The Bear: A Novel by Claire Cameron Page B

head.
    “Okay, doggie. Bad doggie,” I say. I decide that Stick can be a good dog if he does tricks. I tell him this very loud and slow so he can understand. He sits and I bury his legs but he wiggles so I can’t get everything covered at once. He stands up and shakes off the sand and starts to pee. I watch the pee go over and into the lake in a part circle like a rainbow.
    I put my hand on my head and shake it around and dust comes out. I am very dusty everywhere and some of the dust is in my eyes. Stick dusts his hair too and it goes in his eyes and he squeezes them shut and can’t see. He is stuck with his eyes shut so I have to dust the dust from his dusty eyes. But my hand has dust. My feet that are in the water aren’t dusty and that’s why I have to wash my hands after the bathroom so I try and get him to stick his face in the water and wash his hands. He does only a little so I start to splash him and it’s funny because he is running around and screaming.
    “No splash, Nana.” He shakes a finger at me like a teacher and runs out of the water.
    I follow him out because some of the dust is gone. Stick’s hair looks gray like an old man. His body is streaked with dust and some mud and it makes him look like a zebra and he likes that because he has a book with a zebra. He neighs because he thinks it is actually a horse with stripes and maybe it is I don’t know. He goes up to neigh and eat some grass. I don’t care where he goes because I am tired of watching. I am too hot.

12.
    I am getting mad at Momma because it is too long. I don’t know why it is so long and she said “I will be there.” And then this is where we are. When I get lost I am supposed to go to the meeting place that is at the front of the grocery store but there are no cash registers with many buttons or rubber belts that slide groceries here. I have worry that I am in the wrong place and maybe Momma is waiting and getting mad.
    The sun is following me. I walk along the water a little and it comes right by my shoulder. I turn and walk the other way because maybe Momma is here and I don’t see her. The sun is shining too much in my eyes and it walks with me. It is like a balloon that is tied onto my wrist with a string in a double knot. I don’t want the balloon but there is no string so I can’t let it go. It follows me no matter what I do. I walk faster and I jog and then I run and my feet go smack smack smack in the shallow water and then I stop. Sometimes I do that and Jessica will keep running right past me for tag. When I look up the sun knows that I stop and it stops too. The sun is sneakier than Jessica.
    I stand for a minute and I look over and there is Gwen! She is waiting for me on a rock. I reach her and sniff and she is a little bit crunchy like cereal got on her sleeves but I love her so much. Sniffs and hugs for Gwen and we cuddle. She gets some dust on her fur but she doesn’t mind and it’s so good to see her. There are also my pj’s and I think that they might feel good because it’s like going to bed. That’s what Momma said to be in a safe place and wait for her and my bed is the safest place so I’ll get ready. Except we are camping so maybe my safe place is the tent or maybe the cottage or Toronto. I don’t know which bed. I pick up my pj bottoms and they are a little bit almost stuck to the rock and straight and not bendy soft. The ducks have wrinkles. I hold them out to stick a foot in and they get more bendy when I wiggle them so I crunch them into a ball and they are better. I put them on and the dust is itchy but it is okay. I have to pee and I pull them down again and nearly pee in them but I don’t because I bend my knees and pee in the sand just in time. I put the top on too and my skin feels a little bit sore in the dust. I sniff Gwen and look and there is Stick’s pj top too. I pick it up and something is missing. I look at my legs and Stick’s pants aren’t here. I put them on the rock but I