Bearly In Love

by Terri Reid

  “Good,” Joyce interrupted, handing her a small, clear, plastic cup. “Now just go into the bathroom and get a sample.”

  Taking the cup, Stacy noted it had a small, white sticker with her name printed on it. She stood and walked to the door Joyce indicated. “And be quick about it, dear” Joyce said.

  Drug testing, Stacy thought. Of course, that makes sense at an amusement park. You certainly wouldn’t want someone running rides or dealing with the public who was high.

  Her hand on the door handle, she was about to pull the door open when the door from the hallway opened and Dora stepped inside with Lorraine Mills at her side. And Dora was actually smiling.

  “Oh, Miss Mills, we do hope you enjoy your summer working with us,” she said. “And if you have any questions, please feel free to come directly to me, and I will be happy to help you.”

  Lorraine smiled sweetly. “Why thank you, Dora,” she said. “I’ll be sure to tell my parents how helpful you’ve been.”

  Well, there’s nothing like having rich parents smooth the way for you, Stacy thought. They must have insisted Lorraine get a job this summer.

  “That’s very sweet of you,” Dora replied. “Now all you have to do is fill out the employment forms and take the drug test, and I’ll be back to personally bring you to wardrobe.”

  “A drug test?” Lorraine said. “I don’t believe anyone mentioned that.”

  “Oh, it’s nothing you have to worry about,” Dora said. “But it is a requirement for employment.” Then she glanced up to see Stacy standing in the bathroom doorway. “And if Miss Gage will actually go into the bathroom and take her test, we will be able to continue on.”

  “Oh, sorry,” Stacy said, hurrying into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

  When she finished, she saw a little door in the wall with a label “Samples” on it. She opened the small door and found a little, plastic tray with another door on the other side. Placing her sample on the tray, she washed her hands again and then hurried back into the office.

  Joyce was standing near the door. “The samples will be tested at the hospital lab, and the results will be returned tomorrow,” she explained, her face stern. “If there are any traces of drugs in your sample, you will be terminated without any severance.”

  Stacy nodded her head. “Yes, ma’am,” she said.

  Joyce immediately brightened and smiled at her. “Well, let’s go get your costume.”

  Stacy walked around Lorraine, who was filling out the same forms she’d had and was almost to the door when she heard Lorraine’s question. “Oh, Dora, this last form is just a copy of everything I have on my resume. I’d really prefer to just attach my resume to the paper.”

  Stacy grinned to herself. I don’t think so, Lorraine, this time the rules won’t be broken for you.

  “Of course, dear,” Dora said. “That will be perfectly fine.”

  Stacy sighed inwardly. Yep, that just figures.

  Chapter Five

  “This is my costume?” Stacy asked, hoping the fake excitement in her voice covered her dismay. The red, cotton, plaid lumberjack shirt was short sleeved, had three buttons and the tails of the shirt were shaped for tying in the front. A white undershirt, khaki knee-length shorts, black suspenders and a hunting cap finished the ensemble.

  “Isn’t it cute?” Joyce asked over her shoulder as she rummaged through a large container on the other side of the room. “Just go on into one of the dressing rooms and put it on. Then I’ll show you your employee locker and where the time cards are located. You need to punch in and out every day.”

  Picking up the outfit, Stacy hurried over to one of the small, changing booths and pulled the flimsy curtain as close to the edge as possible. As she pulled her shirt over her head, she could hear a door opening.

  Probably Lorraine getting her queen of the world costume, she thought.

  “Hey, Joyce, how are you doing?” a male voice called. “Ready for the new season?”

  “Oh, it’s going to be a great summer,” Joyce replied. “I can already feel it in my bones.”

  Standing in the tiny booth in only her bra and underwear, Stacy was feeling a little exposed. She grabbed the shorts and began to pull them on until she realized they wouldn’t slide over her hips. She yanked again, but to no avail. These shorts and her waistline were never going to meet. Pulling them off, she turned them inside out to check the size. The lighting in the costume room was not good, and the lighting in the changing booth was even worse. She squinted at the washed-out label, trying to discern the size. Two. Two? She hadn’t been a two since…okay, she’d never been a two.

