Chasing the Bear

Chapter 9

"Not what you had hoped for," Susan said.

"In those days," I said, "I knew less about why women cried."

"And now?"

"I understand why men and women cry," I said.

"The advantage of maturity," Susan said.

"Being young is hard," I said.

"Being grown is not so easy either," Susan said.

"But it's easier," I said.

She nodded. We were quiet for a moment.

Then Susan said, "You hunted."

"Sure," I said. "We all did."

"You don't hunt now," Susan said.

"No," I said.

"Because you disapprove?"

I shrugged.

"When we hunted, we hunted for meat," I said. "It was a way to feed ourselves. Had a vegetable garden too, and in the fall we'd preserve stuff for the winter. We were pretty self-sufficient."

Susan smiled.

"How surprising," she said.

"I liked self-sufficient," I said.

Susan smiled again, wider.

"I've always suspected that," she said.

"Are you making sport of me?" I said.

"Yes."

"I figured that right out," I said.

"I know," Susan said. "You're a detective . . . So the hunting wasn't just for fun."

"Not so much," I said. "Although it often was fun. Especially bird hunting. I liked working in the woods with the dog."

"Did you train her to hunt?" Susan said.

"No. It's probably genetic. They range like that and come back, without any training. And they'll point birds without training. But they have to be taught to hold the point. Otherwise they'll just rush in on the bird and flush it before you're ready. Before she was trained, Pearl would occasionally get one and kill it."

"Why not just let her do that? Kill them for you instead of shooting them?"

"It's harder on the bird, for one thing, and by the time you get there, the dog's got it half eaten."

Susan nodded.

"Was it ever scary?" she said.

"Pheasants rarely turn on you."

"I mean, did you ever get lost or anything?" she said.

"Me? Pathfinder?" I said. "No, I didn't. I'd been in the woods all my life. Besides, the dog always knew how to get home."

"Did you shoot anything else?" Susan said.

"Sure, antelope, elk, deer, nothing dangerous unless it fell on you."

"Never anything dangerous?" Susan said.

"Ran into a bear once," I said.

"A grizzly?"

"No, a black bear, big enough, 150 pounds maybe, bigger than I was, for sure."