The Book of Delights

Though Gay is a very capable and athletic person, he was caught completely off guard when a friend went to hug him at a different angle than Gay is used to. When Gay inelegantly moved to adjust his arms, he nearly sprained his ankle and tweaked his neck because this friend always hugs by aligning his left cheek with the friend’s left cheek, as opposed to right cheek to the right cheek, to line up his heart with his friend’s. Gay was delighted by his awkwardness in this situation and learned that if he doesn’t want to get injured, he will lead his hugs from the heart.

While walking over a bridge, Gay notices a swarm of bees gathering around a gooey substance on the railing. He gets as close as he can and sees an even larger swarm beneath the bridge. He watches, fascinated by the pile of bees upon bees. As he watches, a construction worker approaches with a sign that reads: “Caution: Bees on Bridge” (178). This reminds Gay that, as part of working in a community orchard, the school board has refused the planting of a new orchard because of the bees the orchard would attract.