The Bee Fur Coat

The Bee Fur Coat by Alison E Martin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

The Bee Fur Coat - A short Story

Wilbur Jones’ skin baked in the heat of a July afternoon in Memphis. His sweat-stained vest barely covered his portly black belly.
He and his nephew Bo were working on the Landowner’s garden. They had agreed to finish the work sometime that week or not get paid.

Wilbur had a question for the boss. He took his hat off, letting his dark head soak up the heat. He leaned into his shovel, puffed out a loud breath and raised his eyebrows.

“It’s hot.” He said finally, cringing at his poor attempt. Boss did not reply so Wilbur went on awkwardly. “ ‘Bout what time you say we could finish?…Boss?”

Boss was sat on a wooden crate close by. He took his time before answering. He was a softly spoken man. It was the only soft thing about him. Finally he spoke. “You can finish when he does.”
“Who?…him?” Asked Wilbur looking confusedly at Bo.
“Nope…” Boss rose slowly from his seat and the boys’ eyes followed him all the way up. He gestured towards a plant growing up higher than all the other herbs.

A bee dipped in and out of some blue star shaped flowers, attending each one thoroughly.
“Him?” Wilbur queried, his face a picture of bafflement.
“Yep. When he finishes for the day, you can stop too.” Boss gave a generous smile, but that was the only generous thing about him.

Bo was thinner by comparison to his uncle. His tan dungarees were slightly too tight for his lengthy toned thighs and stopped above his ankles. His complexion was fair with dark freckles.

Bo’s intense brown eyes crossed as he followed the bee closely. He removed his sun hat and scratched through a thick auburn Afro. Wilbur nudged him. “C’mon Bo, less get goin’.”

Boss pushed his hands down into his pockets and stood straight, around 6 foot 8’ even without his sun hat and boots. Both boys eyed him warily for a moment or two, then got on with their work.

Boss began chuckling to himself, shaking his head slowly. His laugh got so loud that the two boys had to stop pretending they didn’t notice.
“If you don’t mind me askin’ Boss…” But Wilbur asked anyway. “…What’s so funny?”
“Hmm? What’s that?” Asked Boss.
“I was wondering…well… you’re laughin’ Boss.”
“Oh…yeah, well…It’s Macey.”
“Macey?…Your granddaughter?”
“Uhuh…yep, Macey.” He lowered his head and chuckled some more. He had a way of only partly answering questions like that. Forcing you to draw it out of him.
“What about her, Boss?” Wilbur bit down on his irritation, to keep it inside. He was still nursing a split ear from the last time he pushed his luck with Boss.
“Awe, no, I’ve taken up enough of you boys time already.” He turned suddenly and walked away. Bo was perplexed, he glanced at Wilbur for some clarity, but Wilbur just looked on incredulously as Boss headed for the house.

Wilbur shook his head, wiped his face with a rag and picked up his shovel again. As he did this, he noticed Boss had stopped and was turning back.
“Damn.” He cursed down under his breath and with his head lowered. “What he want now?”

Bo rolled his eyes and carried on digging. Boss was already talking as he approached them. “…Awe now I suppose I could tell you boys all about it, I mean, it was funny as hell.”

Bo stopped working; he put down his spade and walked back to take his seat up on the grass verge again.
“Get up!” Ordered Wilbur harshly. Bo threw him a hard frown.
“Let him alone Wilbur,” scolded Boss.
“Sorry Boss, I was just…” He stopped explaining when he saw the irritation across Boss’s face. He quickly followed his nephew and sat down, shoving him up to show that he was still in control.
“Not you Wilbur,” said Boss. “You better carry on with the digging, I expect you’re one of those clever types that can work and listen all at the same time.” The sarcasm did not go undetected.
“Yes Boss.” Wilbur pulled himself up sulkily and carried on digging.
“Now where was I? Yes that’s right, Macey. Oh boy, that little girl made my day!
Do you know what she said to me this morning?” He asked, then paused, but interrupted as soon as Wilbur attempted to answer.
“…She came running into the kitchen all exited and full of fizz. She always sparkles, you know. When she gets an idea into that head of hers…. ‘Grandpa! I want a fur coat.’ She says…so I says…a fur what? And she says, she wants a fur coat. So I scratches my head, cos she got me all confused you know, she’s young and I’m old…”.