  “Um, Joyce,” she called out. “I’m afraid these shorts are the wrong size.”

  “Okay, dear, just get another pair from the rack.”

  “But…um,” she stuttered.

  There’s man out there and I’m nearly naked, she wanted to scream.

  “Um, I was just wondering if you could just hand me another pair,” she called. “Maybe a size six.”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t” Joyce said. “I can’t seem to find the match for your boots.”

  My boots? She groaned inwardly.

  “Just come on out,” Joyce said. “If you’re in your underwear ,you’re more covered than you would probably be at the beach.”

  Looking at the tiny mirror in front of her, she shook her head in mortification. Her bedroom was next to the kitchen. Smoke had seeped in, and everything in her room smelled like campfire overload. Unfortunately, she hadn’t made that discovery until she was getting ready that morning. She couldn’t go to a job interview smelling like smoke, so she went up to the attic and rustled through the boxes of her clothes from high school. She still wore the same size that she did when she was a senior, so the summer clothes fit even though they were a little out-of-date. She found a bra, but discovered that had been one area where she had grown slightly. So although it fit, it seemed more like a push-up version than her usual sports choice. But that wasn’t the worst part. She hadn’t saved any of her bikini-cut panties, and the only underwear in the box was a sealed, plastic package of underwear her grandmother had bought on sale. White cotton, high-waisted, granny panties. There was no way she was going to step outside this booth with granny panties and a push-up bra on.

  “Did you say a size six?” the male voice asked.

  “Um, yes,” she replied, her state of embarrassment moving from humiliation to complete mortification.

  “Here,” a tanned, muscled, hairy arm slipped through the curtain with a pair of shorts clutched in his hand. If you could judge a man by his arm, he had to be one good-looking specimen.

  “Thanks,” she squeaked, pulling the garment out of his grasp.

  She quickly pulled them on and sighed with relief when they fit perfectly. Pulling the undershirt on over her bra and buttoning the shirt over the undershirt, she clipped the suspenders to the shorts and finally tied the shirt in front. Glancing in the mirror, she viewed herself critically. Okay, not as bad as I thought, she acknowledged. But still pretty bad.

  The door opened and closed again just before she stepped out of the booth. Looking around, she found that only she and Joyce were in the costume room.

  “Oh, that looks very nice,” Joyce said. “But you forgot your cap, and the cap really makes the outfit.”

  Stacy reached back into the booth and pulled the cap on over her hair. The cap slid down her forehead, nearly to her eyes, and the ear flaps nearly hit her shoulders. The door opened once again, and Lorraine stepped in with Dora. “Well, if it isn’t Elmer Fudd,” she laughed. “Are you going rabbit hunting?”

  “Here we are,” Joyce exclaimed. “I knew I’d be able to find them.”

  She handed Stacy dark leather, lace-up, work boots with a pair of red socks. “Now you’ll look perfect.”

  Perfectly horrid, Stacy thought. She sat down on a bench and slipped the socks on, praying that Lorraine’s costume was even worse. Maybe she would have to we
ar one of the giant animal heads; a jackass would be the perfect complement to her personality.

  “Here you are, Lorraine,” Dora said, coming out from behind a rack of clothes. “I hope you like it.”

  The smirk froze on Stacy’s face when she saw the beautiful, peasant girl dress complete with sexy, off-the-shoulder sleeves, a black over corset and a full crinolined skirt. With her blonde hair and blue eyes, she would look like she just stepped out of a fairy tale.

  “Thank you, Dora,” Lorraine said sweetly. “I’m just going to adore being Goldilocks.”

  Chapter Six

  Her clothes locked up and the combination of the locker stuffed in her pocket, Stacy was pleased when she and Joyce walked outside to find a golf cart standing outside waiting to take them to the Bear Concessionary. Joyce handed Stacy a colored copy of a map of the park.

  “Now, pay attention to the route,” she admonished. “You’re going to have to walk this on your own after this.”

  Nodding, Stacy climbed into the passenger seat as Joyce took the wheel. “Now, dear, where’s your lunch?” she asked.

