. They have a different worldview. It’s not personal. It’s just juvenile.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Look, I never had kids! What do you expect from me?”
“Kindness,” Archie said. “Kindness and understanding.”
“Um, I left y’all a pot roast with roasted potatoes and carrots on the stove. I’ll see y’all later.”