“First, uncle,” he said, “I would appreciate it very much if you would not only watch your Language, but that you also kindly back up about ten wing-lengths, if you don’t mind. You’re the best uncle in the world, and I love you, but you’re standing WAY too close to me.”

“Fine, but why?” I asked as I backed up.

“Well,” Kevin said, “it appears our community has been stricken with some sort of Highly Contagious and Potentially Unpleasant Ailment, which has made indulging hanging out in a Swarm a really bad idea. Mayor Billy Bee, acting under the Authority of Her Insufferable Majesty, the Queen, and in concert with Hive Council on Grave Health Concerns, issued a Hive-Wide Advisory that we all must actively avoid each other to minimise the Risk of this thing making everybody sick. That means no Swarming, and no Book Club Meetings.”

“Oh geeeeze,” I said. “What are the Symptoms of this thing?”

“They’re not pretty, uncle. The earliest signs of Infection are that your Fuzz turns green, then it all falls out. Then your Antenna go limp,” Kevin said.

“That sounds Highly Unpleasant,” I said.

“It is,” Kevin said. “And that’s why Mayor Billy Bee told everybody they had to Keep their Distance from each other. Of course, since it’s impossible to pull that off inside a crowded Hive, everybody grabbed as much Honey and Pollen as they could, and left. That’s also where all your Honey and Food went. Fernando, a close Associate and Mostly Cordial Acquaintance of mine, knew you were asleep, and took all your stuff.”

“So where did he take it?!?” I asked.

“I would venture to guess that Fernando took it to his Hide-Away,” Kevin told me.

“So where’s Fernando’s Hide-Away?” I asked him.

“If I knew that, uncle, it wouldn’t bee a Hide-Away, now would it?”

“Fine,” I said. Then I asked, “So are you telling me that everybody in the Hive left?”

“Yes,” Kevin said.

“Where did they all go?” I had to know.

“Different places. I think Fleur de Bee went back to Paris - not that it’s any better there, and BigFoot is hiding out in the library, which makes sense. ButterCup went to live with her sister, Tweak (those two already keep their distance, so that works for them), Rudy went to stay at a friend’s place in Soho while the friend is out of town, and anybody else who didn’t know where to go just followed the Queen to where-ever she went to. Typical.”

I asked him if Great Grandma Gee Gee was also going to move out of the Boot Box, also, but he said, “No. She’s staying. She says the world is depending on her continuing to provide an ample supply her delicious and mostly nutritious Royal HoneyChew Krisp Cookies™, so she feels an obligation to stay. But she says she’ll only be taking orders Online, so . . . . Anyway, I need to go now.”

I wondered where Kevin was planning to go, so I had to ask, “Where are you going?”, I asked.

“Oh, I thought I’d fly east and spend some time with the Primsdales. They have a nice, room Guest Room at their place in Salina, Kansas, so I’ll bee staying with them until this whole mess is over.”

“The Primsdales?”

“Yes. You remember them, right? They were contestants on that Game Show last year.”

“Oh yeah, right. They seemed like a nice couple,” I said.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re particularly nice or not, uncle. They’ve got a Surplus of Space in Kansas, so that’s where I’m going. Bye now.”

With that, he picked up his Sack (the same one he showed up with all those years ago), waved at me, and left.

You know, I’d leave also, as well, but I don’t live with anybody, so I might as well stay in my ShoeBox.

In the meantime, I think I’ll think about paying a visit to the Hive and see if there’s any Honey or Pollen left in there. I really need some Breakfast already. I'm starving.

So I’m gonna go do that.

Let’s all bee Highly Careful out there.