  “My lunch?” Stacy repeated.

  “Yes, your lunch,” she said. “The concessionary is at the farthest end of the park. Walking back to the lunchroom will take about twenty minutes, and since you only get a forty-five minute lunch break, most of our employees bring their lunch.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know,” Stacy replied. “But that’s okay; I’ve gone without lunch before.”

  But generally not when I skipped breakfast too, she thought, remembering her decision to skip the oatmeal her grandmother had made that morning to be sure she arrived at the park in plenty of time.

  “Well, then, that’s fine,” Joyce said.

  They drove down the wide, asphalt sidewalks of the park, passing through all of the themed sections of the park, each with their own major ride. As they twisted and turned through the 300-acre amusement park, Stacy realized in all of the years she visited the park, she never once entered the Bear Concessionary. “Joyce, is the Bear Concessionary new?” she asked.

  “Oh, my heavens, no,” Joyce said. “It’s been here since the start of the park.”

  “I spent a lot of time here when I was in high school, but I don’t remember ever seeing it,” she said.

  “Well, dear, you’re not alone,” Joyce said. “It’s the farthest outpost in the park, and it doesn’t get very many visitors. But, since it’s the only bathroom facility in the farthest part of the park and one of the few facilities in the Deep Woods area, the owners insist it stay open.”

  “So, how many employees work at it?” she asked.

  Joyce turned and smiled at her again. “Why, just one, dear,” she said. “And you’re it.” She tittered softly. “I must confess that some of our, well, sassier employees have called it Siberia. But, really, it’s a very peaceful place.”

  “Wonderful,” Stacy said, trying to get her lips to turn up in a smile. She just kept thinking about the bills in the drawer of the kitchen desk and the medication her grandmother needed.

  Finally, the cart pulled onto a side road and stopped in front of a twenty-foot-tall, chain-link fence with a locked gate. Joyce put the cart into park and slipped out of the cart.

  “You should probably watch what I do,” she said. “You’ll have to unlock and lock this gate several times a day.”

  “Why is it locked?” Stacy asked.

  “Well, the park visitors only have access to the rides and concessionary through a special Sky Tram,” she said, pointing up.

  Stacy looked up and could see the cables that hung about forty feet above them.

  “This part of the park is actually a wild animal reserve,” Joyce continued. “So, these tall fences are made to keep the visitors out and the animals in.”

  “And we are going in there because?” Stacy asked.

  “Well, it’s the only way to get to the concessionary,” she said. “But don’t worry. We’ve never had an animal attack a concessionary worker.”

  “How comforting,” Stacy murmured.

  “Pardon me?” Joyce asked.

  “It’s nice to know the animals are so tame,” she replied.

  Joyce unlocked the gate, pushed it open and then gave the key to Stacy. “I’ll drive the cart through, and then you can close and lock the gate,” she said. “There’s an extra key that will be yours for the summer.”

  After Stacy locked the gate and climbed back in the cart, Joyce turned to her. “I don’t want you to have any misconceptions. The animals here are not tame,” she said. “They are well fed, and they have plenty of their own space to roam. But these are wild animals, and you need to remember that.”

  Stacy nodded. “Yes, ma’am,” she said.

  As they continued down the road, Stacy was comforted to see that there was another fence line that ran alongside the road, separating the preserve from the road. Beyond the fence was a forest that seemed to stretch for acres.

  “This is the original forest that was part of the land when it was purchased over forty years ago,” Joyce explained. “When we get to the concessionary, I’ll show you the free guide that lists all of the animals in the Deep Woods.”

  “So, are they mostly little animals like squirrels, rabbits and raccoons?” Stacy asked.

  “Well, we have those, certainly,” Joyce said. “But really, the visitors really ride the Sky Tram to see the bison, bear and, if they’re very lucky, a mountain lion.”

  Stacy gulped. “Mountain lion?”

  “A very old and slow moving mountain lion,” she said, trying to reassure Stacy. “At least, that’s the one the visitors can see. Who knows what’s living in these woods.”

  The road twisted and turned before finally ending at another locked gate.

