Bear and Bare, Pt. 1
Eve Dew Crook
I’ve read that pets in romance
novels attract readers, but that wasn’t on my mind when I included Oxy Moron, a
pet lizard, into Taking the Tumble. He somehow landed there right from
my subconscious and plays a small but significant part. Speaking of animals, however,
I could tell a few stories.
We built our vacation house in the
Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania several years ago and moved in before the
plumbing arrived. A little chemical toilet was placed by the porch back stairs.
One full moon night I went out to use the facilities. I had just pulled down my
pajama bottoms when I heard a noise by the garbage can. A black bear was
clawing at the heavy elastic that held down the cover. We stared at each other
for a moment that felt like an hour. Then, to my surprise, she waved a paw at
three little cubs I hadn’t noticed hiding behind her. They ran to a nearby tree
and clambered up clumsily, the bottom one climbing right over the first two to
get farthest away. It was like watching an old Keystone Kops routine.
Grabbing hold of my bottoms, I ran
onto the porch and watched as the mother bear ripped off the garbage can cover
and ate her messy meal before calling the cubs down for their share and then
ambling away. The next time I saw
her is tomorrow’s tale.
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