The Summer We Saved the Bees (15 page)

“To hope for what?”

“It’s a where, kiddo. Not a what,” Ty told her. “It’s a town.”

“No, it’s not. It’s, like, when you want something.” Saffron’s hands were planted firmly on her hips. “Like if you want to go swimming, then you hope it.”

“I’ll take you swimming,” I said, laughing.

“Yeah, we’ll all go,” Violet put in.

Which was weird—Violet never willingly did anything with me. I didn’t say anything, though, just started hunting through the piles of bags in the van, looking for swimsuits and towels.

A minute later, Violet was beside me, bending her head close to mine. “Very smooth, Wolf. Nicely done.”

I frowned. “What?”

“We’re going to the Greyhound station,” she whispered. “So take what you need. The twins too.”

I straightened up so fast I whacked my head on the van door. “Ow—I—really? Seriously? Like, leaving? Right now?”

“Shhh. Yes. Are you in or not?”

My heart was thumping like crazy, and I felt short of breath. “I don’t know. Um. Yes. I think so.”

“Fine.” She started pulling clothes out of her duffel bag and shoving them into a small day pack.

I tried to think what we’d need. Changes of clothes. Whisper’s special blanket. The My Little Ponies the twins got from Tess. Snacks. “I don’t have any money,” I said.

“Ask Mom.”

“What? Are you nuts?”

She rolled her eyes at me. “For swimming, doofus.”

“But I thought we were…”

“Wolf. Seriously, sometimes I think you’re, like… deficient.” Violet blew out a long breath. “Mom thinks we’re going swimming. That’s, I don’t know, five bucks each. So ask her for some money.”

“Bus tickets will cost more than that.” I picked up Whisper’s Ritz crackers.

“Ty’s got money,” Violet said. “And I have a bit.”

I swallowed hard. I couldn’t believe we were doing this.

“Hurry up.” Violet zipped up her day pack. “Before Jade changes her mind and drags us all off to do another bee show.”

I nodded. I couldn’t imagine what Mom would do when we didn’t come home after swimming. When dinnertime came and there was still no sign of us. “Should we leave a note?”

“Yeah, I guess. So they don’t freak out. But somewhere they won’t see it until later. In the tent?”

Mom didn’t usually go in the tent at all. Ty, Violet and I slept in it, and the twins liked to play in it, but there was no real reason for Mom to go in. “She might not find it,”
I said. “I don’t want her to think we got kidnapped or something.”

“What about in Anna’s mailbox?” she said. “Like, in an envelope? We could put Anna’s name on it, and she probably wouldn’t open it until later.”

“She might check for mail when she gets home,” I said. “Which could be any minute.”

“Fine, you think of something.”

I made a face. “I don’t know. I guess the mailbox is okay. I mean, today’s mail would already have come, so Anna probably won’t check there until tomorrow.”

Saffron appeared between us, pushing her little body against my legs. “Wolf, did you get my goggles?”

“What? Oh, right. Do you really need them? I’m not sure where they are.”

“I need them. So the pool doesn’t sting my eyes.”

She wasn’t going to be happy when she found out we were getting on a bus instead of going swimming. I felt a twinge of misgiving—was this going to make things better or worse? Maybe it was a bad idea…

I pushed the thought away. We had to do
something
.

Violet scrawled some words on a piece of paper and folded it over several times. “I don’t have an envelope,” she said. “Think you can put it in the mailbox without Jade noticing?”

“I guess so,” I said, taking the note from her. “I’ll go ask her for swimming money. Here, Saffy—found your goggles.”

Saffron took them from me and put them on, pulling them straight down over her head so that her bangs were caught under the seal. “My hair’s stuck in them,” she said.

“Yeah, maybe you could just wait until we get there,” I said.

Saffron stuck out her bottom lip and tugged her hair free. “Ow, ow, ow. No, Wolf. This way I’m all ready.”

I had a vision of her wearing her goggles on the Greyhound all the way to Nelson. “Whatever,” I said. “Tell Whisper to come on out of the tent, okay?”

“She doesn’t want to.”

“What? I thought she wanted to go swimming.”

Saffron shrugged.

“We can’t go without her,” I said.

“Why not?” She looked at me, frowning.

I couldn’t answer that. “Look, just go talk to her, okay? Remind her how much she likes swimming. And tell her I’ll buy you both an ice cream.”

