Honey

Melody and her dad talk about famous misused expressions on their way into the store. They usually split up to get their shopping done quicker. While Melody is alone in the cereal aisle, a woman approaches her, seemingly familiar with Melody. She hugs Melody, who is so scared of the stranger that she nearly punches the woman.

When Melody’s dad enters the aisle, the woman goes to hug him too. Melody’s father introduces the woman as Nancy Montgomery. Nancy was friends with Melody’s parents before Melody’s mom died. Nancy is so shaken that she begins to cry, saying Melody looks just like her mother. Nancy talks about how much she misses Melody’s mother. Melody’s father is uncomfortable with Nancy’s emotional outburst. He tells her it isn’t the time or place.

Melody thinks that it will never be the time or place to talk about her mother, as her father never seems to want to approach the subject. The one time Melody asked about the day her mother died was the first time she’d seen him cry. She never asked again. Melody’s mom was quite the local celebrity, but it seems no one ever wants to talk about her around Melody.

On the way home, Melody’s father muses over the expression “spitting image.” Melody wants to ask if she really looks that much like her mother, but she remains quiet. Melody’s dad surprises her with a bag of Wild Berry Skittles.

Over dinner, Melody’s father asks about her math test. Melody laments that she dislikes her teacher, Miss Hogan, because she puts questions on the tests that are designed to trick students and grades harshly. Melody asserts that Miss Hogan dislikes her too. She wishes she had her teacher from last year, Mrs. McKenna. Melody’s father responds that they were a good fit and muses about how the two very different teachers are close friends. He encourages Melody to ask for a retest.

Melody asks her father why he’s been whistling “You Are My Sunshine” lately, but he deflects, asserting he can whistle if he likes. Melody still feels he’s hiding something.

A week later, Melody wakes up and hears her father on the phone with someone he calls Honey. She’s certain she did not dream it. The next morning, Melody’s grandfather Gramp-o is there and her father is gone for the weekend. Gramp-o regularly leaves his oxygen tank inside while he sneaks to the garage for a cigarette. Melody gives him a hard time for his “looking for a hammer” excuse.

Melody’s father has written a note on the back of a flyer announcing the opening of a new beauty salon. He tells her to take care of Gramp-o and provides an emergency number. When Gramp-o enters, Melody asks if he’s noticed anything different about her father. Gramp-o thinks Melody’s father is just absent-minded because it’s the end of the school year. He usually mellows out when grades are in. Melody thinks this time is different, and she’s excited at the idea of her suspicions being true.

Melody talks to her best friend, Nick Woo, on the phone. Melody informs Nick of the latest development—the Honey nickname she overheard. She thinks her father has a girlfriend. She and Nick want to figure out who it is.

Melody returns to the yard to keep working on the dandelions. Teeny pops up over the fence, but Melody wants to be left alone. She considers her conversation with Nick, who suggested she ask her dad. Melody told him about her dad’s camping trip with the debate team, which would last through Memorial Day Monday. Melody has an easier time with the dandelions now after the rain the previous night.

Teeny squeezes through. She’s dressed for ballet lessons. She talks about how her mom got a free manicure from a lady named Bee-Bee, who gave Teeny a Dum Dum and let Teeny pet her dog. Teeny hopes to get her nails painted too next time. She muses about what color she wants, listing the colors as numbers. Melody wonders why the polishes are numbered.

Teeny tries to get Melody’s attention by performing yo-yo tricks. Then she begins to repeat gossip she’s heard about people in town. She repeats that “Henry’s been bitten by the love bug” (30), giving Melody pause. Henry is her father’s name. She asks where Teeny heard that. Teeny wants a turn with the weed-pulling fork before she’ll tell Melody, but the girls are interrupted by Teeny’s mom screaming at her through the window. Teeny isn’t supposed to enter other people’s yards without being invited. Melody screams back that she invited Teeny, saving Teeny from her mother’s wrath. Melody asks again where Teeny heard the thing about Henry and the love bug. Teeny must leave for ballet practice, but she calls back to Melody that she heard it at the Bee Hive.

Bee-Bee Churchill has always wanted to own her own beauty salon. She pursued this dream through beauty school and learned to mix her own nail polishes. She ascended the ranks at her salon job, quickly becoming the beloved head stylist. When she won the lottery, it was finally time for her to realize her dreams.

Bee-Bee fell in love with a former ice cream parlor, The Frosty Boy, as the ideal location. Before settling on it with her realtor, Bee-Bee made a mysterious phone call. Bee-Bee has always been trusted with the secrets of the small towns she’s served, despite how fast things spread. She vowed to keep another secret to the person on the phone, then told her realtor that she’ll take The Frosty Boy.

