Page 31 of A Bear's Journey

The two men on the couch looked at each other, and either Gary or Norman shrugged.

“It’s a big day,” one of them said. “You wouldn’t believe the pandemonium that went into Olivia getting ready.”

“Hoo boy,” said the other, shaking his head.

“It did distract from the newspaper, at least,” said the first.

“The newspaper?” asked Jasper.

The two older men on the couch looked at each other again, but then they heard Olivia’s voice on the steps.

“Mom, it’s fine. I’m fine, I promise.”

Craig and Jasper saw her feet begin to descend the steps, and they both stood up. Craig fixed his tie, feeling strangely nervous.

When she stepped into the living room, he was bowled over. She wore a sleeveless black dress that came to her knees, but it hugged her curves in a way that made him feel a little bit funny inside. His bear woke up and growled a little, but he had plenty of experience fighting it in front of parents, so he managed to control himself.

“You look beautiful,” said Jasper. “I wish we’d thought to bring you flowers.”

Olivia blushed, looked around at the five people staring at her.

“It’s okay, they just die anyway and then I forget to change the water and they start smelling bad,” she said, twisting her hands nervously in front of her.

“So, should we go? What time is our reservation?” she asked.

“Seven fifteen,” said Jasper.

“So you’ll be home by ten?” called one of the men from the couch, grinning.

Olivia turned bright red.

“Papa,” she said.

“Sorry, honey,” he said, fighting to get the smile off his face.

“She’s twenty-seven, Gary,” said Lydia. “Ten-thirty at least.”

Olivia rolled her eyes.

“They think this is funny,” she said to Craig and Jasper. “Come on, I don’t want to be late.”

Without saying anything, Lydia waved a camera in the air. Olivia just closed her eyes and looked like she was counting to ten.

“The light’s better outside,” said Lydia. “You three stand on the front steps.”

Taking photos really, really made Craig feel like he was back in high school, taking a girl to prom. Somehow, Jasper seemed to be taking it all in stride, but Olivia herself barely managed to hide her annoyance.

“Stop fidgeting,” admonished Lydia. “I didn’t get to take your prom pictures, or your graduation pictures, so hold still and let me do embarrassing mom stuff.”

Olivia stopped fidgeting. Lydia snapped a final photo, then put the camera down and turned it off.

“Okay, you can go,” she said. “Have fun. Be safe.”

* * *

Olivia satin the front seat with Craig driving and Jasper in the middle of the back.

“When I was in high school, I used to drive my parents’ Buick around,” said Craig. “That thing was as wide as a four-lane highway, but you could fit three people in the front, no problem.”

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