Chapter Two
Cammie
Ding Ding
The chime of the door startled me out of my thoughts. It'd been a slow morning after the usual early morning rush, if you could call my handful of regulars a rush, so I was happy to see anyone coming in the door. Seeing it was Dorrie was even more exciting.
"What have you got for me today?" I asked with a grin.
"Honey for my honey," she said with a chuckle. "My babies worked overtime for this, so of course you needed it right away."
Dorothy, or Dorrie for short, was Pine Grove's resident beekeeper, but she was also a close friend of mine. We liked to joke that she was the reason the town was as queer as it was, since she was working hard to make everyone a friend of Dorothy.
She'd been a particularly good friend to me lately.
If I was being honest with myself, Dorrie was the main reason I hadn't given up on Busy Bee's and myself.
The discounts she gave me had to be criminal, though.
She had to be selling her honey to me at below her costs, but she had a stubborn streak a mile wide and wouldn't take a cent more than what she asked for.
As a Pine Grove lifer, I knew better than to waste her or my time trying to make her take a fair price.
"You're a godsend!"
"Oh, please, if I'm a godsend, you're a honey-scented goddess. The bees do all the work for me, but you - you make honey-flavored miracles."
"You're being ridiculous," I said, laughing at the clearly over-exaggerated compliment.
"Honey, if I had half your talent, I certainly wouldn't be spoiling Pine Grove with it, but I'm sure glad you are."
Dorrie loved Pine Grove as much as I did, probably more if I was being honest. She and her two best friends, Ethel and Iris, a lesbian couple who'd lived here for longer than I could remember, were self-appointed as the town's welcoming committee.
There wasn't anything that happened in Pine Grove that all of them wouldn't know about by the end of the day.
Pine Grove was a quintessential New England small town with its historic charm and easily walkable downtown.
Almost everyone knew everyone, and usually, even if you didn't, everyone was friendly.
The town was surprisingly open-minded about most things and housed a larger queer population than most small towns could boast.
It was the acceptance that I loved most about Pine Grove. I was pansexual, and the fact that no one in town batted an eye at that felt invaluable to me.
When I'd been younger, I'd thought about leaving, about joining my brother Mattie and his gorgeous best friend Mel in New York City, but I couldn't bring myself to want to leave Pine Grove. Then I'd opened Busy Bee's, and now I couldn't leave even if I wanted to.
It might be easier if I gave up and cut my losses, but I was too stubborn for that. I'd dealt with the loss of my fiancé and the loss of my future happiness; I wasn't going to deal with the loss of my town and my dreams too.
"I like it here," I said, ignoring her knowing look. She and I had grown even closer lately. We'd always had a good relationship, but since Justin left, Dorrie had been stopping by the bakery way more often and inviting me to dinner at her house.
While it was really nice of her, it had Mattie written all over it. His best friend, Mel, was Dorrie's niece and it was highly likely Mattie or Mel had asked Dorrie to look out for me.
Mel was a big reason I had the confidence to think I had the skill to run a bakery in the first place. When I was growing up, Mattie always had her over to the house, and she was always the first one to try whatever new concoction I'd whipped up.
She and I had never been close, since back then I was just Mattie's annoying younger sister, but she was always nice enough to me that I was constantly stuttering over my words when I saw her.
I'd die if she ever found out, but she was my gay awakening.
It was the one secret of mine that I'd probably never tell Mattie.
Well, that and how badly the bakery was doing, but that was a different type of embarrassment.
The failing bakery made me feel like a failure, and also I didn't want Mattie to worry about me.
I knew if he knew how bad I was doing, he'd drop his life in the city and come back to Pine Grove to help me, and, as great as that would be, I refused to be that selfish.
Things were easier before my parents moved to Florida a few years ago, since they used to help out when I needed it, but I was doing fine on my own, and if I wasn't, it was none of their business.
Except Mattie clearly was trying to but into my business by sending Dorrie over. It couldn't be coincidental that she was checking on me more. I just had to hope that she didn't tell him the truth.
"And we're incredibly grateful for it. Pine Grove's definitely special, but even us lifers get bored. Not saying I would want to live anywhere else, but I certainly wouldn't mind traveling, at least if it weren’t for the bees."
It was an old argument, but I couldn't help repeating the offer. "You know I could help out and watch them for you. I'd be happy to."
It was half true. I did want to help her. I adored her, and she worked as hard, if not harder, than I did. She deserved a break, but I had no clue where I would find the time.
"You and what army?" she asked, like always. "The bees are a handful, and you could use help here, never mind adding another thing to your plate. You work too hard as it is."
"We should start a club, Workaholics Anonymous," I joked.
"Yeah, me, you, and Marissa, it'd be a blast," she said with a chuckle. "We'd never have a single meeting since we wouldn't be able to get the time off."
Marissa ran the town’s auto repair shop and seemed to have made it her mission to personally repair the vehicle of every person in Pine Grove. If it was possible, she was worse about taking time off than me or Dorrie.
"My boss is the worst about time-off requests," I said with a chuckle.
"Mine too. I have hundreds of thousands of little worker bees buzzing around when I try to take time off. I thought I'd be the Queen, but I'm just another drone."
"There isn't anyone else that could take care of the hives for long enough so you could get away?"
She sighed, "I don't know, trust me, I wish I could. Maybe after Pride?"
The doubt in her voice implied she was already thinking of a list of reasons she couldn't. I couldn't argue with Pride being one of them, though. Even if it was an excuse, it was a good one.
People came from all over for Pride, and it gave local businesses a much-needed boost. Of course, Dorrie basically gave away her honey for free, so there was no way she was making money, but I needed her here for Pride.
If I had a fraction of a chance to keep the business alive after Pride, I needed Pride to go perfectly.
I had no idea how that was possible, though, since I didn't have the help or time to make all the desserts I would hopefully need for Pride.
On top of that, I, like most of the other local businesses, was planning to have a float in the parade.
Pride was still a few weeks away, but I couldn't help feeling like I was already way behind schedule.
"Can't miss Pride," she continued.
She wasn't wrong, but after Pride, it would be something else.
"And then it'll be 'I can't miss the Harvest Festival'."
She laughed. "Okay, okay, fine, but I can't. Honey does well there."
"And then it'll be too close to the holidays, then the bees will need extra attention in the winter. Where does it end?"
I was talking to her, but I might as well have been talking to a future version of myself.
My thoughts were spiraling at the future I could easily see crumbling in front of me.
I didn't know if I could even afford to keep the business afloat until the holidays.
If the business failed, I didn't know what would happen to me.
The bakery wasn't just my job; it was my home.
The bank wouldn't let me keep living there if I defaulted on the business loans.
If Busy Bee Bakery and Tea went under, I wasn't going to be able to stay in Pine Grove, and the thought of leaving made me feel panicky.
"You know, you might be right. That gives me an idea. There might be someone willing and able, after all."
I was too surprised by the unexpected turn in the conversation to question her about who, and by the time I thought to, she had already artfully steered the conversation back to the honey she'd brought and had persuaded me into agreeing to come over for dinner a couple of nights this week.