Bee-Bee moved into the apartment attached to the store and remodeled The Frosty Boy into her salon, the Bee Hive. She wanted to get everything prepared for a Memorial Day weekend opening. She repurposed an old bowl from The Frosty Boy into a candy bowl for her counter, and her interior glowed with bee-themed décor.

Bee-Bee printed fliers offering free manicures to any customer who arrives before noon on opening day. That Saturday morning, she woke up early, took her dog Mo for a walk, and returned to a line of people forming at the salon door. Bee-Bee excitedly welcomed the crowd to the Bee Hive.

Mo recalls his early life as a puppy at a puppy mill, where he struggled to compete for food with his siblings. He remembers a white car pulling up with a thin man and a large woman in a yellow dress. The woman went right for Mo, as though she were looking just for him. They took Mo home in the back of the white car. The thin man watched Mo in the rearview mirror, and the big woman sang “You Are My Sunshine” to him.

Mo loved the comforts of his big new home. The big woman enjoyed fussing over him. Mo felt loved for the first time. One day, the woman presented Mo with a shiny, heart-shaped pendant for his collar. Mo loved his pendant, as it made him feel special. Mo was very happy with his new life.

One morning, Mo woke up to a horrible, high-pitched sound upstairs. No one came to feed him or walk him that day. People flooded into the house. Mo waited all day, hiding until everyone left. When Mo went to the bedroom, he found the large woman asleep on the bed, a small bundle beside her. He could smell fresh-cut grass. The thin man was distraught in the corner, and when he saw Mo, he shooed him away.

The thin man fed Mo the next morning—a task he’d never done before. He didn’t do all the special things the large woman did, though. He also didn’t give Mo any water or his vitamin. Mo looked all over the house for the large woman again, but she was gone. More strangers came to the house dressed in black. Mo went home with one of them, a nice tall woman who fed him chicken and dumplings for dinner. Mo was happy for the tall woman’s care, but he worried about the large woman and the big house he’d left behind. Before Mo left, the thin man took the heart-shaped pendant from his neck and said it would only be for a little while.

That night, Mo dreamed of a laughing, dancing girl with long yellow hair. When she saw Mo, she threw her arms around him and said, “It’s you” (45). Mo feels this is where he’s meant to be—with this mysterious dream girl.

The Bee Hive is booming on opening day. Bee-Bee flies from customer to customer working on the free manicures she promised. Everyone is in good spirits. The widow of the former Frosty Boy owner stops by to compliment Bee-Bee’s work. She likes that Bee-Bee kept the big glass bowl and the framed newspaper clipping about a famous little girl. Bee-Bee gives manicures to 36 clients, and the only one who is displeased is Teeny Nelson’s mother, Mrs. Nelson, who complains that the color looked different in the bottle than on her fingers. Bee-Bee offers to redo Mrs. Nelson’s fingers. She allows Teeny to take candy from the candy bowl and offers to let Teeny pet her dog.

Nick goes to Melody’s house for lunch. Gramp-o has the kids fetch the tuna casserole from his trunk, as he forgot it when he arrived earlier. Melody fills Nick in on Teeny’s gossip about Henry and the “love bug.” Melody and Nick ask Gramp-o if he knows anything about Melody’s father’s girlfriend, but Gramp-o hasn’t heard anything about that. Gramp-o insists Melody’s father would tell them if he were seeing someone.

Over lunch, Melody and Nick decide to visit the Bee Hive to investigate the rumor. Neither Melody nor Nick have any desire to step into a beauty salon, but Melody promises they’ll be quick. They decide to search Melody’s dad’s name to see if there are any other Henrys in Royal, Indiana, but Melody’s father is the only one. Melody knows for certain now that her father is the Henry with the “love bug.” Now she’s determined to figure out who his girlfriend is.

Mo spends the morning relaxing. He is happy that the loud construction workers are gone, so he doesn’t mind the bustling noises of the busy salon. He recalls his last home with the tall woman, where he was surrounded by the sounds and smells of nature in their cabin by the river, but the tall woman seems much happier here. Mo isn’t sure yet.

Mo has been watching an orange cat that hangs around the area. He hates the cat’s smell and that it wanders through the yard, yowling at all hours of the night. Mo hopes to one day chase the cat up a tree to prove he’s the boss.

Mo dozes on the couch until a little girl with long blonde hair skips in. At first, he’s excited, believing his dream is about to come true, but then he realizes this isn’t the right girl. She pets his head with sticky fingers and leaves.