The night bear

Chapter 2

His belly was enormous and when he proceeded toward me on all fours, I could see that it hung down with only about an inch between it and the ground. He was agile though. He sat down in front of me and when he landed on his backside he looked down, seemingly amazed at how huge his belly was. In fact he was now fatter than the bear in the documentary. Up close, I realised that not only was he fat, he was tall. If he’d stood on his hind legs he’d have been nearly eight feet tall.

He held out one paw to me. He wanted the pizza. I opened the box and offered it to him. He scooped up a few slices together using both paws. He was so cute up close. His fur was glossy and silky. I couldn’t help but reach out my hand and give his back a stroke. I figured if he turned nasty I could placate him with the rest of the pizza. He was happily eating so he didn’t even seem to notice. I placed the box down on the ground close to him so he could easily reach the rest of the pizza and then stealthily moved off into my house.

I got an empty box and filled it with goodies from my cupboards and fridge. Cake, ice cream, cookies, fruit, cherry pie, chicken wings, bologna, meatballs. I rushed out to find him finishing the last of the pizza. I held out a chicken wing to him, which he chewed and gulped down in seconds. I put down the box next to the empty pizza box and tentatively gave him another stroke. He was so engrossed in the food, now dipping a paw in my tub of Ben & Jerry’s and licking it, that he didn’t mind me touching him.

I gave his belly a gentle rub. I’d never felt anything so nice. It was big round and furry, just like the belly my dream man would have. I gave him a big hug, reaching round from behind while he finished everything in the box. Then just as he was eating the last thing I eased away from him slowly. He licked his paws clean, manoeuvred himself onto all fours and went onto the next house.

In bed that night I got to thinking about Pete. There was a hot single guy right on my doorstep. A guy just like the men I dreamed of. My very own bear. It wouldn’t cost anything to actively go after him. I resolved to make the effort to snare him. I would extend our exchanges beyond ‘Hello’. I could even ask him to come out for a drink or something. Why not? Why should I just admire him from afar? I decided that the next time we bumped into each other, I would go for it. I enjoyed thoughts of Pete before drifting off to sleep.

The next day was an earlier shift and I got home at about five. I’d been in about 10 minutes when there was a knock on my door. I opened it and there, looking magnificent, was Pete. He had on jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt, the pockets at the front accentuating his enormous paunch. He smiled.