Saffron scooted back inside the tent, and I walked over to Mom, the folded paper tight inside my fist. She was sitting cross-legged on the steps, hunched over the laptop. The mailbox was right behind her, on the wall beside Anna’s front door.

“Mom?” I sat down on the step beside her. “Um, we’re ready to go swimming.”

“Good.” She smiled at me. The sun was on her face, and I could see the scattering of freckles on her nose and cheeks. “Sorry it’s been so crazy today. I’m glad you’re taking the twins for a swim—it’ll do them good.”

I nodded, feeling guilty. “Yeah. I’ll need some money though.”

She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a twenty. “Have fun, love.”

“We will.”

“Wolf?” Mom grabbed my hand as I reached out to take the money. “Thanks for all your help with the little ones. I don’t know how I’d manage without you.”

I wished she’d stop being so nice. Maybe we shouldn’t leave after all. “Mom? Can I just talk to you for a minute?” I lowered my voice. “About Whisper?”

We both turned and looked at the tent. Whisper and Saffron were still inside.

“What is it?” she asked.

I got to my feet. “Just…I’m kind of worried about her.”

She frowned. “Not this again, Wolf.”

“She hasn’t said anything for three days,” I said. “Not since we left. Not one word.”

“She’s always been like that,” Mom said. “It’s just who she is. Quiet. She’s a thinker, not a talker.”

“Yeah. But she’s not happy. She worries about stuff a lot. And all this stuff—the bees and everything—I think it scares her.”

“How do you know?” she challenged. “I thought you just said she wasn’t talking.”

“I just know,” I said.

“Well, if she
is
scared, isn’t that reasonable?” Mom asked. “I think that’s a normal response when our whole future is threatened.”

“Yeah, but…”

Mom kept going. “Fear is more healthy than the denial of the politicians and corporations and the general public. That’s what the real problem is. If people were a little more scared, maybe they’d actually be willing to make some sacrifices.”

“She’s just a little kid,” I said. “I thought, since we’re stuck here anyway, maybe we could take her to a doctor or something.”

“And make her think that something is wrong with her? How exactly would that help?”

I shrugged. I didn’t really see how a doctor could help either. “I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t think this is helping though. Making her dress up and everything.”

“Saffron had a great time.” She pulled her long hair forward over one shoulder and started weaving it into a thick braid. “She loved talking to all the students. And she feels like she’s doing something. She’s contributing, being part of the solution. That’s what Whisper needs.”

I stepped behind her, onto the porch, keeping my eyes on the back of her head to make sure she wasn’t looking as I dropped the note into the mailbox.

“Whisper’s not
like
Saffron,” I said.

“It’s what we all need,” Mom said firmly. “Don’t you feel more hopeful about the future, knowing that we’re taking action?”

I didn’t. Not really. The future was going to happen regardless of what I did, and even though I knew all the bad stuff about the climate and the bees and whatever else, all of that seemed a long way off. Whisper’s tantrums and the
stinky van and the awful bee costume…that was all right here, right now, and nothing about it made me feel good. “If I was at school, I could be learning more science and stuff,” I said, remembering what Duncan had told me about Harvard and the robotic bees. “And then maybe I could help in other ways. When I’m older.”

“Maybe,” Mom said, turning to look at me. “And maybe we don’t have that kind of time.”

I stared at her for a moment. She was shaking her head slowly, and her lips were a thin, straight line. I looked away. She wouldn’t listen. Not ever. “Yeah,” I said. “I know.”

I didn’t really want to run away. I just couldn’t see what choice we had.

Twenty-Three

VIOLET, TY, THE
twins and I walked down the street, carrying bags that were stuffed with a lot more than swimsuits and towels. Saffron was still wearing her goggles, and Violet had her phone in her hand, trying to find an unsecured Wi-Fi network to connect with.

“I hate this stupid phone plan,” she said.

“At least you have a phone,” Ty said. “Mine totally died yesterday.”

“So charge it at the bus station,” I said.

He shook his head. “No, dude, it’s
dead
dead. It was, like, fully charged and then it just went black. It won’t even turn on.”

Violet was still waving her phone around in search of stray Wi-Fi signals. “I mean, sure, unlimited texting is great, but
no
data? Who has no data?”

“Starbucks,” Ty said.

“Huh?”

“No, I mean they have Wi-Fi.” He pointed down the street. “I bet you can connect to their Wi-Fi.”

