A Bear Tale

“I went straight home and had a big glass of wine,” Bethany Rogers said to the small group of nurses and nurses-in-training, including Diana, on Wednesday afternoon in the hospital coffee shop. Two of Bethany’s patients had died unexpectedly, and that shock trumped Diana’s dead dog in the conversation. Bethany had everyone’s full heart and attention, except Diana’s, although she was trying. It helped her to keep from thinking about Jake which made her cry. “I’m going through a bottle of wine every two days!” Bethany said to rowdy response.

  “I drink a bottle every night!” “I go straight for the shots!” “I stop at the liquor store for a fifth!”

  That last got Diana’s attention. She’d been home two weeks now, and had her first glass of wine last night. But that wasn’t the point. “We’re all going to end up alcoholics,” she said. “It’s the price we pay for being in nurse mode all day. It’s not natural. Or healthy, dammit. We’re not robots!”

  “Oh yes we are,” said Bethany and tears welled in her eyes.

  “You go, girl!” an older nurse named Sylvia who lived up in Suquamish said to Diana. “Save the bear in all of us.” She picked up a copy of the day’s newspaper from a neighboring table and waved it.

  The photo of little Elden Dean hammering a cross into the shoulder of Berry Road had made the front page, with the headline, BEAR ATTACK ON BERRY ROAD. Diana was mentioned.