Bearly In Love

by Terri Reid

  She turned to Joyce. “I had no idea this was here,” she said. “Why don’t they advertise it more?”

  Joyce shrugged. “The owners have so many things to worry about; I guess a little shop falls to the bottom of the list. Now, let me explain your duties.”

  Joyce walked behind the counter that held the cash register and pulled out a green folder. “This is your duty list,” she said, handing it across the counter to Stacy. “It gives specific instructions on all of your required duties and responsibilities.”

  Opening the folder, Stacy found that this job required a lot more than singing and working a cash register. “I’m supposed to clean the bathrooms?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

  Joyce nodded. “Once a day,” she said. “Before you open for the day, you need to be sure the bathrooms are well-supplied and clean. We have a janitor come through twice a week for the major cleaning, but replacing toilet paper and paper towels and occasionally cleaning up a mess will fall to you.”

  Stacy continued down the list, not surprised by what she saw until she came to the last item. “Sing the jingle?” she asked, looking up from the file to Joyce.

  “Oh, yes, that’s why we asked if you could sing,” Joyce said, excitement glistening in her eyes. “Every time a customer comes through that door, you press this little button and sing along to our merry tune.”

  Joyce leaned over and pressed the shiny black button next to the cash register, and music started to flow from the speakers throughout the room. High-pitched, tinny music.

  “Get ready now,” she said, “the introduction is almost done.”

  Stacy looked down at the paper, saw the words to the jingle and shook her head. No, she thought, there was no way she was going to sing that.

  “I’m beary, beary happy that you are here today,” Joyce sang. “I offer you a greeting in our beary unique way. ROAR.”

  “You want me to roar at the customers?” Stacy asked, trying to hold back her laughter.

  “Oh, yes, you have to,” she said. “They expect it.”

  “They expect it?” Stacy asked. “But I thought no one comes here.”

  “Well, not many,” she replied. “But the ones that do expect the traditional greeting.”

  “Couldn’t we start another tradition?” Stacy asked hopefully.

  Joyce raised an eyebrow at Stacy, shook her head and pressed down the black button. “Sing.”

  Stacy sang the jingle and even smiled as she did it, wondering if this kind of public humiliation was worth…she sighed. She didn’t even know what she was making.

  “You sound just fine, dear,” Joyce said. “You needn’t be embarrassed by your voice. Not everyone can be a great singer.”

  I’m just going to throw myself in one of those traps now and end it all, Stacy thought. But she just smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Joyce.”

  “Oh, one other thing,” Joyce said, digging into the pocket of her jacket and pulling out an envelope. “This is for you.”

  Stacy took the envelope. “What is it?”

  Joyce shrugged. “It’s a signing bonus,” she said. “We know this job isn’t easy, so we offer a little incentive to our Bear Concessionaire. Of course, you have to give it back if you don’t pass the drug test.”

  Overjoyed, Stacy smiled and shook her head. “No problem with that,” she said. “I’ve never used drugs in my life.”

  “Well, good,” Joyce replied. “I’m glad to hear that. I think you’ll do a fine job here. Now, do you have any questions?”

  “Not that I can think of,” Stacy said. “But if I do I can call—”

  Joyce clapped her hands sharply, startling Stacy. “That’s what I forgot,” she said. “There is no cell coverage out here, so you can’t call us except for on the radio.”

  She bent down and pulled a radio out from behind the counter. “You should wear this with you at all times,” she said. “And then replace it in its charger every night before you go home. The base has to be turned on as well as the radio to get any incoming calls. It’s important that you leave this on because if there are any emergencies, it’s the only way we can get hold of you.”

  Stacy nodded. “I’ll remember,” she said. “I’m pretty nervous about weather warnings, so I won’t turn it off.”

  “Well, I can understand that,” Joyce replied sympathetically. “But don’t worry; we are very proactive when it comes to tornado warnings. We’ll get in touch with you long before any inclement weather is near.”

  “Thanks, Joyce,” Stacy said.

  “Welcome to Adventureland, Stacy,” Joyce said with a smile. “And good luck on your first day.”

  Chapter Eight

  As soon as she heard the cart drive off, Stacy ripped open the envelope, looked at the amount of the check and shouted, “Whooo-hoooo!”

  The check was in the amount of $500, enough to make at least a small dent in the pile of bills. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Feeling like celebrating, she walked over to the grocery store section and bought herself a container of milk and a granola bar. Not the healthiest combination in the store, but certainly not the worst either.

  She glanced up at the clock on the wall over the cash register. It read 8:15. The instructions stated that the store opened at 8:30, so she only had fifteen minutes to get herself acquainted with the procedures. She turned on the cash register, as per the instructions, checked the amount in the till to make sure she had enough change to last the day and opened the side of the machine to determine there was enough receipt tape for the day’s purchases.

  To test her skill, she rang up her own purchase, put two dollars right side up in the dollar section and took her change. So far, so good, she thought. Now all I need are customers.