Wilbur felt as though he was pushing this story up hill and Boss was in
the drivers’ seat with the brakes on. But he was too afraid to ask Boss to get off the
brake a little and change up a gear or two. Wilbur detested work; but if he did not get back to it soon, they could be there until long after dark.
“So I says…”continued Boss “…I says to her, what kind of fur coat you want honey? And do you know what she said?”
Bo’s face begged for an answer. So Wilbur spoke for both of them.
“What did she say Boss?”
Boss laughed some more and shook his head.
Wilbur leaned in hopefully.
“A bee! Hah Hah!” Boss roared. “Ain’t that the cutest thing you ever heard!”
“A bee?” Quizzed Wilbur.
“Sure! Like that one over there, with his black and yellow fur! Well that’s
what she wants…A coat made from BEE FUR! Well then she asks me if I could make it for her.” He chuckled.
“What did you tell her Boss?” Asked Wilbur.
“Well of course I said no! What d’you think I said!?…” Boss looked at Wilbur dubiously. “…I told her that it would take a thousand bees like that one, to make one coat, even for a tiny little thing like her. Now wouldn’t it?”

Wilbur nodded wearily, he was visualising the obese 11 year old, forcing a large fried dumpling into her mouth last Wednesday.

“Anyway.” Boss continued. “She was disappointed. So, I told her that she could have some fish instead and that you two boys would have most of the pond dug out for her by tonight!”
“TONIGHT!” Blurted Wilbur, forgetting himself.
“Is that alright with you Wilbur?” Boss was expecting only one answer. But Wilbur faltered.
“I.. I…Well I suppose…I…? ”
“…Wonderful!” Exclaimed Boss. “Boys, that’s just wonderful! Macey’ll be so happy!”
Wilbur tried to make a smile.
“Well …I’ll be back in a the morning.” Said Boss.
“I suppose.” Said a crushed Wilbur.
“Well don’t suppose too much boy.” Boss said, and he looked down at the dry dirt. He dug into it with the toe of his boot.
“Grounds real tough…I’ll leave you boys to get on….Aah, look how hard that little things works. Boss studied the bee. He’ll be here a good long while; so you got plenty of time. ” And with that final word, he turned again leaving the three of them alone together.

Bo and Wilbur considered the bee for a few seconds too, it noticed they were watching, but paid them no mind.

Early the following morning, Wilbur was out with the dawn chorus eagerly awaiting some talk of payment. A loud bang from the direction of Bosses house sent the crows up into the morning sky. Wilbur recognised the sound as gunfire. More firing. But Wilbur was not counting the shots; he’d heard them before on most mornings. It just meant Boss or his wife scaring off birds or dogs from around the porch. Finally the shots stopped and Wilbur could see Boss making his way towards them.

As he approached, he did not look at Wilbur but kept his eyes fixed on the hole the men had dug for his granddaughter’s pond. It only needed to be lined and filled with the water now.

Bo was sat back up on a grass verge again; he looked on as the two men conversed.

“We almost finished up Boss, stayed up here ‘til that bee stopped working and left.”
“Oh yes, I see that Wilbur…” said Boss.
“So I was wondering if I c…if we…” he glanced back at Bo to show he had also considered his nephew. “…If we could get paid… a little earlier? Boss?”
Boss had still not looked at Wilbur.
“Looks a little shallow.” Said Boss.
Wilbur said nothing.
“What time did he leave?” Asked Boss.
“What?” Asked Wilbur, anxiously.
“The bee.” Said Boss searching the flowers. “What time did he leave Wilbur?”
Wilbur needed rescuing. “Oh, er…Bo?…Bo?”
Bo looked up.
“That bee…What time did he leave?…around six? Right?” Asked Wilbur.
Bo shrugged unhelpfully.
Wilbur spoke with his mouth spread across his teeth, but it wasn’t real smile.
“Around six.” Wilbur decided. “But er..Bo wasn’t really payin’ attention. Heh heh.” He gave Bo a filthy look and turned back to find Boss glaring right at him.

There was an awfully long silence, and Wilbur was afraid of what Boss would say next, but wished he would say something.
“Remarkable.” Said Boss finally.

Again Wilbur was forced to carefully extract an answer from Boss. He felt a prickly heat around his neck like he had been stung a hundred times.
“W..w…what’s remarkable Boss?”
“Around six?” Boss rubbed his forehead; he looked as though he was concentrating hard. Trying to figure something out. Then he shook his head and sighed dramatically,
“Nope, it’s no good…no, no, I can’t figure it out”.
Wilbur suddenly needed to pee. Now with his bladder filling and his neck itching he was finding it hard to keep it together. He shifted from one foot to the next.
“C..can’t f f figure what out Boss?”
“You say the Bee left around six?”
“Y yes Boss, I’m sure he did!”
“Well, that would make sense. Because I came out here around eight and he was gone!”
Wilbur nodded hysterically. “Well yes boss! Exactly. Like I said, He already left!”

