When Penny slid onto a chair at the kitchen island on Saturday morning, her mom was already at the stove flipping pancakes. The little television on the counter was tuned in to the Sugar Falls local news; her father would be on any minute now.
Mrs. Hale set a plate of pancakes in front of Penny so dark and lumpy, they resembled a plate of mud pies. "Uh, Mom?" Penny said, her voice still groggy from sleep. "What are these?"
"They're chocolate banana pancakes... but I seemed to have overcooked them," she said wearily, her eyes darting to the television screen.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Penny asked in earnest as she pushed the plate of acrid griddle cakes away. It wasn't like her mom to be down the weekend of the Brambleberry Festival.
Before she could answer, the local news anchor, Trent Beaufort's voice filled the kitchen. Mrs. Hale's head snapped towards the sound. "Next up," he said with an overly toothy smile. "We have this weekend's weather with Harold Hale."
For as far back as anyone could remember, it had never rained in Sugar Falls, Ohio on the day of the Honey Parade. Clouds as fluffy as cotton candy spun round white cones dropped the occasional spot of rain during the Brambleberry Festival, but never on the Honey Parade.
Everyone in Sugar Falls would be watching the news for the weekend forecast, so when the cameras cut to her father, Penny's stomach did a little flip. This was his most important broadcast of the year, and they all knew it. Her father shuffled nervously on his feet. "Thanks Trent," he said, an audible quaver in his voice. "I'm sure many of us were kept up by last night's thunderstorm and are eager to see what this weekend's weather has in store for us. I hate to say it, but make sure to keep an umbrella handy today, more storms are expected this afternoon. Thunderstorms can be expected at one p.m. and three p.m. but the skies will be clear by six p.m. in time for the opening of the carnival. The high will be 90 degrees fahrenheit, 32 celsius, so make sure to avoid strenuous work in direct sunlight, stay hydrated, and find someplace cool to relax during peak hours."
Penny let out a slow breath. "That's not so bad," she said.
Her mom shushed her as her father continued. "As for Sunday, a cold front is coming through tonight so we can expect more storms and prolonged bouts of rain through the morning and afternoon."
Pancakes were turning to charcoal briquettes on the stove, but neither Penny nor her mother made a move to retrieve them until the smoke detector objected to their cooking from the hall. Penny grabbed a dishtowel with a bee embroidered on it to wave under the alarm as she tried to come to grips with her father's forecast.
If it had been any other weatherperson, she would have kindled a flicker of hope that the parade wouldn't get rained out, as would the rest of the town. But Harold Hale wasn't just any meteorologist; he'd lived in Sugar Falls all his life and he knew its weather patterns better than some people knew their next door neighbors. If Harold Hale called for rain at one p.m. you could bet your last slice of blueberry cobbler it would rain at one.
Penny didn't want to think of the outrage he was about to have rained down on him. There would be talk of cancelling the parade, of delays and alternate dates. Her father would get the blame despite his lack of control in the matter; the people of Sugar Falls had a knack for shooting the messenger when it came to bad news. They weren't quick to forgive either.
The smoke alarm ceased its panicked chirping and Penny returned to the kitchen only to be shooed back out. "Go next door and tell Gammy what her son just said. She'll want to gird her loins for when she heads to euchre club this afternoon; those bitties do nothing but complain about the weather."
"Okay," Penny said as she slipped her feet into a pair of rubber boots at the door to the back yard.
"But hurry back! Aunt Tilly is coming over to do your hair for the PTO Honey Queen luncheon," her mom said.
"Oh that." Penny didn't bother to hide her lack of enthusiasm. Every year the busy-body moms from the Sugar Falls High Parent Teacher Organization took applications from graduating senior girls for a spot in the Honey Court. The girl chosen as the Honey Queen won a scholarship, which was the only reason Penny had applied. Most girls did it for a spot in the parade and a chance to wear a crown all day. The Honey Queen wouldn't be announced until that night at the opening of the carnival, but the court was invited to a mandatory tea (hat and gloves required) at the PTO President's house. "I won't be long," she promised before pushing past the screen door; she let it slam behind her.
Her grandmother was at her kitchen table when Penny entered. "Did you see the forecast?" she said in lieu of a greeting.
"No. I don't need your father to tell me when it's going to rain. I can read the signs for myself," Gammy said as she spooned honey into her tea.
"Oh," Penny said, taking a seat at the table. "Mom wanted me to warn you for when you went to play euchre."
Gammy waved her off with the honey spoon. "I can handle those old crones," she said. There was a fierce twinkle in her grandmother's eyes that made Penny wary. It was well known around town that Charlotte Hale was always up to something. "The weather is what it is. What I can't figure out is what has my bees in a tizzy."
