Honey

Nick tries to calm Melody and reassure her that her father probably isn’t dating Miss Hogan. However, Miss Hogan makes perfect sense—she’s single, lives nearby, and she’s someone Melody doesn’t like. Melody panics at the thought of her father and Miss Hogan getting married.

Nick and Melody peek into the side window of the Bee Hive and eavesdrop on the conversation between Miss Hogan and a woman Melody identifies as Bee-Bee. Miss Hogan wants Bee-Bee’s advice for a hairstyle. Miss Hogan is vague about what occasion she needs the style for until she eventually reveals that she’s getting married. It’s sudden, and they haven’t told their families. Melody feels sick to her stomach.

Teeny catches up with Melody and Nick, to Melody’s dismay. Teeny snuck out while her mom was lying down. Teeny wants to know if Melody has found out anything else about Henry and the “love bug.” Teeny asks if Nick is Melody’s boyfriend, which both friends deny, and asks a rude question about Nick’s dark complexion. Melody and Nick agree that Teeny is too little to be biking around town by herself. Melody scolds Teeny for inserting herself into Melody’s business.

Teeny wants to go inside for candy, but Melody holds her back. She doesn’t want to go inside. Nick asks if Melody is sure. He thinks they can get clarity on the Miss Hogan situation if they go inside, but Melody is certain Miss Hogan is “Honey” and that no further investigation is needed. Teeny rips herself from Melody’s grip and runs inside, determined to get her Dum Dum.

Knowing they can’t abandon Teeny, Melody and Nick watch her through the window of the Bee Hive. Teeny digs through the candy bowl. Instead of coming back out, Teeny then alerts Bee-Bee to Melody and Nick watching through the window. They try to duck out of view, but they are too slow. Bee-Bee goes to the front door and invites them inside. Nick assures Melody he’ll answer any questions from Miss Hogan if they arise.

Bee-Bee asks if she knows Melody because Melody looks familiar. Teeny tells Bee-Bee Melody’s name and adds that Melody has no mom. Bee-Bee seems to know of a Melody, but she’s shocked that this is Melody standing in her salon. Melody tries to figure out if she should know Bee-Bee, but she’s interrupted by Miss Hogan, who demands to know why Melody and Nick are there. Nick is too distracted to answer, so Teeny chimes in, mentioning Henry and the “love bug.” Teeny begins to spin herself in one of the salon chairs. 

Melody gets Nick’s attention, so Nick explains to Miss Hogan that they’re there to get their fingernails painted. Teeny is excited to pick her color, not aware Nick is lying. She runs across the room to the cabinet full of polishes, but she’s so dizzy from spinning that she loses her balance and knocks the candy bowl off the counter. It shatters on the ground.

After his visit with the sticky-fingered girl earlier, Mo falls back asleep and has his favorite dream again. He sees the girl with long yellow hair. This time he notices a new detail: something shiny clasped in the girl’s hand. She’s about to open her hand to show Mo when he’s awoken by a loud crash.

Teeny accuses Melody of pushing her, causing her to stumble into the candy bowl and break it. Melody argues with Teeny until Miss Hogan intervenes and tells them to clean the mess. While everyone else is busy, Teeny picks polish number 54 from the cabinet and then sneaks over to play with the hair dryers.

Nick apologizes to Bee-Bee, and Miss Hogan reprimands Melody for pushing Teeny. Melody defends herself, but Miss Hogan accuses her of lying. Melody turns the conversation around and brings up Miss Hogan’s secret wedding, angering Miss Hogan. Miss Hogan says she’s going to have a talk with Melody’s father when he returns from his camping trip. She leaves angrily.

Melody and Nick are now convinced that Melody’s father is dating, and will soon marry, Miss Hogan. Bee-Bee asks for an explanation. Nick says it’s a long story but admits they aren’t there for fingernail painting, which upsets Teeny. She requests more candy to console her. Teeny wants to see Bee-Bee’s dog again before they go, but Bee-Bee tells her it isn’t a good time. 

Nick drags Teeny out the door. Bee-Bee wants Melody to stay so they can talk. Melody thinks it’s about the bowl, but Bee-Bee clarifies that she wants to talk about Melody’s mother. Nick takes Teeny home while Melody stays back at the Bee Hive.

Bee-Bee tells Melody that she and Melody’s mother were best friends growing up. Bee-Bee met Henry at Melody’s mother’s funeral. Melody was sleeping in his arms. She thinks Melody’s father must have already told her about the funeral, but Melody reveals that her father doesn’t talk about her mother. Melody thinks no one talks about her mother around her because they’re afraid to make her sad.

