Truman wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to comfort Ash, to reassure him. But maybe Ash was one of those people who got mad if you saw them when they were vulnerable and would make him feel bad.

“I don’t think I’m gonna be very good company right now,” Ash said finally.

“Is that a polite way of asking me to leave, or you wanna hang out but you actually think I won’t like how you are?”

“Um. The first because of the second?”

Truman sat next to him. Very gently, he began to untangle Ash’s hair. Ash closed his eyes again and leaned closer to Truman. Ash’s hair was fine and thick and clearly tangled easily. Slowly, Truman worked out the tangles until he could run his fingers through it.

When he got to the back of Ash’s hair, a tear slid down Ash’s cheek.

Truman wiped it away with his thumb and pressed a gentle kiss to the damp skin. Ash drew a shuddering breath. When he spoke, his voice was choked and low.

“It’s like watching her get erased. And when she’s not there… She’s the only person who knows so many things. My childhood. My… And when she’s gone, those pieces of me are gone. And the way I remember her…it’s all getting replaced by this…this not-her.” He squeezed his eyes shut, and tears spiked his lashes.

Truman dragged gentle fingers along Ash’s scalp.

“I love her so much, but I…I don’t know how much longer I can do this. I feel all scraped out.”

“Come here,” Truman said softly and wrapped Ash in his arms. He had to go up on his knees to do it, but he wanted Ash to feel held, supported, taken care of.

For a moment, Ash was rigid in his arms, but then he let out a breath and sagged against Truman. “That sounds so damn hard.”

Ash put his arms around Truman then, hugging him back. They clung together, and Truman had the strangest feeling of familiarity. He felt calm and capable and like he’d been here before. It felt wonderful to hold Ash. It felt right.

A Message from Ramona

RAMONA to GREAT!A RUSSAKOFF

I’m so glad you’ve found your hive, G! Now go woo your queen

GRETA to RAMONA KNOW-IT-ALL

wait how’d you know about the bees?

RAMONA to GREAT!A RUSSAKOFF

I know shit. When will you learn?!

Chapter 16

Greta

The community garden where Veronica kept her bees seemed to be three or four lots that once had houses on them.

“They started it after Katrina,” Veronica explained. “A lot of properties never got rebuilt, and there was a period when we had the chance to claim some of the properties that were quote unquote ‘undesirable.’”

“What made them quote unquote ‘undesirable’?”