  Three hours later, Stacy had dusted every surface in the store, rearranged all of the stuffed animals in alphabetical order, and was ready to sort through the bins when she heard the door open. She immediately hit the black button on the countertop and began to sing, “I’m beary, beary happy that you are here today…”

  Her voice trailed off when she turned and saw a giant bear standing in the store. It took her just a moment to realize it was one of the character costumes, and she exhaled deeply.

  “You forgot to roar,” said a familiar voice.

  “Sam?” she asked.

  The bear reached up and took his head off, then quickly glanced around. “I’m not supposed to do this,” he said. “Whenever there’s a possibility of a visitor seeing me, I’m supposed to stay in costume.”

  “Well, you have nothing to worry about here,” Stacy said. “I haven’t seen hide nor hair of any visitor this morning.”

  He chuckled and looked around. “Well, you certainly got this place looking spic and span,” he said.

  “Thanks, it gave me something to do,” she replied. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

  “Well, I really don’t,” he said with a shrug. “I just occasionally fill in for a friend of mine. It keeps me from getting bored. And speaking of bored, how has your day been?”

  “Actually it’s been great,” she said. “It started out a little challenging, but once I met George, things seemed to go uphill.”

  “You met George?” he asked with a smile.

  “Yeah, after he scared me to death, we came to an understanding,” she said. “I fed him a little grass on the greener side of the fence, and he didn’t break down the fence and trample me.”

  “That sounds like a good understanding,” Sam said. “You actually hand-fed George?”

  “Well, more like stuck really long grass through the holes in the chain link,” she replied. “It was no big deal.”

  “Yeah, I think the former game warden would disagree with you,” he said. “George doesn’t take to too many people.”

  “We had a game warden?”

  Sam shook his head. “Yeah, he was supposed to be an expert on bison but…” he paused for another moment and looked out to the high gras
s. “There was…an incident…and it turned out he didn’t know as much as he thought. He survived. Barely. And I understand he took up accounting.”

  “Sounds awful,” she said.

  “Scared him almost as much as his exit interview with Dora,” Sam teased.

  “Does George like Dora?” she asked.

  “George is terrified of Dora like the rest of us,” he laughed. “How did this morning go?”

  “It was weird,” she admitted. “I still don’t know how much money I’m making an hour. But the greatest thing in the world happened — I got a signing bonus. Enough money to pay some of those past due bills.”

  “Past due bills?” Sam asked, coming over and putting his bear head on the counter.

  “Whoops,” she said softly. “Listen, it’s no big deal. Grandma got confused, somehow lost all of her money and stopped paying bills for a couple of months. I’ll have us back on our feet in no time.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” he asked, his usually easy-going voice getting a little stern.

  “Because, Grandpa Sam, Grandma Addie is my responsibility,” she said. “Before Grandpa Paul died I promised him I’d watch out for her.”

  “And you have watched out for her,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t come to a friend for help.”

  She nodded. “Maybe I felt a little guilty, going away to school for the past two years,” she admitted. “Leaving her all alone.”

  “She wasn’t alone,” he argued gently. “She had all of her neighbors around her. And you had already graduated from the community college, so you needed to go away.”

  “But no one noticed that her Alzheimer’s was getting worse,” she said softly. “That she was letting the little things slip. I should have been there to help her, to notice.”

  “I had no idea it had gotten so bad,” Sam said. “She seemed to be handling everything so well.”

  Stacy leaned back against the counter and sighed. “That’s how she copes,” she said. “Everything in her world is blissfully perfect. She still looks for money in Grandpa’s old suits. She’s sure there’s some change left in his pockets.”

  “Do you know what happened to her money?” he asked. “I thought Paul left her enough money to keep her secure for years.”

  “I really don’t know,” she admitted. “But she was the one who took care of the books, so I had no idea how much we had. She paid for my college tuition and most of my living expenses. I had no idea that my expenses were draining her security.”

  “But, Paul had a separate account for your college costs,” Sam said. “I’m sure of that because we spoke about it several times.”

  She turned to him. “Why did he speak with you about it?”

  “Well, before I retired I ran a business and knew a little about investing,” he said. “So, Paul would talk to me about the best place to put his money. I can guarantee your education didn’t drain her personal account.”

  He glanced behind her to the clock. “Well, my break is almost over,” he said, picking up his bear head. “But before I go, I’d like to ask your permission to look into Addie’s finances. Something just doesn’t seem right.”

  Stacy smiled at him. “I’d be grateful if you did,” she admitted. “I called the bank, and they confirmed her checking account is empty. I didn’t know what to do next; I’ve pretty much just been doing damage control.”

  He placed the head back on his shoulders and adjusted it until it snapped into place. “I’ll look into it,” he promised. “And if you ever need anything, you come looking for—”

  “I know,” Stacy said, “Grandpa Sam.”

  He shook his giant head. “Nope,” and even though his voice was altered behind the mask, she could still hear his laughter. “Grandpa Bear.”