Penny's stomach went funny at the mention of bees. The hazy memories of last night's reunion flooded her like suddenly remembering a strange dream. An anxious hive was the first sign of real trouble, and Leander had said something to that degree when he'd sought her help.
"You have such a way with them," Gammy said. "They love it when you talk to them."
Penny's face flushed with heat. Her grandmother believed in fairy magic more than most people would admit. She followed all the old superstitions, including the belief that bees liked to hear what was going on in the lives of their keepers. After Leander had left, it was her grandmother who had suggested she try it for herself.
Having someone, or someones, to talk to after Leander had disappeared was the best thing to help her cope with the loss of a friend.
Penny didn't need to be convinced. She turned to head into the garden when a familiar figure at the door made her stop. Leander. The Prince of Bees stood in her grandmother's kitchen, leaning casually against the door frame. He was wearing the same white linen shirt and beige trousers as he had when he'd hopped through her window the night before.
"Leander!" Gammy said, scaring Penny out of her skin. "It's been so long since I've seen you around."
Penny's head snapped back and forth between them. "Wait," she exclaimed as she tried to wrap her head around the fact that her grandmother saw him too. "You can see him?"
Her grandma watched her, confused. "Don't you remember? I could always see him."
Penny's eyes felt hot as anger bubbled in her chest. "So you weren't just 'playing along' like my parents said?"
"No. They did try to get me to discourage you from playing with him, but I wouldn't dare do His Majesty the disservice."
"What about my disservice?" Penny cried, her voice rising to a shout. "You let them take me to therapy — make me think I was crazy."
"Penny," Leander said gently.
"No," she said. "I have to get out of here." She went out the door before either of them could stop her. She was about to hop the fence rail when a pair of hands on her waist pulled her back into her grandmother's side of the garden.
"Wait," Leander pleaded. "The whole town might be in danger if you don't help me fix the wards. I need your help. If something or someone... bad gets through, I don't know what will happen."
"Like it might rain on the Honey Parade?"
"Yeah, perhaps. Or perhaps worse."
Penny pushed his hand off her waist. "Why do you need my help?"
"The wards have to be placed by a human, that's what gives them magic."
"Can't Gammy help you? I kind of have a busy day," she replied with arms folded across her chest.
"They are in the woods and fields around town. She can't hike all over the outskirts of Sugar Falls can she?" Leander said, though the idea seemed to amuse him.
"No—" Penny admitted. "But I have a luncheon."
"That sounds fancy."
"If I miss it, I will be ineligible to win the Honey Queen scholarship."
Leander tilts his head. "A scholarship?"
"To pay for tuition to college? Don't fairies go to school?"
"We do, but we don't have to pay money for it. We just read books and then discuss them for hours," he said.
Penny's heart raced at the idea. It was strange how much she'd forgotten of Leander's world when the past eight years had been filled with standardized tests, football games, part-time jobs at the Dairy Bar, and a whole lot of boy related drama. "That sounds pretty nice, actually," she said.
"I'd love to show you sometime—" Leander started to say when the sound of a window being opened made them both turn.
"Penny, what are you—" her mother began but stopped herself short. "Who's your friend?"
Penny looked to Leander in shock. "What? Now my mom believes in Fairies?" she asked, her voice low enough that her mother wouldn't overhear.
"No, but now that I'm 18, my parents' protection spell has worn off. Anyone can see me," he said hurriedly.
"Honey?" Mrs. Hale shouted from the kitchen window. "Everything okay?" she asked with an overly warm smile.
"Yeah," Penny called back across the fence. "This is," she paused as she tried to determine how to introduce her imaginary friend to her mother. "... Leander... Grandma's new delivery boy."
"It's nice to meet you, Leander." Recognition slid onto her mother's face, like the sun slips into the sky on a summer morning. "That's a name you don't hear every day. Penny, didn't you have an imaginary friend with that name?"
"Yeah, I did," she growled.
"No relation," Leander said with a jovial smile that made Mrs. Hale laugh.
"You're funny. We should have you over for dinner," she said.
"That sounds lovely," Leander replied.
Before any formal plans could be made, Penny hopped the fence and with a "nice to meet you" for her mother's benefit, she disappeared into the house.
"He was cute," Mrs. Hale said. "Did you see If he was going to the carnival tonight?" she asked as Penny headed upstairs to change for the luncheon.
"Oh, so now you want me to play with my imaginary friend?" she mumbled to herself.
"What was that?" Mrs. Hale asked from the base of the stairs.
Penny sighed. "Nothing."
THANK YOU FOR READING!