CHAPTER TEN
Bee had been trying to film a video about grocery shopping for nearly twenty minutes. She had started by complaining about how she could walk into a store for three things and leave with two bags of groceries, a candle she did not need, and a snack she had never seen before.
Somewhere in the middle, Bee forgot the point she was trying to make and started laughing at herself. She stopped the recording and looked at her phone with a sigh.
“This is terrible,” Bee said.
Grandma called from the kitchen. “Then talk about something else.”
Bee turned toward the doorway. “I’m filming.”
“I know,” Grandma replied.
“You’re supposed to pretend you’re not listening,” Bee said.
Grandma continued drying a plate. “I live here.”
Bee shook her head and smiled. Grandma had a talent for appearing in the middle of her videos and saying something that changed the entire conversation. Bee’s followers loved those moments almost as much as she did.
She started recording again and adjusted the phone until her face filled the frame. “Okay, we’re going to try this one more time. Forget the grocery store because apparently, I can’t tell it without getting distracted.”
Grandma’s voice cut into the recording from the kitchen. Bee stopped in the middle of a word.
“Has Wes asked you out yet?” Grandma asked.
Bee stopped talking and slowly turned toward her. Grandma stood in the doorway with a dish towel in her hands and a completely innocent expression.
Bee glanced at the phone and realized it was still recording. “Grandma.”
“What?” Grandma asked.
“You can’t ask me things like that while I’m filming,” Bee said.
“Why not?” Grandma asked.
Bee pointed toward the phone. “People can hear you.”
“They can hear me all the time,” Grandma replied.
Bee looked from Grandma to the phone. The exchange was already funnier than the grocery store, so she leaned closer to the camera.
“Actually, forget what I was talking about,” Bee said. “I have a question for everybody.”
Grandma raised an eyebrow and returned to the kitchen. Bee adjusted the phone before continuing.
“Who should ask who out on a first date?” Bee asked. “Should the guy ask the girl, or should the girl ask the guy? People argue about this all the time, and I want to know what everybody thinks.”
She paused and tried to make the question sound less personal than it had already become. Grandma moved into the living room with a basket of laundry and sat nearby.
“Personally, I think the guy should ask,” Bee explained. “That’s how I was raised. If a man likes a woman, he should ask her out.”
Grandma folded a towel. “So, you’re waiting for Wes?”
Bee’s eyes widened. “Grandma!”
“What?” Grandma asked.
Bee looked toward her. “You know exactly what you’re doing.”
Grandma folded the towel in half. “I’m drying dishes.”
Bee tried not to laugh as she faced the camera again. There was no saving the idea that this was a random question.
“Anyway, I want to know what you guys think,” Bee said. “Who should ask first? Let me know.”
She ended the recording and stared at the screen before covering her face with both hands. Grandma kept folding while Bee lowered her hands enough to glare at her.
“You could’ve answered the question,” Bee said.
“I did answer it,” Grandma replied.
“You talked around it,” Bee argued.
Grandma placed another towel in the basket. “You said the man should ask.”
“Exactly,” Bee replied.
Grandma picked up the basket and stood. “So now you’re going to wait for him.”
Bee watched her disappear down the hallway before replaying the video. She should have deleted it after Grandma brought Wes into the conversation. The exchange made her laugh again instead.
Trying to recreate the moment would make it feel forced. Bee posted the video exactly as it was.
The comments appeared within minutes. Some viewers argued about who should ask first, but most focused on Grandma casually bringing up Wes.
@ray89: GIRL, WE KNOW THIS IS ABOUT WES ??
@maddiefromthemesa: JUST ASK HIM ALREADY.
@countrykitchenmama: Nope. Let that man ask you. Grandma is right. ??
@bluebirdbabe: THE BLUE BIRD FLOUR MAN HAS ENTERED THE CHAT.
@nattso22: Grandma said what everybody else was thinking.
Bee covered her face with one hand. “Oh my God.”
She kept scrolling even though every comment made the situation worse. Her followers had decided the question was about Wes. There was no point trying to convince them otherwise.
She tossed the phone onto the couch and called toward the kitchen. “I should never have posted that.”
Grandma looked over from the counter. “You posted it?”
“Yes, and now everybody thinks it’s about Wes,” Bee replied.
Grandma smiled. “Maybe they aren’t wrong.”
Bee gave her a look. “You’re enjoying this too much.”
Grandma laughed and returned to what she was doing. Bee picked up her phone again even though she had promised herself she was finished looking.
Wes did not see the video until his workday ended. His phone had stayed in his truck while he worked, and Bee’s face appeared near the top of his feed when he finally checked it.
He watched the video once and then played it again. The second time, he paid closer attention to Bee’s answer and the way she reacted when Grandma said his name.
Bee had become embarrassed instead of denying that she liked him. Wes leaned back against the seat and thought about the time they had spent together since she came home.
Wes opened their messages and stared at Bee’s name. He did not want thousands of people involved in something that felt personal. Wes sent her a private message.
Wes: I saw your video.
Bee’s phone buzzed while she sat on the couch. She saw his name and felt the nervousness in her stomach grow stronger.
Bee: Oh no.
His reply appeared a moment later. Bee opened it immediately.
Wes: Your grandma seems to think I should ask you out.
Bee smiled despite herself. She typed a quick answer.
Bee: She thinks a lot of things.
The typing indicator appeared and vanished. It returned while Wes tried more than once to find the right words.
Wes: You said the man should ask.
Bee stared at the message as a nervous smile pulled at her mouth. She typed the only answer that felt honest.
Bee: I did.