  She wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you,” she said, stepping back. “You’re the best friend I have, and I promise I won’t let anyone know you took off your head while on duty.”

  He walked to the door and opened it. Before he stepped out, he paused, “And I won’t tell anyone on you.”

  “On me?” she asked.

  “You never roared,” he said, shaking his big paw at her in a gentle rebuke.

  “Roar,” she yelled.

  “That’s much better,” he said, chuckling as he slipped out the door.

  Chapter Nine

  Stacy sang along to the country music station on the car radio as she drove back to town. The windows were rolled down, and the late afternoon summer wind held a promise of relief from the hot day. The breeze lifted her hair from her neck and caressed her neck gently. She relaxed and allowed herself a quick daydream as she drove down the county highway.

  Instead of a breeze tickling her neck, it was the fingers attached to that tanned, muscular arm she’d encountered that morning. His deep, male voice with a touch of humor was whispering softly into her ear, telling her things she’d always wanted to hear. Stacy, I adore you. Stacy, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman. Stacy, this is a special weather statement from the National Weather Service and the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma…

  Jolted from her fantasy, Stacy reached down and turned up the volume.

  A line of severe thunderstorms are entering the forecast area, and a tornado watch has been issued for portions of parts of central and western Oklahoma effective immediately. This is a particularly dangerous situation. Destructive tornadoes, large hail to three inches in diameter, wind gusts to 75 miles per hour and dangerous lightning are possible in these areas. Remember, a tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings.

  Glancing out the window, she scanned the skies looking for threatening cloud formations. The sky above was still clear and blue, but she knew that could change in a matter of moments. She decided she had just enough time to swing by the bank, deposit her check into her account and then run to the local superstore for storm supplies.

  Leaving the highway at the downtown exit, she drove down Main Street until she was stopped at the light a block before the bank. Her hands tapping nervously on the steering wheel, she kept looking up to the sky waiting for the deadly circular clouds to appear over the city. A car horn sounding behind turned her concentration from the sky to the green light ahead, and, sending a quick apologetic wave through her rearview, she drove down the street to the bank’s parking lot.

  Hurrying out of the car, her eyes still glancing up to the sky, she grabbed her purse and started for the door when someone called to her. “Stacy. Stacy Gage.”

  She turned, annoyed that someone was slowing her down, and her already agitated heart nearly thumped out of her heart. “Henry?”

  Henry Guthrie was standing in the parking lot smiling at her. She ran a hand over her hair to smooth it and smiled sweetly. “Hi—” she began.

  “Hey, you left your car running,” he interrupted, looking a little embarrassed. “I thought I ought to tell you before you went into the bank.”

  She hoped her face didn’t look as red as it felt. “Thanks,” she said, hurrying over to the car and pulling the keys from the ignition. “I guess I was distracted.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I get that way sometimes,” he said.

  They stood and stared at each other for a few moments, not knowing what to say.

  “Well, I better get in before the bank closes,” she said, pointing to the bank’s doors.

  “Oh, yeah, good idea,” he said, slipping his hands in his pockets and stepping backwards. “Good to see you.”

  She smiled. “Yeah, you too.”

  There were no lines up to the teller’s station, so Stacy was able to quickly deposit her money and hurry back to the car. She hoped Henry would still be in the vicinity. She wanted to know what he’d been doing since she’d gone away to college. But when she got
out of the bank, he wasn’t there. However, the former clear skies were now populated with clouds, the precursor of the storm system.

  By the time she had driven a quarter mile towards the superstore, the wind had picked up, and light debris was being tossed into the road. Deciding not to chance it, she turned back to town and drove directly home, watching the black clouds increase in her rearview mirror. She parked the car in the garage and hurried into the kitchen. “Grandma,” she called. “I’m home.”

  “I’m in the living room, dear,” called her grandmother, “watching the weather.”

  Placing her purse on the kitchen counter, Stacy hurried into the next room and saw Addie sitting on the edge of the couch, her hands clasped tightly together, her breathing shallow.

  “It’s just like the one that took your parents,” she whispered, her eyes wide and frightened.

  “No, it’s not that bad,” Stacy tried to reassure her. “But we should take the weather radio and head down to the basement, just in case.”

  “I was going to make us a nice dinner,” Addie said as Stacy helped her off the couch. “But then I heard the warnings, and I just got distracted.”

  “I nearly left the car running when I went into the bank,” she admitted with a chuckle. “We certainly get a little crazy when there’s bad weather, don’t we?”

  Addie nodded. “I’m afraid we do.”

  Stacy checked the kitchen to be sure her grandmother hadn’t turned on the stove or oven before she got distracted, and then she picked up some bottles of water, the flashlight and the weather radio. “It’s just another adventure,” she said, leading the way down the wooden stairs and across the basement to the reinforced area her grandfather had built after her parents’ death. “Remember all of those nights we sat down here and told stories?”