Page 34 of A Bear's Journey

“It was probably going to happen anyway. Matilda dying just made it happen earlier, you know? But I was pretty miserable in high school. And before that, honestly.”

“Why?”

“The usual stuff. I got teased, there were mean girls, I felt like I was weird for being a grizzly. Really normal stuff. Most people deal with it by going to college and finding new friends, I dealt with it by turning into a bear for ten years.”

She smiled an odd half-smile and looked up at them.

“Sorry if we’re prying,” said Jasper.

Olivia laughed.

“God, no,” she said. “I don’t mind talking about it. I hate it when people dance around it and try to pretend like I’m normal, and then cover up when I space out and start scratching myself on trees.”

Craig grinned.

“I do that all the time,” he said. “You can’t reach back there, what are you supposed to do?”

“Right?” said Olivia.

The waiter showed up again, carrying a large board filled with prosciutto, sliced salami, three different cheeses, and tiny pickles. He put it on the table along with a basket of bread.

“Thank you,” said Craig, and the snooty man nodded, then walked away.

“Is this a charcuterie?” he whispered to Jasper.

“Yes,” Jasper whispered back.

“Next question,” said Olivia, her voice low. “Do I use a fork for this?”

Fifty feet behind Olivia, a group of men walked in. There were at least eight of them, and to Craig’s irritation, they were all wearing denim and flannel.

Craig frowned, then elbowed Jasper.

“They’re all wearing—”

Then he stopped short.

The man standing right in the middle of the group was Buck Reynolds.

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