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Trying to find the schedule.” She looked at me.
Bus
, she mouthed silently.

“Shouldn’t we have done that first?”

She shrugged. “So if the bus isn’t here for a couple of hours, we’ll go swimming first.” She stopped walking. “Got it.”

“Come
on
,” Saffron said, stamping a foot. Her goggles were so tight that her eyes were squished half closed.

When we got to the Starbucks we slowed down, hanging close to the doors. “Try now,” Ty said. “I bet you can connect.”

Violet tapped furiously at her phone, her tongue poking out between her teeth as she stared at the screen.

“Why are we stopping?” Saffron demanded. Beside her, Whisper slipped her Croc off her foot and shook a pebble out.

“Got it!” Violet announced.

Saffron squinted at her. “Got
what
?”

“Crap,” Violet said.

Saffron giggled and nudged Whisper. “Violet said a swear!”

“Crap isn’t a real swear,” Violet said. “It’s like saying poo.”

Saffron laughed out loud. “Poo! You said poo!”

Whisper smiled, her cheeks dimpling.

Violet handed me the phone, and I looked down at the screen. It showed the bus schedule for Chilliwack to Nelson. The first thing that caught my eye was the price. “That’s like…” I added up the numbers quickly. “Four hundred dollars. More. For all of us.”

“For what?” Saffron asked. “For swimming?”

“The
time
,” Violet said, pointing.

I followed her finger. “Oh. Only one bus a day?”

“In the morning,” she said glumly.

“Might as well go swimming now,” Ty said.

Saffron stared at us through the thick plastic of her goggles. “What are you
talking
about?”

“The note,” I said to Violet. “In the mailbox. We can’t let anyone find it.”

She made a face. “Right.”

“What are we standing here for?” Saffron said. “I want to go swimming!”

Whisper’s lower lip jutted out, and the skin under her eyes was flushed blotchy pink, like she was about to cry.

“Yeah, we’re going swimming,” Ty said. “’Course we are.” He and Violet exchanged looks.

“Wolf…how about we take the girls swimming and you go back and get the note?” Violet said. “Tell Mom you got a stomach ache or something.”

I nodded. I wasn’t going to enjoy myself at the pool if I was worrying about Mom finding that note. I didn’t know exactly what Violet had written, but I knew Mom and Curtis would freak out big-time if they read it. “Okay,” I said. I pulled the twenty-dollar bill out of my pocket and handed it to her. “Have fun.”

“Aren’t you coming?” Saffron asked.

I shook my head. “Nah. My tummy’s not feeling good.” I really did have a stomach ache—I didn’t even have to lie.
“Here, Violet, take my bag. Saffy’s swimsuit’s in it. I’ll see you guys later.”

I sprinted back to the house, slowing down when I was half a block away in case Mom was looking. I didn’t see her though. The front door of the house was open, so Anna must be home. Maybe Mom and Curtis were in the house with her…

I stuck my head inside. “Mom?” I called out.

Anna appeared in the hallway. “Wolf. She’s not here.”

“Oh.” I took a step back.

She held up a hand. “You’d better come in. We need to talk.”

“What…” I started to ask. Then I saw what she was holding. Violet’s note. “Oh.”

Anna gestured toward the living room, and I followed, heat flaring in my cheeks and ears. “Don’t tell Mom,” I said. “Please?” I held out my hand, and she gave me the note. I looked down at it, scanning the words scrawled in Violet’s messy blend of cursive and printing:
Jade and Curtis—We’ve all gone away for a bit because this trip stinks. Don’t worry, we’re fine —Vi

I looked up at Anna, trying frantically to think of some kind of lie that would keep me out of trouble.

“Where are the others?” she asked.

“Swimming.”

She looked at me skeptically. “Really?”

“Yes!” I dropped my gaze, looking down at the blue carpet, and swallowed hard. “We were going to take the bus,”
I said. My voice sounded funny. “To Nelson. But it doesn’t go until the morning.”

Anna nodded but didn’t say anything. I kept staring at the carpet, which had flecks of gray and white in it. The unanswered question hung in the air: Were we still planning to go? If she asked, I’d have to tell her—and if I told her, she’d feel like she had to tell our parents. Don’t ask, I thought. Please don’t ask.

But when she finally spoke, her question was a different one. “Why?” she asked. “Why did you want to run away?”