The night bear

Chapter 4

“Well, anytime you want someone to hang out with, I’m just up the street,” I told him. “Working from home can be so isolating.”

“I just feel like I’m hibernating sometimes.”

I put my hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze.

Around 9:30, when we’d finished eating, Pete hefted himself out of his chair, went into the kitchen and began to get out food from his cupboards and refrigerator. Bread, cookies, doughnuts, the rest of the cheesecake, pizza, ice cream, tuna casserole, lasagne. He brought it all into the living room and placed it on the dining table.

“What’s that for?” I asked.

“For you to feed the bear.” He checked the watch on his pudgy wrist. “He’ll be here soon.”

I looked puzzled.

“I’ve got a feeling,” he clarified.

“Back soon. Call of nature. Help yourself to more wine,” he said cheerily, heading out of the room.

About five minutes later I heard a noise like soft growling. I turned my head and nearly jumped out of my skin. The bear was sitting right there in Pete’s living room. He dwarfed the room, he was so enormous. He came closer. I rose to my feet slowly, grabbing the ice cream. I opened it and put it on the floor.

While the bear was occupied with that, I quickly sidestepped around him and went towards the stairs. On the first step was a charcoal heavy rib sweater, jeans, shoes, socks, underwear. I called for Pete. There was no answer. Either the bear had undressed Pete and eaten him or…Pete was the bear.

I tiptoed back into the living room. The bear was licking the tub of ice cream clean.

“Pete?” I said.

He looked at me.

Was I crazy? This was insane. There must have been a simple explanation. But the only explanation that fit was that the man I’d just had dinner with had left the room, undressed, turned into a bear and come back. That’s why the bear had let me stroke him last night. He wasn’t wild.

Pete The Bear was sitting on his rear now, his paws resting on his belly, which projected out a good 3 feet in front of him. Pete had wanted me to feed the bear so I resolved to do just that. I fed him the pizza, tuna casserole, leftover cheesecake, six boxes of cookies, 18 doughnuts.

I heated up the lasagne and microwaved four burritos I found in his freezer. He ate it all. I made a huge cheese and ham sub, which was gone in two bites. He ate the contents of the fruit bowl, which included a pineapple. He ate solidly for two hours until there was no food left in the house. Then he curled up sleepily on the floor, gathering me to him, and we slept.