  “The key fits both gates,” Joyce said. “Why don’t you try this one on your own?”

  Stacy climbed out and walked around the front of the cart. Suddenly, there was a loud snorting noise to her left. She jumped and screamed, twisting around to face the sound. A large bison stood on the other side of the fence, pawing the ground in front of him and snorting at her.

  “Oh, that’s only George,” Joyce said, putting the cart into park and climbing out to stand next to Stacy. “He’s the patriarch of the bison herd, and he always checks out the new employees.”

  “George?” Stacy squeaked.

  “Yes, he’s really harmless,” Joyce said. “He just has an attitude.”

  Stacy took a deep breath and shook her head. She walked over to the fence and picked some of the tall, green grass that grew on her side. Moving closer, she slipped the grass through the chain links. George moved closer and delicately nibbled on her offering. She released the breath she’d been holding. “Hi, George,” she said.

  “Well, no one’s ever done that before,” Joyce said.

  Stacy looked back over her shoulder. “What?”

  “Gotten that close to the fence,” Joyce replied. “George could take that fence down in a matter of minutes. No one has ever been as brave as you.”

  “I thought you said he was harmless,” Stacy said.

  “As harmless as any other 2,000 pound animal with horns that could skewer a human straight through,” she replied with a smile on her face. “And look, he likes you.”

  Stacy turned back and saw that George was leaning against the fence, creating a decided bow in the fence line. “Good boy, George,” she said, picking another handful of grass and feeding it to him. He snorted at her, but this time the snort was less aggressive. After finishing the grass, he turned and lumbered off into the trees.

  “Well, I think you’re going to do very well out here,” Joyce said. “A real natural.”

  Hiding her shaking hands behind her back, Stacy nodded. “Yeah, right, a natural.”

  Chapter Seven

  The concessionary looked like a rustic, trader’s cabin from the North Woods. It had faux skins hanging from pegs on the outside of the building, a couple of se
ts of snow shoes hanging from leather thongs tossed over a long, wooden, hitching post and some dangerous looking traps nailed to the outside wall.

  Well, this sure suggests warm and inviting, Stacy thought as she walked up to her new place of employment. No wonder no one shops here. It looks like we’d sell chewing tobacco, union suits and hard tack.

  “There isn’t a key for this door,” Joyce said as they stepped onto the porch. “Instead, there’s a state-of-the-art security system.”

  She slid a piece of rough log paneling to the side and uncovered a keypad. “All you have to do is punch in the security code, and the door unlocks,” she continued. “Easy as pie. The code is 06-13-2003.”

  Stacy’s heart stopped for a moment, and she put her hand against the building to brace herself.

  “Isn’t that clever,” Joyce said, still concentrating on the keypad. “That’s the day of the—”

  “Friday the thirteenth tornado,” Stacy slowly finished for her. “I know. I was in one of the houses that got hit.”

  Joyce spun around. “Oh, dear, I’m so sorry,” she said, patting Stacy ineffectually on the shoulder. “I had no idea. Of course, we can change the combination.”

  Stacy shook her head. “No, that’s okay,” she said, working to keep her emotions in check. “It happened a long time ago, and it’s not like I’m likely to forget the combination.”

  Not knowing what else to say, Joyce nodded and added a half-hearted smile. “Well, okay then,” she said. “Let’s go on in.”

  The interior of the building was totally different from the outside, with pearl-colored walls, soft, recessed lighting, and a ceramic tile floor that reminded Stacy of river stones. Expensive, glass displays that held works from local artisans were at the front of the store next to the entrance. Examining the cases, she found jewelry, pottery, statues and other hand-made pieces of art. “This place is amazing,” Stacy whispered.

  As she moved beyond the glass displays, she could see that one wall held a large bookshelf filled with books about the area as well as a collection of soft, stuffed animals representing the wildlife in the preserve. In the middle of the store, a rack held an assortment of clothing, from t-shirts to jackets in a range of sizes. The area around the cash register had an assortment of wooden bins that held lower-priced items for impulse shoppers. Finally, in an alcove next to the restrooms at the back of the store, there was a little grocery store with an assortment of snacks and drinks.