Hour of the Bees

Carolina, who prefers to be called Carol, travels with her family from their home in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to her grandfather’s sheep ranch in the desert, more than three hours away. Her grandfather, Serge, has dementia; Carol’s family plans to move him to an aged care facility called The Seville. Over the summer, they’re cleaning out Serge’s home and fixing up the ranch in preparation to sell it, as well as caring for Serge, who is becoming increasingly confused.

Carol is unimpressed with the dry, arid landscape; she finds it stiflingly hot. She’s shocked at the aged appearance of her grandfather, of whom she had only seen old photos. Carol’s father, Raúl, is shocked to see their old family dog, Inés, but concludes (despite Serge’s confirming that it’s the same dog) that it must be the offspring of Inés.

Carol’s parents tell her to watch over Serge and Lu, her baby brother. Serge tells her that it hasn’t rained for 100 years. A bee buzzes past Carol, she shoos it away. Serge (who didn’t see the bee) tells Carol that the bees will return one day and bring rain.

Carol reflects on Serge’s dementia, which she read about in a pamphlet from the aged care facility; she assumes that he’s talking in “word salad,” as it makes more sense that the rain would bring bees than the other way around.