Over the years, I’d learned that Helen and I operated on opposite sleep patterns. Helen always slept very lightly during the first half of her night — I suppose that’s why she had always heard the girls when they were babies and got up to breast feed them at two or three o’clock. But during the last three or four hours of her night she slept so soundly that world war three could be going on in the bedroom and she would never even stir. I was the opposite. I slept like a log for the first few hours and then very lightly towards morning. So, it was no surprise to me that Helen had awakened briefly as I got into bed.
I snuggled into my sleeping bag and zipped it all the way up as the night had gotten rather chilly. I felt nice and cozy in my bag and dropped off to sleep quickly — the wine, no doubt, helped.
At sometime during the night I awoke at the sound of the camper door rattling. It was not very loud at all, but it was probably around four or five in the morning and I was in my light sleep mode. So, when I heard it, I was awake instantly. Helen, very characteristically, never even twitched.
I unzipped my bag and got up. The cold hit me immediately since I like to sleep in just my boxers, and nothing else. I went over to the door, unlocked it, and opened it a crack expecting to frighten off raccoons. Instead, I discovered Tara standing there shivering even though she as wrapped in a blanket.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered.
“Oh, Mr. B___, I’m so scared … I heard something out there … I think it’s a bear … please can I come in there with you?”
“Ahhh … yeah … sure.” And Tara stepped up into the camper. “We have to be quiet, my wife’s asleep.” I whispered.
I tried to reassure her that it was perfectly safe; that the bears around there were not dangerous like grizzlies, which is what I suspected she was thinking of. Just as I thought I had her calmed down enough to get her back down to the girl’s tent, we both heard the plaintive howling of a coyote somewhere not far away.
“What was that?” Tara exclaimed in a hushed, but obviously terrified, voice.
“Just a coyote. They’ve been reintroduced around here in the last ten years or so.” I said. I knew that from having read a newspaper article years ago that they were thriving in the woods up-state, even though I’d never actually seen one.
“Oh …”
“Listen, let’s get you back to your tent so you can get back to sleep …” As I spoke, I put my hand on her shoulder, intending to guide her in the darkness to the door.
“No! Please … I don’t want to go back down there … it’s so dark … I’m so scared … please … please don’t make me.” Tara begged me. I could tell she was still shivering and suspected for the first time that perhaps it wasn’t just from the cold.
“Well … alright. I can clear off the other bed over there … but we don’t have another sleeping bag … ” I said, keeping my voice as low as possible.
“Oh please … could I just crawl in beside you and Mrs. B___ … I won’t take up much room, I’m not that big … I’d feel so much safer with you … please … please …”