Between You, Me, and the Honeybees by Amelia Diane Coombs

Author:Amelia Diane Coombs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: 2021-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

I CRADLE MY cell phone between my shoulder and ear, eyeing the closet. Despite my occasional snoopiness, I don’t like going through my mom’s things—her level of disorganization gives me hives—but she’s insistent I unwrap my birthday gift today on my actual birthday.

“Where in the closet?” I nudge the door open.

“Behind some shoeboxes,” Mom says on the other end. “It’s already wrapped.”

“Okay, hold on, I’m putting you on speaker.” I switch her over to speakerphone and set the phone on the carpet.

Mom’s room is a disaster. Piles of clothes. A cluttered vanity. Stacks of books on business management or guides on beekeeping. I rarely come in here; this is an excellent reminder why. The closet isn’t much better. Half her clothes aren’t even on hangers, rather layering the floor. Boxes of all varieties sit on top of the clothes, and I shift them aside, and—aha!—a wrapped gift. I lug the large square wrapped in floral paper out from the closet.

“Found it,” I say, shutting the disaster-zone closet behind me. I pick up the phone and carry everything to my room. “Mom, this is too much.”

“You don’t even know what it is yet,” she teases.

Keeping her on speakerphone, I smile and peel back the tape. If I had to guess—and let my imagination run wild—an Ultra Breeze bee suit awaits me. They’re top of the line and ventilated so you don’t die of heat exhaustion during long summer inspections. The size and weight are about right.

I pull back the paper and flip the plastic-wrapped package over. “Oh!” I am so glad FaceTime didn’t work and we’re having an old-fashioned phone call. Because I don’t want Mom seeing the disappointment on my face.

“Like it?”

“Yeah!” I throw every ounce of enthusiasm into that one word. Because in my hands is a college dorm bedding set. The pattern is cute—the comforter vintage chevron in blues and greens, with solid sheets and pillow covers. But utterly useless. The size is a twin XL for the weirdly long mattresses in dorm rooms. Add that to the shower caddy and shoes she got me, and I’m amassing quite the collection of college freshman essentials. “Thank you so much.”

“Oh good,” Mom says, and I can practically hear her smiling. “We can exchange it if you don’t like the pattern?”

“No, it’s perfect,” I say, setting the bedding aside. Hopefully that means she kept her receipt. “Hey, I gotta go.”

“Right! Nan’s taking you out?”

I nod, even though Mom can’t see me. “We’re going to watch that new Marvel movie.” Nan has a thing for Chris Evans.

“Happy birthday, Bug,” Mom says. “I love and miss you. See you Thursday!”

“I love and miss you too.”

Fuck. A wave of guilty nausea overcomes me as we hang up. I hide the bedding in my closet. It’s salt in the wound, reminding me—in case I forgot—that I’m lying to my mom about more than Ezra. I slide my closet closed. Out of sight, out of mind.

Besides, Nan honks twice and I hurry downstairs to meet her.

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