The Secret Life of Bees Page #4

She calls it a candlestick salad.

She's been making 'em for me

since I was little.

- It looks like...

- Yeah. Yeah, I know. I know.

[June]

May?

So, what's your favorite

subject in school?

English. I was plannin' on

being a writer.

I don't really think I got much of

a future now, being an orphan and all.

Don't writers, like,

just imagine things you don't see?

You should imagine yourself

having a future.

That's what I do.

- Playing professional football?

- [Sighs]

Why do white people always think sports

is the only way we could be successful?

I wanna be a lawyer.

I'm sorry. I just thought

'cause you were good at it.

I've never heard of a Negro lawyer.

You never heard of

Thurgood Marshall?

- No.

- Forget it.

All right. I'm picturing you

as a lawyer.

Take the case of a girl who's wrongly accused

of hurtin' somebody.

At the very last minute, you get the truth by

trickin' the real bad guy on the witness stand.

You bust his ass with the truth.

Yeah.

Zach, the ass-bustin' lawyer.

[Laughs]

Oh. Thank you, May.

- Here.

- No gravy.

- Smells good.

- Mm-hmm.

So how are things coming

with you, Lily?

Things are coming fine,

Miss June. Thank you.

- I made banana daisy...

- You've been here almost a week now.

Your aunt must be worried.

If you want us to leave,

me and Rosaleen will be on our way.

Oh, heavens to Betsy, Lily. Nobody wants you

to leave till you're good and ready.

Why do you put a Negro Mary

on your honey?

You mean why is she black...

or why is she on the honey?

- I guess both.

- [May] Tell her, August.

- I'm Sugar Girl.

- I'm Cressie.

- I'm Doll.

- And I'm her daughter, Violet.

And I'm Greta, Zachary's mama.

Mmm, I love Sundays.

What the hell kind

of church is this?

It's been a while since

we told the story of our Mary.

Mm-hmm.

And since we have visitors here who've

never heard it, I thought we'd tell it again.

- That's right. Tell the story.

- Mm-hmm.

[August]

Back in the days of slavery...

our people would go

to the praise house on Sunday...

and ask the Lord

to send them rescue.

One day a slave named Obadiah

was loading bricks onto a boat...

and he saw somethin' that had

washed up on the shore.

Movin'closer...

- he saw that it was the wooden figure of a woman.

- [Women Affirming]

Her body was growin'

out of a block of wood.

- A black woman...

- [Affirming]

With her arm lifted up

and her fist balled out.

- Mmm.

- [Affirming]

Obadiah knelt down on

the wet sand before her...

- and to his shock he heard her voice clear as day.

- Mm-hmm!

- She said, "It's all right."

- "It's all right."

- "I'm here."

- "I'm here."

- "I'll be taking care of you now."

- [Affirming]

And Obadiah knew at that moment

that God had sent her.

Now, everyone knew the mother of Jesus' name

was Mary, and that she was strong...

- Come on.

- And constant and had a mother's heart.

- [Affirming]

- And here she was...

sent to them across

the same waters...

that had brought them

there in chains.

- Seemed like she knew everything they suffered.

- Everything!

And so the people went up

one at a time...

and touched their hand

to her chest...

wantin' to grab on to

the solace in her heart.

- Mary filled their hearts with fearlessness.

- She filled their hearts!

And if they ever grew weak...

they had only to touch

her heart again.

[Women]

Touch her heart!

- Touch her heart.

- [Women] Touch her heart.

["Amazing Grace"]

[Deborah's Voice]

Touch her heart.

Lily.

Hail Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with thee.

- [Voices, Indistinct]

- No!

- I'm your husband!

- Lily!

...and blessed is the fruit

of thy womb, Jesus.

[Deborah's Voice]

Just let me go!

- [Voices, Indistinct]

- No!

[Women]

... pray for us sinners now...

and at the hour of our death.

- Amen.

- Lily!

- [Stops]

- [Gasps]

- [Gunshot]

- No!

June, what's gotten into you?

- Oh!

- [Women Murmuring]

Lily.

Girl, since when

you started faintin'?

Could I get some water?

- Of course.

- Wait. Um...

Rosaleen, could you get it, please?

This your room?

- Blue is my favorite color.

- Mine too.

Birds of a feather.

- Sorry I messed up your church.

- Oh, that's all right.

We go on all day if somebody

don't stop us.

I just hope you all right.

I think it was the heat.

Felt like it was

90 degrees in there.

Yes, the heat.

Heat'll make a person

do strange things.

[T. Ray Grunts]

[Grunts]

[Radio:
R&B]

[Woman] I've made my reservation

I'm leaving town tomorrow

I'll find somebody new

and there'll be no more sorrow

[Exhaling To Beat]

That's what I do each time

but I can't follow through

[With Radio] I can't break away

though you make me cry

I can't break away

I can't say good-bye

No, I'll never, ever

break away from you

No, no

No, no, no, no

No, no, no, no

No, no, no, no

- [Turns Off]

- Who can think with all that?

Well, that's your problem...

You think too much.

Try going with your feelings

once in a blue moon.

You won't believe what

people in town are sayin'.

Sayin' Jack Palance is coming to Tiburon,

and he's bringing a Negro woman with him.

[Laughs]

What in the world?

- Who's Jack Palance?

- He's a movie star... a white one.

I ain't never heard...

l... I have never heard of him.

They say his sister lives here.

He's comin' to visit her...

and he intend to take this woman

to the theater on Friday.

- White folks talkin' about standin' guard outside.

- [August] That's just talk.

And these idiots are determined

to fight this law till they...

Shh, shh, shh. Shh.

[Humming]

- Miss May?

- Mm-hmm?

I saw how nice you did

Rosaleen's hair...

and I was wonderin' if maybe

you could help me with mine.

That'll be easy.

Hmm.

[Sniffles]

It's ironic how white people

hate us so much...

when so many of 'em

been raised by black women.

- Place a beehive on my grave

- Ooh.

June Bug! June, I know you hear me.

If I make this shot, you'll give me your hand?

Watch this.

- [Laughs]

- What you laughin' at?

You think somethin' bein' an impossibility

makes you think about it even more?

- Like what?

- I don't know.

Like... kissin'.

That ain't impossible.

When I was 15, I made

a 7 UP cake for this boy.

After that,

he kissed me all the time.

What'd it feel like?

Like I was gonna burst.

Miss May, I know you get

real sad sometimes.

My daddy never feels.

He never felt anything.

I had rather be like you.

A worker bee weigh less

than a flower petal...

but she can fly with a load

heavier than her.

But she only lives

four or five weeks.

Sometimes not feelin' is

the only way you can survive.

- [Ball Hits Backboard]

- [Grunting]

[Laughs]

You want me to help you

make a 7 UP cake?

- [Bees Buzzing]

- Hold that.

- It's purple.

- Yeah.

When the weather turns hot,

the flowers, they start to dry up.

The bees, they start sucking

on that elderberry.

That makes purple honey.

There. See?

People'll pay two dollars a jar

for purple honey.

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