Summary

In “Hive Siting,” Alice had a hard time sleeping because she was thinking about Jake. She wondered what she could possibly do for the boy. She woke in the morning, ate junk food, and inspected her hives. With reservations, she posted a help-wanted ad to secure help with the project of expanding the apiary and mused about how much “she enjoyed her solitude” (68). Alice tried to avoid the grocery store because she didn’t enjoy the small talk entailed in running into people she knew. She went to Jake’s house to return the backpack he left in her truck. Jake was excited to see her and his mother was much kinder, but Ed displayed his violent streak and told her to leave. Angry, she retorted that Ed was expelled from grade school for torturing a cat. “Alice saw the man shrink back...