Page 2 of A Bear's Journey

Olivia sat there with her mouth open and one hand on the book she’d brought with her, staring.

The two women were barely there, as far as she was concerned. The only thing she could see was the man towering over them.

He looked like a lumberjack who’d been stuffed into a suit: good, but it was obvious that it wasn’t what he should have been wearing.

He should be wearing nothing,Olivia thought, and then gasped.

Her bear sat up and roared, and she clapped one hand over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut.

No, no, no no no, she thought desperately. She took a deep breath and thought about marshmallows and indoor plumbing and all the other reasons to control her bear and not go tearing through town.

Olivia started sweating everywhere. She could feel it pouring down her face from her hairline, her underarms and back quickly soaking through the shirt and cardigan she’d bought so she’d look more like a librarian.

Still, all she could see in front of her eyes was him, naked, holding himself up over top of her as she lay on her back, his dark hair flopping in his face, his nearly-gold eyes lighting up. Her legs wrapped around his back.

She crossed her ankles and squeezed her legs together, her bear hardly staying inside.

“Oh,” she heard one of the women say acidly, and Olivia could practically feel the woman’s eyes raking her up and down. “Wrong turn. Let’s go.”

Olivia could barely hear their retreating footsteps over the sound of her own pulse, her blood rushing through her veins at top speed. At last, she opened her eyes again, only to get a final glance at the young man who’d been with them.

He looked straight at her, then smiled, like he was about to say something.

“Jasper, are you coming?” one of the women said, and then he disappeared behind a bush.

“It’s that feral girl,” the voice went on. “Feral for ten whole years, and they’ve let her out into the community. She’s positively a menace...”

Olivia slumped back against the bench for a moment, nearly shaking. By now, she was pretty much used to people talking about her like she was an animal. She was just glad they were gone.

Could you have handled that worse?She asked herself. Her shirt stuck to her with sweat. The most attractive man you’ve ever seen, and your reaction is to close your eyes and cover your mouth?

That’s not how normal people act.

She couldn’t be there anymore. She had to escape. Olivia jumped to her feet, grabbed her empty lunch bag and her trash, and walked out of her formerly-peaceful dead end. Right away, she started planning what she was going to do next: go to her car, pick up the milk and butter her mother had requested, and take the long way home. A nice drive always calmed her down; it was a good way to be alone but also close to nature — and there was less chance she’d shift, since shifting while driving was basically a death sentence.

Just as Olivia began to calm down, the sweat no longer running down the back of her neck, she heard footsteps behind her.

“Hey!” the voice called.

It was him.

Breathe deep, smile, exchange pleasantries,thought Olivia. Come on, you practiced this in therapy.

She turned. Jasper jogged toward her down the path, his eyes locked on hers.

Olivia took a deep breath. She smiled.

“You left this on the bench,” he said, handing her the book.

“Oh,” said Olivia. She reached out her hand and took it back from him.

Exchange pleasantries,she thought.

“Thanks,” she said out loud.

“I loved A Wrinkle in Time when I was kid,” Jasper offered. He had an easy smile that reached his eyes right away, and something in them seemed to light up.

Olivia’s bear growled, and she swallowed.

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