Boss unbuttoned his coat and Wilbur noticed the butt of a gun behind his belt. He took it out and began to clean it. Wilbur was suddenly desperate to remember how many shots he’d heard…was it five? Six? But his thinking was all over the place. Then without a word Boss straightened his arm and aimed at where Bo was sitting.

There wasn’t a sound now, except urine hitting the dry dust around Wilbur’s feet.

“Everyday, I come out here.” Said Boss. “And every night those bees leave at the same time. That’s how I know.”
Wilbur rubbed his neck frantically and kept glancing over his shoulder to find Bo.
“Know what Boss?”
“That you are a liar Wilbur.”
“What?” Wilbur sweated and scratched the stinging bumps on the back of his neck.
“ Now what time, did I say you could leave Wilbur?”
“Y y y you said…I.. we c c could…”
“WHAT TIME!?”
“When the bee left Boss, you said we could leave when he did.”
“And when did it leave?” Boss now aimed the weapon directly at Wilbur’s head.
“Six!! Boss it left at six.”
Boss squeezed the trigger.
“Please boss! PLEASE!” Begged Wilbur.
The softness in bosses voice made Wilbur want to cry.
“Come on Wilbur, speak up?”

Boss suddenly felt a gentle tapping on his arm and he saw out of the corner of his eye that Bo who had left the grassy verge, was standing to his left, just behind him.
“What is it Bo?” asked Boss still aiming at Wilbur. “Don’t distract me now?”
But Bo kept on tapping Bosses arm until he snapped.
“Well if you ain’t gonna talk, get round here so I can see you!”
Bo shuffled from behind Boss, who was still focussed on a terrified looking Wilbur. Wilbur watched Bo and bit into his lip.

“What you got there?” Asked Boss, glancing at Bo’s outstretched hand.
Wilbur shook his head at Bo. “It’s nothing Boss…is it Bo?”
“Shut up!” Snarled Boss. He took a better look into Bo’s palm and then up at Wilbur.
Then he held out his own hand.

Bo dropped the contents of his hand into Bosses so willingly that Wilbur gaped in disbelief.
“Well, well…looky, looky..” Boss tutted slowly.
“W w w w what is it Boss?” Wilbur stuttered.
“You don’t know?” Asked Boss.
Wilbur didn’t answer. So Boss approached, with his palm outstretched.

But of course Wilbur knew very well, that a crushed bee lay in the centre of Bosses hand, and he had no lies left in him. He was full of them earlier and had planned to sprinkle them sparingly, but through panic he now poured lies on everything.

Wilbur was still desperately trying to remember how many shots he’d heard earlier. As his mind raced, Boss looked down on him and spoke gravely.

“I’m certain that you have almost run out of lies Wilbur, but I’m even more certain that you have maybe… one left.” Boss raised his gun again. “If that’s true, I wonder if you intend you use your last one, or… will you spare me?” The sound of metal clicked.

“Alright! Alright! I did it. I killed it, I killed the bee!”
“And why did you do that Wilbur?” Asked Boss.
“Because…” Wilbur snivelled. “…Because I wanted to leave early, and that damn bee wasn’t gonna leave ‘til after eight!”

Boss sighed deeply. Lowering his weapon. “All I asked you to do was dig a pond for Macey. Wilbur, that wasn’t so hard…was it? I mean, it wasn’t as if I’d asked you to do something really hard, like…make a coat out of bee fur.”

A cold thought suddenly struck Wilbur. He wondered if Macey had truly asked for such a thing. It occurred to him that Boss might even have made the whole thing up, just to make a point.

Boss reached out to Bo. He was surprised when the young man did not flinch, but secretly it pleased him. He patted the him firmly on the shoulder, then walked away.


When he reached a few yards, he stopped and spoke without turning.
“Wilbur. I almost forgot…You can put the dirt back in that hole now. Macey changed her mind about the fish. You know how little girls are.”

Bo turned to Wilbur and asked a question by holding his hand up and rubbing his thumb and fingers together.
Wilbur answered vacantly “No Robert…I don’t think we’re gonna get paid.”

Boss walked away, leaving the three of them alone together.
Copyright © Alison Martin 2009