Pavels Bear
“Momma, Poppa, can I have a bear when I grow up?” the little boy asked his parents as he swung between their arms, laughing and smiling at them in turn, his mother in that sweet way that mothers have replied “Pavel, we only have a small flat and no garden, look at this big enclosure the bear lives in? We don’t have anywhere near enough room for us, and you and your little brother or sister – whichever my bump turns into.” He turned to his father, “Poppa, could you make some more room for us so we could have room for a bear too?” With a rumbling laugh, he too replied, “Pavel, where would I make room? We can't have a real bear, but perhaps we can save a few Roubles here and there and buy you a big toy bear instead?”
Pavels disappointment showed momentarily as he realised that his dream for his own bear would not come true, but knowing how hard his parents worked he knew he couldn't sulk or be mad at them for this, “Poppa, if I save some of my Kopeks too, we could buy two smaller bears, one for me and one for the bump?”, his mother turned away as a small tear formed in the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek, then turned back, scooping Pavel up and giving him a hug, “Pavel,” his father said, “that is a very fine attitude to have, you'll grow up into a handsome, brave and generous man," "and strong!" Pavel interrupted, "yes of course, strong too. We'll save some money together and then we shall split it to get two bears.” Pavel squealed delightedly as his mother tickled and hugged him to her. “Now Pavel, where shall we go next? The tigers or the monkeys?” his father asked, “we've got time to visit one or the other before the zoo closes”.
Pavel sat looking through his shoebox of memories with his sister, and as he picked up the zoo tickets the memory flooded back of their trip to the zoo when he was eight years old, “this was a couple of months before you were born Irina, do you remember that old bear you had, Mr Paws? And mine was called Boris? That was what me and Poppa saved up for though in truth I think it was Poppa more than me, I think my Kopeks went on sweets more than the bears”. Smiling fondly he turned to his sister holding the zoo ticket. “Mr Paws! I haven't thought of him in ages”, exclaimed his sister who was enjoying the reminiscing with her older brother. She smiled back, “you know, I think he is still around somewhere, battered maybe but, hang-on”, she jumped up from the sofa they were sitting on and ran to her old bedroom.
Pavel got up slowly, taking both glasses of vodka and the bottle with him as he followed her in to the room to find her burrowing into the bottom of her old wardrobe throwing things out as she did. So far she'd thrown some old sweaters and blouses, a pair of battered hiking boots, a tennis racket with tape on the rim and some missing strings, and a few books that had seen better days. “See, I knew Mr Paws hadn't been thrown away”, his sister pulled an old brown teddy bear with one eye and a leg hanging by a thread, “and look Pavel, here is your Boris as well!”, she exclaimed, holding an even more threadbare teddy bear up, a panda with a white tummy, black legs and arms and a white face, ears and nose on a black head.
“Irina, you scoundrel you!” Pavel put down the glasses and pretended to punch his sister on the nose, “you had Boris all along! I thought he was lost forever.” Irina blushed a little and giggled, “I think I borrowed him for a dolls tea-party and I just forgot to return him, can you ever forgive me!” Pavel tried looking stern and unforgiving, a look that worked on his staff but had no impact at all on his little sister who knew him far too well to fall for that old trick, “Well I suppose I can, I tell you what though, I have an idea for something really special, come on let's go talk it over”.
A couple of months later, an old man and woman were helped out of a black Range Rover, outside of a log cabin deep in the woods. The summer heat was easing off this evening, and the gentle hum of insects and bird song started to fill in the gulf left now the engine had turned off. Pavel opened the cabin door from inside, “Momma, Poppa, I have a surprise for you”. They turned to each other and looked quizzically at each other, but just shrugged as neither had any idea what was going on. Their feet crunched on the gravel as they walked up to the door, Pavel opened it wide for them and Irina helped them over the step, “Momma, poppa, I know you'll like this”.
The siblings led their parents to the back of the cabin, and out to the porch and settled them at a bench with cold lemonade on the table. Either side of the jug sat a teddy bear, a Panda one side and a brown bear the other both showing signs of recent repair, smiling fondly, the old lady picked them up, “Boris and Mr Paws, you found them!” Pavel turned to them both, “Momma, Poppa, you remember when I asked if we could have a bear? And you said we had no room so Poppa and I saved”, he stopped and patted his fathers arm, “well, Poppa saved in truth, and we got these two teddy bears for Irina and I? Well now I've made my millions so I thought perhaps we could get the room for some real bears now, if you stay quiet and watch the forest edge they should be here soon”, his father turned and started to say something, but Irina put her finger to her lips and then pointed to one side.
With a grunt, a mother bear slowly edged into the clearing, sniffing the air, she let out a call and two cubs bounded and rolled into the clearing, playing with each other.
Pavels mother looked at them and then at Irina and Pavel and finally her husband, with tears streaming down her face she could contain her joy now longer, “Oh Ivan, see, Pavel has his bear at last”.