Callisto

“Well now, that’s a bear,” Sukie says to herself. Black against the late November snow, it lumbers on all fours, sniffing and pulling at tree branches. “But there’s no bears here anymore. Not in this part of Vermont.” Sukie steps quietly behind a tree, peering through the pines. “But that’s a bear.” She squints. “A pregnant bear.” The bear sniffs the air and shambles closer. Sukie sniffs the air in return and steps out from behind the tree. The bear glances at her, sniffs again, and wanders off.

Back in the house, Sukie puts on some tea and calls Ruthanne. Ruthanne hangs on the line a moment, then says, “There’s no bears here anymore. Why don’t you come into town and stay with me a while, just in case.”

“Bears or no bears, I’m fine.” She touches the tiny butterfly barrettes holding back her long gray hair. Lily’s barrettes. Lily keeps saying the same thing. Come live with me and the kids in Boston. She will not tell Lily about the bear. Not yet.

A week later the bear is rubbing its back against the bark of an old oak tree. Her head rolls back and her tongue lolls out, enjoying the scratch. On impulse, Sukie takes off her orange vest and parka and rubs herself on a tree. The bear gives her a curious look and returns to scratching. Sukie laughs and the bear pauses, head tilted, listening to the laughter ringing through the trees.

Ruthanne takes the tray of dark, stubbly muffins from Sukie and arranges them in the display on the counter. “You oughta call Fish and Wildlife,” she says over her shoulder. “They’d want to know there’s bears back in Sunset Gore.”

“I don’t know if there’s bears. Right now there’s just bear.”

“Bear hunting season for another two weeks. Be careful. Wear your vest.”

Sukie sighs. “I always wear my vest. Been mistaken for a deer a few too many times. Just don’t tell Mack or his buddies. If nobody knows she’s there they won’t come. She’s just minding her own business.”

“Did you tell Lily?” Ruthanne asks. “She and Caleb’ll be here for Thanksgiving and I’m not lying to my son.”

“Don’t lie. Just don’t tell.” Sukie takes the empty trays and piles them in the back of her beaten down Subaru.

A few acorns drop down from the oak at the edge of the woods. Sukie watches from her porch. “Slim pickings this time of year,” she says in the direction of the bear. “I can’t feed you, but I can tell you about the apple orchard west of these woods. Lots on the ground. I can show you.” She gets up slowly and briefly catches the bear’s eye. She waits. If the bear is going to come after her, eye contact could trigger it. The bear doesn’t move. Sukie walks slowly along the edge of the wood, calmly repeating, “Come on, bear.” She feels the bear follow her and smiles. “Atta girl,” she whispers. “Callisto, the bear goddess. I’ll call you Cass.”

“I checked, Mom,” Caleb whispers to Ruthanne. They sit by the fire in Sukie’s old house. Lily and her two daughters, all wrapped in blankets, play a card game with slapping and shouting. “There’s no bear sign. Nothing.”

“You sure, honey? She’s been going on about it.”

“What they say about what bears do in the woods – not a drop. No claw marks on the trees. No paw prints in the snow. Is she teasing you?”

Ruthanne frowns. “Have you ever known your mother-in-law to be a kidder?”

“But she seems ok to you? Otherwise, I mean?”

“She’s Sukie’s version of ok,” Ruthanne says. She pats Caleb on the thigh. “Go get some more firewood, hon.” The card game is over. “Come on girls,” she says to the kids. “Help Granny make some whipped cream.”

Lily moves to the couch, next to her mother. “You look sad, Mom. You ok?”

Sukie smiles at Lily and strokes her cheek. “I’m fine, Sweetie. I just miss your brother this time of year. He should be here with a family of his own.”

Lily pulls away from Sukie. “Yes, he should.”

Sukie’s lips tremble and her eyes get teary. “If I hadn’t pushed him away. If I had just…”

Lily speaks sharply. “Stop it, Mom. Every time, the same thing. You didn’t push him. He joined on his own.”

“Friendly fire, Lily. Friendly fire. Is there any such thing?”

Lily stands up and grabs Sukie’s hand. “Let’s leave the ghosts here and see if the girls have left any whipped cream in the bowl.”

Late spring and the trees have started to leaf out. Cass lumbers to the edge of the woods, her two cubs frolicking behind her. “They’re beautiful,” Sukie says. “You’re right to be proud.” She gestures to an overgrown field beside the farm on the next hill over. “Berries galore, Cass. Your cubs’ll have a… well, a field day.” Sukie chuckles to herself. Cass’s head waggles. The family ambles off.

“You should see those cubs!” Sukie hands Ruthanne a tray of muffins thick with blueberries. The diner hums with tables full of families and geezers lingering over coffee and pie.