The typing indicator returned. It disappeared twice before another message appeared.
Wes: Would you like to go out with me?
Bee read the question twice. She had wondered whether Wes would understand what she meant in the video, but she had not known whether he would act on it.
She looked toward the kitchen. “Grandma?”
Grandma glanced over. “What?”
“He asked,” Bee said.
Grandma smiled. “I know.”
Bee frowned. “How would you know?”
Grandma nodded toward the phone in Bee’s hands. “You’ve been staring at that screen for five minutes.”
Bee looked down and realized she was holding it with both hands. Her smile grew before she could stop it.
“He asked me out,” Bee said.
Grandma lifted her tea. “What are you going to tell him?”
Bee looked at the unanswered message. “I’m going to say yes.”
“Then you should probably tell him,” Grandma replied.
Bee laughed and returned her attention to the screen. She read Wes’s question once more.
Bee: Yes.
She hesitated before sending another message. Her thumb hovered over the screen.
Bee: Tomorrow?
His answer came quickly. Bee read it twice.
Wes: Tomorrow.
Another message appeared a few seconds later. Bee sat a little straighter.
Wes: I’ll pick you up at seven.
Bee agreed and set the phone beside her. She leaned against the couch while Grandma watched from the kitchen.
“You’re smiling,” Grandma said.
“No, I’m not,” Bee replied.
Grandma took another drink of tea. “You are.”
Bee gave up trying to hide it. “I can’t help it.”
Grandma smiled and said nothing else. Bee picked up her phone and read the messages again.
By late afternoon the next day, Bee had already changed her outfit twice. She eventually chose something simple because every other option felt like she was trying too hard.
Wes finished work and went home. He showered, then changed his shirt once before deciding the first one had been fine.
On the way to Grandma’s house, Wes stopped at the store. A small display of flowers stood near the front, and several bunches filled the buckets.
The blue flowers caught his attention first. Wes smiled as he remembered Bee standing in Grandma’s kitchen with a bouquet and complete confidence that she had completed her errand.
He picked up the blue flowers and carried them to the register. The joke belonged to them now, and choosing anything else would have felt wrong.
The cashier glanced at the bouquet. “Date?”
“Yeah,” Wes replied.
“First one?” the cashier asked.
Wes nodded. “Yeah.”
The cashier handed back his change. “Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Wes said.
Wes carried the bouquet outside and placed it carefully on the passenger seat. Before leaving the parking lot, he opened the camera on his phone.
“Okay, I guess I’m off the market,” Wes said.
He lifted the blue flowers into the frame. “These are for somebody.”
Wes paused and smiled awkwardly. “That’s all.”
He watched the recording once. It was not polished, and his nervousness showed. The awkward smile and short explanation sounded like him.
Wes posted the video and started the truck. Notifications began appearing while he drove to Grandma’s house, but he left the phone untouched.
By the time he parked, viewers had already connected the flowers to Bee. The comments were filled with guesses and jokes about Blue Bird flour.
@ray89: OH MY GOD, IT’S BEE ??????
@maddiefromthemesa: THE BLUE FLOWERS!!! HE REMEMBERED.
@bluebirdbabe: BLUE BIRD FLOUR MAN IS OFFICIALLY OFF THE MARKET. ??
@countrykitchenmama: Grandma knew what she was doing.
@nativesunshine22: Bee better answer this man.
Bee saw the video while she was getting ready. She had checked her notifications several times, and Wes’s face appeared on the screen when she opened the app again.
She watched him hold up the flowers and announce that he was off the market. By the end of the video, her smile hurt.
Grandma noticed from across the room. “What are you smiling at?”
Bee turned the phone toward herself. “Nothing.”
Grandma smiled. “That’s Wes, isn’t it?”
“Maybe,” Bee replied.
She watched the video again and opened the comments. Bee covered her face as soon as she saw the guesses.
“They know,” Bee said.
“Of course they know,” Grandma replied.
Bee lowered the phone. “How do they always know?”
Grandma shrugged. “People pay attention.”
Bee laughed and opened her messages. She found Wes’s name near the top.
Bee: Off the market?
Wes’s response came while she was still looking at the screen. Bee opened it immediately.
Wes: I guess.
Bee smiled before typing again. The flowers were still on her mind.
Bee: And the flowers?
Wes glanced at the bouquet beside him when the message appeared. He typed his answer.
Wes: They’re for you.
Bee looked at the answer. She knew the color was not an accident, but she wanted to hear him say it.
Bee: Blue?
His response appeared a moment later. Bee held the phone closer.
Wes: I remembered.
Bee read the two words again. He remembered the flour and the joke. More than that, he had remembered something small that most people would have forgotten.
Bee: I like them.
Wes smiled when he saw her answer. He kept his reply simple.
Wes: Good.
Bee set her phone down and checked herself in the mirror. Her hair and makeup finally looked the way she wanted. The third outfit had survived longer than ten minutes.
She reached up to fix one small piece of hair, then stopped and laughed at herself. The blue flowers mattered more than whether every strand stayed in place.
Grandma passed the doorway and glanced at her. “You’re fixing your hair again.”
Bee dropped her hand. “No, I’m not.”
“You were,” Grandma replied.
Bee looked back at the mirror. “I was checking it.”
Grandma smiled. “Whatever you need to tell yourself.”
Bee laughed and picked up her phone. Headlights moved across the window as a truck pulled into the driveway.
Grandma looked outside. “Your date is here.”
Bee took one last look in the mirror and reached for her hair before catching herself. She laughed and grabbed what she needed. Bee headed for the door with a smile she could no longer hide.