The Music of Bees

Alice looks over Harry’s résumé and asks him some questions, but Harry, who feels uneasy, offers little in reply. Alice explains that the job requires carpentry, heavy lifting, and some initiative in doing whatever’s necessary to keep the farm in good order. They go outside, where Alice shows him the apiary and explains how it operates. Satisfied with Harry, she offers him the part-time job.

Two weeks earlier, she’d had dinner with Jake, Noah, and Celia and had appreciated the cooking and approved the changes they’d made in the positioning of furniture. Later, she suggests that Jake stay for a while before he decides on his next move. She drives into town and observes a protest in the park against SupraGro, the pesticides of which will affect every water source in the valley. Additionally, Alice learns that honeybee populations in California and Nebraska were decimated by SupraGro. She talks with Stan, the environmental group leader, and the local press photographer takes a picture of them together.

Jake feels at home at Alice’s farm and loves the sound of the bees. His mother visits and approves of his new living situation. Jake longs to work more closely with the bees, but most of the hives are too high for him to reach. He can, however, access the ones that Alice just acquired. Without protective gloves, a hat, or a veil, he opens one of the hives. He feels calm, and the bees aren’t aggressive toward him. Hearing a sound that he recognizes as a G-sharp tone, he observes that it emanates from the queen bee. He works his way through six of the new hives and isn’t stung. He makes entries in Alice’s recordkeeping book of details such as date, time, and temperature and what he saw in the hive. This new work brings him joy.

After the interview, Harry goes to the waterfront, where he again meets Yogi, who agrees to teach him kiteboarding when he next has a day off. Harry then goes to the hospital, where he learns that his uncle has died. He calls his mother to tell her the news and then returns to the trailer, where he encounters a large dog scavenging for food. A sheriff’s deputy arrives and tells Harry that the trailer has been condemned and he must leave. Harry reluctantly gathers his things together, and the deputy gives him and the dog a ride into town. The deputy plans to drop off the dog at the local animal shelter.

A photo of Alice with Stan, the head of the Watershed Alliance, appears in the local paper. At work, Alice attends a meeting at which employees are reminded that they aren’t allowed to discuss county business with outside parties, including any business involving private contractors, and aren’t allowed to speak with the media about county affairs. After the meeting, Rich Carlson, the human resources and finance manager, suggests that Alice’s rights to a pension may be revoked if she receives a bad performance review, and Alice knows that this is in connection with the photo. Alice is angry and decides to fight back. Leaving the office, she walks toward the riverfront and resolves that she must be herself at all costs. She arranges to meet with Stan.