Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
T he few weeks leading up to the celebration were busier than usual: Robert had graduated to a cane; the bee site had been launched, with Georgia getting a tutorial from Natalie; and Natalie had the rough plans drawn for the garage’s renovation. Before she knew it, July was upon the world, and with it, the biggest celebration in the county, within fifty miles, not counting Orlando.
It had been a month since Natalie began working at the farmers market, and she hadn’t seen Garrett since the night at Clementine’s. She didn’t want to admit she wondered about his whereabouts, and she certainly was not inclined to ask. She assumed he was busy making honey since the site went live. It had only taken two weeks for the honey business to start getting orders from all over the country. Georgia was elated, but also busier than ever, and she hired some part-time staff to help pack and ship.
Two weeks after that, Georgia found Natalie among the booths at the market. “Natalie! You have turned our lives around!” she exclaimed, giving her a huge bear hug.
“Do tell!” Natalie was thrilled she’d been able to make a worthwhile contribution using her skills.
“I don’t know what you did, but we have been getting dozens of orders every week. Garrett said he’s going to have to put up a few more hives. The extra money from the mail orders will enable him to purchase everything he needs to expand without getting us into debt.” Georgia was out of breath from her excitement in delivering the news. “He’s been busy as his bees! He also said to tell you how much he appreciates what you’ve done, and he’s sorry he hasn’t had the time to tell you in person.”
Natalie smiled. “I totally understand. And, as I said, happy to help.”
Georgia finished their conversation with, “I hope we will see you at the Jamboree.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Natalie said, as she walked away on air.
“Hey Nat?” Georgia called out. “That kitty still needs a home.”
Natalie grimaced. She was torn. “Let’s chat about this later.”
* * *
The fair was a week away, and Sally tried several recipes for the bake-off contest. She was determined to enter her plum cake but needed the final approval from Robert and Natalie. The two previous attempts weren’t quite right, and Sally hoped she had hit her mark this time.
After dinner that evening, Sally presented them with her latest creation. Natalie couldn’t eat it fast enough between her mutterings of delight. “Mom! I think you’ve got a winner here!” She picked up the crumbs with the back of her fork and licked them off.
“You may have another slice,” Sally said gleefully.
Robert held up his plate and made puppy eyes. “Please, may I have some more, too?”
“Speaking of more,” Natalie chimed in, “I’m thinking about getting another cat. This one is a kitten and needs a home.”
“Do you think Mr. Meowzer would approve?”
“That’s my only concern. He’s quite mellow, and I don’t think he’d mind having a playmate.”
“Can’t you take it with the stipulation that your cat must accept another kitty?” her father suggested.
“That’s a brilliant idea. I’ll phone Georgia later. Meanwhile, another piece, please?”
After dinner, Natalie phoned Georgia and explained her terms. Georgia understood the circumstances and was happy to oblige. “I’ll ask Garrett to bring her over tonight, if that’s okay.”
Natalie suddenly got the jitters. Garrett? Here? Tonight? What could she say?
“He’ll bring litter, a pan, and food.”
Now she had to say yes. “That would be fine. What time should I expect him?”
“Hang on, I’ll go ask him.” Georgia took a moment to find her brother while Natalie’s legs turned to Jell-O. “He can be there in an hour. Is that alright?”
Natalie gulped. “Yes. Fine. Great. Thanks.” She gave Georgia the address and ended the call.
She immediately checked her image in the mirror. It needed a little tweak. She brushed her hair, retied a ribbon around it, dabbed on some blush, and swiped some gloss on her lips. She reminded herself once again that it was okay to be in touch with your feminine side, as long as you didn’t give up and abandon who you are: smart, creative, caring, and able to stand on your own two feet.
She sat at the edge of the bed and began to explain to her big, fluffy boy that he was about to get a sister. He stared, blinked, and yawned.
“I think you are going to be very happy having a pal, someone to keep you company and someone to play with.”
He blinked again and stretched. Natalie took it as a sign that he was willing to try it.
Within the hour, the doorbell rang. Natalie’s heart was beating fast. She took several deep breaths. Why was she so nervous? A new member of the family for one thing, and the bee dude for another.
Natalie answered the door. Garrett seemed larger than life, with his firm muscles pushing against the fabric of his shirt, his bright eyes, and a very charming smile. “Hello, Natalie,” he said in a clear baritone voice.
“Hi, Garrett.” She swung the door open. “Please come in.” She peered inside the carrier, where a little black ball of fur meowed. She approached with a soft voice. “Hello, sweetie. Everything is going to be okay.” Then she turned her attention back to Garrett. “Thanks for bringing her and everything else over.” She noticed a large box on the front step that contained everything Georgia had listed.
She took the carrier from Garrett as he brought the box inside. “Where do you want this?”
