3. Eden

3

EDEN

My sisters are incredible.

I'm not saying that because I'm biased. We're visiting the Homewood Cemetery today for Eila's big event, celebrating her work as the staff horticulturist. Who even knew there were horticulturists at cemeteries?

Eila knew. And she got our baby sister Eva in on the action with social media marketing. My oldest sister, Esther, mixed some fancy cocktails for the event, and Eliza has her goats there munching invasive weeds on the hillside, so they don't strangle the old headstones and damage them. Or something.

Eila has everyone from the Storm family helping to make this event shine. Well, not quite all of us, but it's still a spectacular day. Everyone is happy. More than happy. This is a day of celebration.

My sisters seem to have moved past our upbringing and processed the neglect. Eila even goes to therapy now. That stuff is out of reach for me. She's got fancy health insurance, after all. And it's not like I'm neglected now. I'm keeping food in the pantry. We pay our utilities. I do adult stuff like apply for agricultural grants to purchase my utility van for my bee business.

I am objectively okay.

Do I wish Eila had pushed for me to set up some hives here, for bees to help pollinate the native plants she's installing in the cemetery green spaces? Sure. But the job is new, and bees are a hard sell. Harder than goats. I get it.

It still stings.

I laugh out loud at my little joke, covering my mouth with my hand when I realize the crowd is listening to an un-funny history of the 1918 flu pandemic and how that changed the landscape of this historic cemetery. Yikes.

Eila was born for this work as a professional plant lady, and Esther opened a bar on purpose. Me? I never meant to become a beekeeper.

I happened to be in the right place one day when someone found bees in their garage and… I just knew what to do. I walked right up to them, found the queen, and waited for the others to follow.

Now, here I am, selling honey and beeswax salves and—when I'm really lucky—getting paid to remove bees from other people's property. I can charge whatever I want for that, and people pay. Nobody seems to understand these delicate creatures are so vital to our survival. The humans are just frightened. I'm glad they reach out to me before reaching for poison.

But today is about Eila. I'm happy for her and her sweetie, Ben. They're such opposites, but he's good for her, and she's so excited to move in with him. Even though I'm totally stuck with rent. Sure, I could move some place smaller and probably afford to live alone. But it's not just me.

I've got colonies of bees in the backyard, and that doesn't include the quarantine colonies I've stashed on Eila's lot next to our place. If I move out and someone moves in, it'll be weird and awkward for Eila and for me to go over there and deal with the hops and bees. It's better if I stay put. I'll figure something out about the rent.

The cemetery crowd moves to another part of the tour, and I walk along behind them. I clap politely as my sister proudly details the native plants. Who would have thought these old cemeteries were so carefully planned out? There's a flipping arboretum in here, and I just know those fruit trees would benefit from a nice, active colony of honeybees.

Eila slides her hands in her pockets, her attention flitting between the faces in the little crowd, and I wave from my place at the back. It's a pretty friendly bunch, consisting of all our sisters, their friends, and quite a few strangers here for the vibes. Should I have brought business cards? Is that slimy, to promote my work at my sister's shindig? My other sisters have a business promo baked in since they're participating.

My phone rings in my pocket. I back away from the group, hoping I'm not distracting Eila from her talk, and answer without glancing at the number. "Storm Swarm, this is Eden."

The caller coughs, and then I hear a voice I'd rather forget. It goes with a face I'd rather forget, too—one I saw at the periphery of the wedding last week.

"Eden? Hey. I've got a problem."

I pull the phone away from my face and stare at it. I listed him in my contacts as Actual Satan.

"Eden? Are you there?" His voice sounds tinny, far away. I take a few breaths and turn my head over each shoulder, trying to decide if someone is pranking me.

"Nate?" I hate the way his name feels in my mouth, my tongue heavy with uncertainty. This guy screwed me over last year. Big time.

"Yeah. It's me. I was hoping?—"

"If you're calling to report more diseases, I assure you I've had all the tests. You can jump in a river now. Bye."

"Eden, wait!" His voice is just desperate enough to halt my thumb before I press the red button to end the call. "I'm calling about a professional issue, I swear."

I frown. Today is Saturday, and it's late afternoon. Why is he working right now? Sounds fishy. "You have ninety seconds."

He sighs. "I'm flipping a house over in Morningside."

"So?" I wince, realizing he's barely more than a mile away from me at the moment.

"Well, um… the attic is full of bees."

My brows shoot up. "Oh yeah?"

"God, Eden, there must be a thousand of them. Inside the walls."

I laugh. "There are probably eighty thousand."

I listen to him exhale, trying not to remember the sound of him breathing near my ear while his clumsy hands roamed my body. "So, can you help me get rid of them? None of my guys will work with all that going on."

I look back at my sister, standing up on a rock and gesturing as she proudly describes responsible weed control here in the cemetery. I think again about the rent and the upcoming winter slow season. I need the money more than I need to avoid his stupid, smug face.

"It'll cost you," I hiss at Nate, before I spit out a fee double my usual rate to remove bees from a residential property.

"Fine. How soon can you be here?"

Shocked, I take a step backward and stumble. Composing myself, I mutter, "My stuff is in my van. Give me ten minutes."

Nate texts me an address, and I wave at Esther until she sees me. I point at my phone and mouth, "Work call."

She nods and gives me a thumbs up, and I head into the literal sunset to rescue my ex from a swarm of bees.