Page 102 of Hot Tea & Bird Calls

They laughed, now illuminated by the selenite lamp on the table. Not too much light. How they preferred it, amongst the shadows.

And speaking of shadows. Skye rose onto her side, squinting at the distinct silhouette milling about the backyard, in the rocky part. The blackness of the surrounding trees almost camouflaged the large form, but Skye had lived in Yielding long enough to recognize, “You have a bear.”

“Where?” Celene spun under the sheet and, as some impulse, clung to Skye to stay behind her. A protective action she likely didn’t notice. Skye melted more, her rescuer.

Skye grappled at the base of the lamp until she switched off the light, deepening the room’s darkness. “Can you see him now?”

“Oh fuck, I see it.” Celene pulled Skye even closer against her. “How do you know it’s a male?”

“I don’t. Informed guess.”

And Celene’s breathing got harsher as the bear emerged from the rocky area, more visible as he lumbered around the backyard. “Don’t they usually knock over trash cans and barbecue grills? Why is he—” Then, she scoffed when he rose to sniff into a hummingbird feeder. “Elise bought that damn feeder. Oh my god.”

He’d triggered the backyard motion light, and even Skye gasped. That was a big fucking bear. “Those feeders are full of nectar. You basically put out candy for him.”

The big fucking bear took his time licking either side of the feeder, his long tongue darting in thick, effective swipes. A couple of minutes passed until he grasped the flimsy feeder, and it snapped off the branch, disappearing into the grass.

“Get your candy and go,” Celene hissed.

Taking what he wanted from the source, he kicked the feeder around, in no hurry. Skye snorted. “Looks like he likes it here.”

Celene hugged covers to her chest when he sniffed the air and turned to look directly at the glass door. “Can he see us?”

“I don’t know.”

“Fucking pervert bear.”

“He saw Boob Mountain and assumed.” Skye muffled her laugh with a kiss to Celene’s shoulder. “Are you scared?”

“No.”

Not believable at all.

While bears weren’t the most uncommon sight in this area, it was magnificent to get such a close-range vantage point. Her joke about him liking it at the Vales’ fit the bill. The bear flopped on his side, shuffled his large, rough paws, sat up suddenly to sneeze. Skye rubbed Celene’s arm: it’d slackened in their minutes of wildlife observation. “He’s like a big dog.”

Celene flipped over, her breath puffing softly, “Do something.”

“Do something, the hell?”

“What if he’s hanging out because he knows you’re here?”

“I don’t have magical powers.” Skye suppressed a huge laugh. She hadn’t anticipated this side of Celene, as she’d been scarier than any bear weeks ago. “He probably loves the landscaping. Your house officially outshines all others on Goldfinch Lane. Ms. Greene will probably steal more of your mail.”

“The bear you attracted is falling asleep,” Celene stressed, waving at how the bear’s head slumped into the grass. With a paw, he scratched his round side until that slowed, too. “Will he hang out here all night?”

“Might as well name him.”

Celene readjusted to lie on her back, smoothing hair from Skye’s forehead. Backlit by the motion light, her faraway smile reached her eyes as she replied, “Bearnard.”

Skye dropped her head to Celene’s chest as they giggled. Breathing in faded fragrance on her skin, Skye kissed there, too. “So it is proclaimed: Bearnard.”

“Bearnard Vale. The way he showed up unannounced, upending my night. Must be family.”

She had to ask her, right? Skye crept halfway on top of Celene. Smiling like this, blanketed by the shadows, she could say, “Dragonfruit.”

Celene didn’t rush to reciprocate their reality word. In a daze, one would call daydreamy, she continued to piece Skye’s bangs into place, strand by strand. It fascinated Skye to see another person as in-the-clouds as herself in real-time.

Quietly, Celene asked, “Should I give you a key?”