“You can leave it at the bottom of the stairs.”
Several minutes later, Sally and Robert appeared in the hall. “Garrett, these are my parents, Sally and Robert Simmons.”
Garrett politely shook their hands. “Nice to meet you.”
“We buy your honey all the time,” Sally said with a smile.
“Thanks. We appreciate it.” Garrett paused before continuing, “Did you see the incredible job Natalie did with our website?”
Sally looked surprised. “I haven’t seen it. Have you, dear?” she asked, turning to her husband.
“No. Natalie hadn’t mentioned it,” he said with a smirk.
“Just trying to help out. No biggie.” Natalie tried to blow it off.
“Don’t believe her. It really is a biggie. It’s generated over two thousand dollars in the past month.”
“That’s our girl,” her father said proudly. “And modest, too.” He gave her a wink, the new sign language.
“I better get going. Nice to meet you. Hope to see you at the festival. I hear the fireworks display this year is going to be over the top.”
“Looking forward to it,” Robert answered, knowing he was going to have to limit his movements, but he wasn’t going to miss the pyrotechnics.
Natalie moved toward the front door to let Garrett out. “Thanks again.”
“No, thank you, Natalie Simmons.” Garrett gave her the two-finger salute as he turned and walked outside.
Her father was the first to proclaim, “Nice young man.”
Natalie was about to say something snarky but stopped herself. Garrett hadn’t been anything but kind and gracious, even if he did slightly embarrass her with his compliments. He just made her feel . . . unbalanced. But she wasn’t sure why.
Natalie shook the thoughts out of her head and turned her attention to the new member of the family. “Hi. Do you want to meet your new brother?” She looked at her parents and said, “Wish us luck.”
Natalie climbed the stairs and took a deep breath as she opened the door.
“Look who I have here, Mr. Meowzer. It’s your new toy. This is for you.”
Natalie remembered that when you introduce a new pet, you should make it sound like it’s a present for your current one. She placed the carrier on the bed, and Mr. Meowzer went straight to sniffing it out. The kitten backed into the corner of the carrier, and Natalie continued to speak to both of them in hushed tones. She opened the door of the hard-cased pet taxi and decided to leave them to their own to explore the situation and feel each other out.
Mr. Meowzer sat on the outside of the carrier, sniffing and staring. No hissing so far.
“I’ll be right back,” Natalie said to them, and then went downstairs to tell her parents that she was going to supervise the introduction and get some work done. When she returned to her room, the kitten had moved closer to the opening of the carrier.
“That’s my girl. And my boy.”
Mr. Meowzer hadn’t budged, but at least he didn’t run away, or worse, make a move to threaten the kitten.
Natalie opened her laptop and began to finish her latest project for her job. She contemplated the difference in her enthusiasm between the sites she developed for Bee-Cause Honey and The Sledgehammers. It was obvious. The challenge of the honeybee website was definitely more satisfying.
A lightbulb went on in her head. Why not turn some of her focus toward nonprofits or community groups? She could maintain her day job. That was easy. Boring, but easy. Stretching herself to more worthwhile projects would be gratifying and add balance to her life.
Spending time at the market and the food pantry changed her point of view. Or it actually gave her one. A much larger one, at the very least. She reflected about the irony to have found a bigger perspective and purpose in a smaller place.
Natalie had been engrossed in her thoughts when a purring caught her attention. She quickly turned toward the sound. There was Mr. Meowzer, gently holding the kitten down with one paw while he licked the top of her head and all over her face. It was a meow of delight.
“Welcome to your new home, little one.”
Natalie realized the cat didn’t have a name, or if she did, neither Georgia nor Garrett shared it. Natalie often referred to Mr. Meowzer as “Bubbie” and chose “Boo” for the new fur baby. Easy to say, “Bubbie and Boo.” That’s Miz Boo for anyone who asks.
Natalie decided to check on her folks and give them an update. They were in the living room, watching reruns of Columbo . Her father turned toward her and remarked, “Fifty years later, and it’s still entertaining.”
“Better than a lot of stuff these days.” Sally chuckled. “Do we sound like old fogies?”
“No. You sound like intelligent people who want to be entertained by talented writers and actors, whether it’s comedy or drama.”
“A very articulate response,” her father replied.
“And flattering,” Sally added. “So how are my grandchildren getting along?”
“So far, so good. When I came down, Mr. M was grooming Miz Boo.”
“You named her already?” her mother asked.
“It just came to me. I usually call my guy Bubbie. Boo seemed to fit.”
“Bubbie and Boo. Sounds like a duo to me,” her father remarked. “By the way, that Garrett fellow. Seems like a nice young man.”
“Yeah, you said.” Natalie waved him off. “Good night.”