Ruthanne stops for a moment and turns to Sukie. “Cubs, now, is it?” She bites her lip. “I’m a little worried…”

Sukie holds up a hand. “I know what Caleb said. Cass is shy. And considerate. She doesn’t leave messes near my house. I’m not crazy. Crazy people don’t make world-class pastries.” She watches a customer pull a muffin out of the case. “It’s not like we’re sitting down to tea while the cubs play checkers by the fire. She’s a wild animal. But we’re… companionable. She likes being around another mother.”

Ruthanne walks Sukie out the back of the diner. Mack leans against the wall, smoking. He’s big, with a gray speckled beard, worn flannel and an apron. He nods at Sukie. “Come fall those cubs will be getting big,” she says to Ruthanne. Can you keep Mack and his buddies out of those woods?”

Ruthanne puts a hand on Sukie’s shoulder. “They’re not getting permits to hunt bear. But they’ll be up there looking for deer. You tell that bear – Cass – to stay away.”

The phone buzzing startles Sukie. She keeps peering out the window and answers. “Lily, Sweetheart, thanks for calling back.”

Lily says into the phone, “You sounded panicked Mom, what’s going on?”

“Hunting season!”

“Every fall is hunting season, Mom. Why are you so upset?”

“I hear them. In the woods. The hunters. They’ll shoot them by accident. I know they will.”

“Shoot who?” Lily asks.

“The cubs! They don’t know enough to stay away.”

Silence. Lily speaks slowly. “This is about that bear, isn’t it. Caleb told me. Look, Mom, please. It’s so lonely up there. Just come for a visit, then you can decide. The girls would be ecstatic.”

“If I put my vest on. And bang on some pans, they might run away. That’s what I’ll do. Don’t worry, Sweetie, I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

Lily shouts into the phone. “Don’t go in the woods now, Mom. Even with your vest. It’s too dangerous. Caleb will come up this weekend and shoo away the… bears.”

“No, no, no. It’ll be too late. I have to make sure they’re all right.”

“Mom, Mom, don’t. They’re… they’re not real. Those are imaginary bears. Ghost bears. You can’t go after them.”

Sukie puts the phone down with Lily still yelling into it. She pulls on her orange vest, an orange wool cap and mukluks. She grabs the shotgun from its rack by the door and checks for shells. She heads out into the gray dusk. One hundred yards into the woods she spots Cass and the cubs, now half as tall as their mother. “Go away,” she screams at them. Cass tilts her head and backs up a little. Ares, the male, rears up onto his hind legs. “Ares,” she shouts, “I know you’re a big bad bear now. But you have to run.” Cass looks from Ares to Sukie.

Sukie hears footsteps and turns to see a hunter in the distance. He pauses and looks around. Sukie gestures for the bears to remain still and silent. Maia, the female cub, steps back, cracking a twig. The hunter swivels around and raises his gun in Maia’s direction.

Ares bolts, running full speed at the hunter. The hunter, upwind, doesn’t hear the cub. Ares hurtles towards him, teeth bared. Sukie knows that a cub that size can easily overtake, and shred, a man. She turns from Cass and raises her shotgun. As Ares nears the hunter, Sukie aims, shouts, and pulls the trigger. Ares drops. Cass rears back and howls. Sukie drops to the ground, sobbing.

Lily, Caleb, Ruthanne and Mack surround Sukie on the front porch. Sukie, wrapped in a blanket, rocks back and forth in her wicker chair. Mack says, “That hunter, the Grant boy, isn’t pressing charges. He has no idea what you were shooting at. You scared the crap out of him, but that’s all.”

Sukie, exhausted, smiles at the group. “I’m all right,” she says. “I’m glad the Grant kid is ok. I made sure he was ok.”

Lily starts to speak but Ruthanne shakes her head. “Get some rest,” she says to Sukie. “I’ll come back in the morning and help you pack.”

Sukie wakes at dawn, still in her chair. Cass stands in the pale sunlight, staring. Sukie pulls the blanket tightly around her and walks towards the bear. “I’m so sorry Cass. You know I loved Ares. But I had to. Had to. It was… friendly fire.”

In her large Boston house, Lily comes into the comfortable living room. “You can get your Vermont newspaper online now, you know,” Lily says, handing Sukie the paper.

Sukie smiles. “It’s awful to read it that way.” She thumbs through the paper as she always does. Finally, she sees it.

“Two bears spotted crossing the valley out of Sunset Gore. They are believed to be females. Though not confirmed, Vermont Fish & Wildlife is pleased to think that black bear have returned to the area.”

Sukie smiles with delight as her granddaughters pull her up to join them in a card game.