Blind Date

Annie swept the rest of the beans into separate bags as quickly as she could. Dita made no effort to help, but rather sat in the chair and watched. Annie knew that without Joss’s help, she never would have gotten through the monumental task. She placed both bags back on the table, making sure they were stable, at least for the moment.

“Virgil,” Dita said, as if it meant something to Annie.

“Excuse me?”

“Virgil Yadira,” she expounded. “I can give you his address. Eric stays there, I believe, most of the time. At least, he was the last time I heard from him.” Relief flooded Annie’s chest. “Oh, thank you. I really need to speak to him.

Thank you so much.”

Dita unfolded her small bag and took out a white business-sized card and a pen. She wrote something on the back. “Here, my address is on the front.” Dita held the card fast when Annie reached for it, waiting until their eyes met. “Virgil keeps bees.”

Annie’s mouth opened but nothing came out. Finally, she just nodded. Dita released the card and Annie looked at the address. It was in the city.

“He keeps them on the roof of their apartment complex. If you wouldn’t mind, could you ask him for a jar of honey?”

“A jar of honey?” Annie repeated, wrinkling her nose.

Now both Dita’s mouth and her eyes were smiling at the same time. “Yes, just ask for Dita’s special honey. He’ll know.” Annie nodded, putting a hand to her forehead. “Sure.” Dita smiled again as she stood, and for the first time Annie looked at her fully. She was wearing a beautifully patterned sarong wrapped around her waist, a thin band of material over her breasts, covered with a sheer silvery top with flowing sleeves and edges. Her body moved like music as she swept the large bags of beans up in her arms and walked toward the back of the cafe.

Over her shoulder, Dita sang, “Thank you, dear. Good luck!” 60

Annie watched her go, fingering the thick card. She glanced at her watch and stared in disbelief. It was after noon! She had missed three clients already! She rushed to her car, digging her cell phone out as she fumbled with her keys. She was so distracted by the time that it didn’t occur to her until later that Dita’s airy sendoff was a strange thing for her to say.

Chapter Four

“Come…look!”

Afraid of heights, Annie refused to walk over to the edge where Virgil was trying to show her the view. He gave up, coming to stand beside her. Crossing his enormous arms over his chest, he nodded, surveying the rooftop with a smile.

His own personal Bee-Kingdom? She shook her head and sighed.

“So where is this honey?” Annie queried, straining her neck to look up at him. She shaded her eyes against the warm May sun glaring off his bald, dark head. According to Virgil, Eric hadn’t been here in a month and now she wanted to get out of here as soon as she could. Perhaps if she returned the jar of honey to his mother, Dita could give her another clue as to her son’s actual whereabouts.

“The honey is still in the combs. I haven’t harvested this year,” he explained, pointing to the large white boxes lining the roof. There have to be at least fifty of them. As a city dweller, she had never seen a beehive before and hadn’t given much thought to bees except at picnics.

“How…how many bees are in each, uh…?”

“Hive?” Virgil smiled down at her, his teeth a gleaming contrast to his dark skin. “In the peak of summer, there are probably thirty-five thousand, but it’s early yet. I’d say probably ten thousand.”

Annie did the math. She was standing on a roof in the midst of half a million bees.

“Okay, well,” she said, taking a step back. “Let’s just get this jar of Dita’s special honey, and I’ll be on my way.”

“There’s no reason to be afraid,” he assured her, his voice a soothing timbre. “These bees aren’t aggressive. Unless you’re allergic?”

“I’ve never been stung.” She took another cautious step, backing away from the large white boxes. “I suppose I could be. Just how do they survive up here in the winter?”

“They stay inside and wait for spring.” He nodded toward the closest hive.

“They have been active lately, since the weather has really started to warm.” Annie bent to look more closely at the hive nearest to them. There were a few bees buzzing around the outside, and some crawling on the surface. She frowned, tucking her hair behind her ear as she stood. “There are really ten thousand bees in each of these things?”

“Yes.” He moved around her. “Let me show you.”

“No!”

“You don’t need to be afraid.” His smile was an invitation. “You just need to be smart and careful. These bees won’t sting you. Trust me.” Annie swallowed hard. “Okay.”

Virgil moved toward one of the hives, his words flowing like poetry. “You should always approach a hive slowly, with your arms out in front of you. Bees will be frightened by sudden movement. Everything should be slow, fluid. Think of how honey drips. That is how you move.”

“Shouldn’t we have some protection?”