The Secret Life of Bees Page #6

May?

May!

Answer me, May.

You all right?

What's happened to her?

I never seen her like this.

- May?

- May?

May.

I'm all right.

Glad to see you can talk.

Come on, Sister.

We gonna run you a nice hot bath.

I need to go to the wall.

May?

Where's May?

Her bath is ready.

She's still out there.

May?

May?

May!

May?

May!

- May?

- May!

- May?

- May!

[June]

Come on, May.

May?

May?

June?

[June]

May!

June! June!

[Gasping]

May!

[Shrieking]

- Oh, my God.

- Oh, my God! August!

[Both Gasping]

August.

No! [Sobbing]

Oh, no!

- [Sobbing] Oh, no!

- Oh, May.

[June] We gotta get her out.

We gotta get her out.

[Retching, Coughing]

[Sobbing]

May!

Why you do that?

Sweet Mary.

Zach!

Zach.

[Sighs]

Oh.

I'm so sorry.

Miss May did what she did

'cause of me.

Come on, now.

It was May who did it.

[Sighs] It's all right.

She wouldn't want you blaming yourself.

Oh. It's gonna be okay.

It's good. It's good.

[May's Voice]

Dear August and June...

I'm sorry to leave you like this.

But I know Zach is okay.

My heart is telling me so.

I hate you bein'sad...

but think how happy I'll be

with April, Mama and Papa.

I'm tired of carrying around

the weight of the world.

I'm just gonna lay it down now.

It's my time to die...

and it's your time to live.

Don't mess it up.

[Chuckles]

Love, May.

I saw Mary

She was walkin' on the water

Smilin' at me

Hummin' her river song

And I tried wavin'

But she was walkin' away

She said that

she'd been waitin' on me

All day long

I tried to call her and said

Please come back

'Cause I didn't mean

to make you sad

She said

Well, don't you worry

'cause I'll see you again

But I hear my mother call

And I have to go

Place a beehive on my grave

And let the honey

soak through

When I'm dead and gone

That's what I want from you

The streets of heaven

are gold and sunny

But I'll stick with my plot

And a pot of honey

Place a beehive on my grave

And let the honey

soak through

Hmm.

[June]

I see you liked yours.

- Mm-hmm. It's the last one.

- Mmm.

- Mmm, girl, you did all right.

- [Rosaleen Laughing]

Aw. I'm the eldest.

- And the slowest.

- I'll make some more.

- You hear that, June?

- Hmm.

Think we might need

to change your name, Rosaleen.

From now on, we gonna call you July.

Hmm. I concur.

- Some more of these.

- [Chuckling]

Mmm.

[Indistinct]

Sure you gonna be

all right in here by yourself?

I don't mind sharing May's room.

Just wanna be near her spirit.

I'll be fine.

See you in the mornin' then.

[Door Opens, Closes]

Hey, Lily.

This is my mother.

[Sighs]

I know, honey.

Your mama was

Deborah Fontanel Owens.

You've known all this time?

I knew she had a daughter.

But I thought it couldn't be you.

But one look at you,

all I could see is Deborah at your age.

You knew her when she was little?

I took care of her.

Why didn't you tell me?

Somethin' told me you wasn't

quite ready to know about her.

I just wanted to give you a chance

to get on solid ground first.

T. Ray...

he told me that my mo...

He told me my mother

left me and ran away.

I don't have any memory of her, but...

I know he's lyin'

'cause some things aren't possible.

Children just don't have two parents

who refuse to love 'em.

- Is that what made you leave?

- [Shuddering]

I know what I did was wrong.

I just seem to do all the wrong things.

I don't mean to be a bad person,

but I just can't help it.

So that's why I gotta go.

I brought the outside in here.

And what happened

to Zach and Miss May...

If I'd never come here,

it would've never happened.

- Lily... Lily, that wasn't your fault.

- I wreck everything.

Yes, it was.

They were fightin' and screamin' and...

[Bawling]

She grabbed a gun, and he took it away from her,

and I just wanted to help her.

I just wanted to

give it back to her.

- And I killed her.

- Who, Lily?

My mother.

I killed my mother.

I'm unlovable.

Oh, Lily.

You listen to me now.

That's a terrible,

terrible thing for you to live with.

But you're not unlovable, child.

There's love all around you.

Gimme your hand.

I started takin' care of Deborah

when she was nine, back in Virginia.

Over seven years.

Till my grandmama died

and left me this place.

That's why June

resented you at first.

She never got over me

workin' in your mama's house.

How did my mother get down here?

She had an old friend from high school,

moved to Sylvan.

Told her there were jobs,

and men back from the war.

So she moved.

I think it was 'cause of me though.

I just think she wanted me nearby.

So my mother came to Sylvan,

met T. Ray and got married.

That's right.

But what I don't get

is why she married him.

[Chuckles] I think Deborah liked the fact

that he was decorated in the war.

She thought he was brave.

Said he treated her like a princess.

It's not the same T. Ray.

I can tell you that right now.

You know, Lily,

people can start out one way...

and by the time life get through with 'em,

end up completely different.

I mean, I don't doubt that he started off

lovin' her. Fact, he worshipped her.

But after about six months or so,

her love wore off.

But she married him?

But if the love had worn off,

why did she marry him?

Honey, Deborah was pregnant.

That's why.

She called me

soon after you were born.

I got letters and phone calls,

mostly about you.

How you were sittin' up

and takin' your first steps.

[Chuckles]

Playin' patty-cake.

But then the letters

start comin' less and less.

And one day she called me up...

and she said she was leavin' T. Ray.

- Thank you.

- Yes, ma'am.

[August] When I picked her up

from the bus station...

she didn't even look like herself.

She had gotten so thin.

I was with her when you picked her up

from the bus station, right?

She brought me along, didn't she?

No. She came by herself, honey.

- [Sighs]

- Why?

Why didn't she bring me?

[Sighs]

All I know, Lily,

is she was fallin' apart.

Depressed people do things

they wouldn't ordinarily do.

It was easy for her to leave me

'cause she never wanted me in the first place.

Lily.

After she was here

for a few months...

and started feelin' better, she...

she start talkin' about how much she missed you.

Then she went back

to Sylvan to see you.

She was just comin' for her things.

- I believe she came back for you.

- I'm goin' to bed.

Lily!

Now your mama

made a terrible mistake.

But I believe she tried to fix it.

Good night.

[Sighs]

Damn it, Deborah.

[Breathing Heavily]

[Screaming]

I hate you!

I hate your guts!

[Grunting]

Why didn't you love me?

[Sniffles]

Tiburon.

Lily.

What in Mary's name happened here?

Answer me.

T. Ray was right about my mother.

She left me.

[August]

Hi.

Hi.

I brought some

of your mama's belongings.

It's just a handful of things your mama left

when she went back to get you.

Been in this box...

You really loved her.

It was complicated.

But, yes, I did.

How was it complicated?

I was her nanny.

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