“That’s nothing. To impress a polar bear I met in Switzerland, I once got on two tiny sticks and flew down a snow-covered mountain.”

“Jealousy over some big, dumb bear flew out the window as he stared at Ronnie. “You…you were banned from Norway? The country?”

“While the two females snarled viciously at each other, Ric grabbed a stick from the ground and waved it between Jess and Blayne. “Look! Look! A stick! Who wants it? Who wants it? Go get it!” He threw the stick and Jess and Blayne watched it flip across the forest floor. Once it landed, they looked back at Ric.“Dude,” Jess told him, “that was just rude.”

“What did the cat look like?” “I don’t know. He was a little thing. Tiny. Lion…I think. You know, the breed with all the hair.” “Tiny. Right. The world is filled with tiny lion males.”

“My brother got shot three times two months ago, and he didn’t get the fever.” “I bet your family gets shot at a lot, huh?”

“What’s wrong?” Blayne finally asked. “Nothing,” Gwen answered. “I’m just sitting here. Staring.” Maybe hoping a bear would wander out of the woods to say “hi and I’m sorry I broke my promise.”

“I can’t see straight. But that’s okay.”