In hindsight it was fun. At the time it was scary. But let me start from the beginning.
Over the weekend, we went camping: Josie, Will, Sully, Jen, Casey, and I. No big deal, right? I love the outdoors, and this wasn’t my first time, roughing it, the guys called it. We set up the tents, one for the girls, a second for the guys. The weather was warm, no rain forecast. The nights were cool, but our sleeping bags kept us cozy. Saturday, we hiked to a creek nearby our campground, parked ourselves on the banks, and fished. The guys insisted we bring no food with us; they wanted to experience living off the land. Secretly, I stashed some candy bars in my backpack, just in case.
So, anyway, we’re sitting there, our poles in the water which was maybe four or five feet deep, a stringer of some nice sized fish of some sort (forget what Will called them), when this crackling, crunching noise, coming from a nearby grove of trees, sent all our heads spinning around. It was early morning, and the sun glinted off something huge and hairy as it ambled out of the trees. It suddenly stopped and looked directly at us, like we browse the buffet at a restaurant to see which food choices we want. I mean, I froze. Next to me, Will touched my shoulder and whispered, “Don’t move, Reb, stay still everyone.” I couldn’t move a finger if I wanted to. But he, ignoring his own advice to me, very slowly rose.
Sully rose with him. He never did what Will told him to do. Casey was up too. Well, I wasn’t gonna sit there and let that bear dine on me, so I clumped to my feet. And Josie must have panicked because she let out a little squeal and took off running, splashing into the creek, across the water, and out the other side, Jen a footstep behind her. I’d have run, too, but my legs refused to budge.
Sully grumbled something under his breath. Casey echoed his sentiments which I shan’t repeat here. Will pushed me behind him.
And the bear just stood there, on its hind legs, its mouth so big I flinched at the thought of it crunching down on my head. ”Will,” I whispered. “What does it want?”
He shrugged.
“Our fish,” Casey suggested.
“Get the string,” Will told me. So I pulled it out of the water.
“But this is our lunch,” I said.
“Better the fish being the bear’s lunch than us,” Sully said.
I handed him the string of plump, juicy fish. He laid them on the ground in front of us. The bear ducked its head, watching Sully’s every move.
“OK,” Will said. “Back up, Reb. Get across the creek, but no sudden moves.”
The guys followed me, backing up, slower than a three-toed sloth. No one said a word, as the bear ambled over to the fish. My heart finally sank from my throat to my chest, and I released the breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding. We met Josie and Jen coming back where they’d been to the campsite and were bringing shovels and matches to scare the bear away.
Our first adventure of the weekend ended rather calmly. But more awaited us.
Oh, I hear Will’s pickup in the driveway. We’re going to the movies. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the Harley.