Bee-Bee shows Melody a Time magazine cover featuring Melody’s mother as a little girl. She had long, yellow braids and sat at a piano. Melody’s mother, Annabelle, started playing piano at three years old. Her talents took her to many places and rocketed her to fame. When Annabelle was finished in the spotlight, she settled down in her hometown of Royal, Indiana, and got married. The famous little piano player from the Midwest went on to become Melody’s mother.

Bee-Bee was close friends with Annabelle when they were girls, but they lost touch when Annabelle’s career took off and when Bee-Bee’s family moved towns. Bee-Bee says Melody looks just like her mother and offers to let Melody keep the framed Time cover. Melody declines, worried her father wouldn’t want her bringing the memorabilia into the house. She mentions that he wouldn’t want the reminders now that he’s marrying Miss Hogan. She explains about the investigation into Honey and asks what her mother was like.

Bee-Bee says Annabelle was smart, pretty, and funny. Melody is surprised to hear her mother was funny because discussions about her are always so sad. Bee-Bee talks about Annabelle’s impressive piano talents, adding that there are many recordings of Annabelle playing. She asks if Melody has ever heard any. Melody hasn’t. The music room in her house is filled with tapes, CDs, and other music memorabilia. The door stays closed, and Melody has never felt the need to go inside.

Melody asks Bee-Bee how her mother died. Bee-Bee is hesitant to answer, knowing that Melody’s father has clearly not wished to talk about this with Melody. She doesn’t want to step on Henry’s toes, but she wants Melody to have the answers she seeks. Bee-Bee tells Melody it was a complication during her home birth. Melody feels something stir inside her. She asks about the funeral. Bee-Bee tells Melody about how there were many people, but everyone was silent, and that a string quartet that Annabelle had played with provided the music. She says Melody’s father played a videotape he made days before Annabelle died, showing Annabelle playing one of her favorite music pieces. Bee-Bee gets choked up talking about it. Melody feels like she’ll cry too.

Melody complains that Miss Hogan is nothing like her mother per Bee-Bee’s description. Bee-Bee reassures Melody, but it doesn’t help much.

Mo is angry that the orange cat has been hanging out outside all day. Mo barked at him earlier to scare him under a bush, but Mo is certain the cat is still lurking. It will be dinner time soon. Mo expects the tall woman to feed him kibble and sit at the table typing for the rest of the night. Mo used to get fancier dinners, but the tall woman has been too busy lately to cook for him. He hopes she hasn’t grown tired of him. He worries she’ll disappear like the large woman did. He recalls the silver pendant she gave him. He misses her.

Mo thinks about all the delicious foods the tall woman usually prepares for him, like chicken and dumplings and roast beef. He waits by the door.

Bee-Bee offers Melody the Time cover or a bottle of nail polish, but Melody declines both. She compliments Bee-Bee’s colors, though, and comes up with vivid descriptions of a few of them. Bee-Bee wishes Melody would name all her colors. She only numbers the polishes because she’s not good with words the way Melody is. 

Melody admires a bottle of dark blue polish, imagining that the sparkles inside are stars. She wants to make a wish, but wishing is what started her problems. Melody leaves the Bee Hive feeling more crushed than before.

Melody finds Nick waiting at her house, having gotten Teeny home safely. He gives Melody a pack of Skittles. Nick offers to let Melody move into his house if her father marries Miss Hogan. Melody asks if Nick would’ve gotten his fingernails painted had things gone sideways at the Bee Hive. Nick says he would have. Melody values Nick’s friendship.

Melody recruits Nick’s help pulling dandelions. She wants to save the nickels to buy a new candy bowl for Bee-Bee. Melody pictures Miss Hogan’s face on every dandelion she pulls. Melody and Nick talk about how nice Bee-Bee is and how much she enjoys bright colors. Nick says it’s a good thing she’s not a dog because dogs can’t see colors besides yellow and blue. He remembers Mrs. McKenna taught him that.

At dinner, Nick and Gramp-o devour the tuna casserole, but Melody is not hungry. She’s too worried about her dad with Miss Hogan. She only drinks her milk. Melody and Nick keep their afternoon outing a secret from Gramp-o. Melody, Nick, and Gramp-o watch television after dinner. Nick and Gramp-o become violently ill with food poisoning. Nick’s dad picks him up, and Gramp-o retreats to the bathroom, leaving Melody alone.

Melody struggles to sleep with Gramp-o making noise in the bathroom. Nick threw up on the couch before leaving, so Melody goes to the music room to sleep. She can’t remember the last time she visited this room. The shelves are full of books and boxes. Melody recalls Gramp-o teaching her to play a song on the piano when she was little. Melody settles in on the velvet couch.

Melody wishes her problems were as simple as Teeny’s, easily solved by candy. The Skittles Nick brought her couldn’t fix the pain she felt inside. She wishes she could wake up to everything being a bad dream.