But I still had bills to pay. That meant Saturday came, and once again, I had to be the Bear.
***
But on Saturday morning, something strange happened. A second mascot appeared.
Not a Bear. Something worse.
A Skunk!
I stared. That had to be some kind of joke.
“Morning, Bear,” the Skunk said, handing me a coffee like we were old friends.
I froze.
That voice! Again… It couldn’t be!
The Skunk stood there, tapping one oversized paw against his hip like he was waiting for me to say something.
“Nice day for some flyering, huh?” he continued, voice dripping with amusement.
I narrowed my eyes. “Who are you?”
The Skunk tilted his giant cartoonish head.
“Oh, come on.
You don’t recognize me?”
My heart started hammering. The voice. The ridiculous confidence.
No.
No way.
“You… you quit your job to pass out flyers?” I blurted out, my brain short-circuiting.
The Skunk shook his massive, foam-covered head.
“Not exactly. But let’s say when I found out a certain someone was hiding behind a bear suit every weekend, I had to investigate.”
Oh. My.
God.
“Jake?”
And then, in one slow, dramatic motion, he reached up and pulled off the oversized skunk head.
There he was, smirking. His hazel eyes shone with amusement, and he looked ridiculously pleased with himself.
“Surprise!”
“This… this is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”
“Probably.”
He stepped closer, holding my gaze.
“So, what do you say? Real coffee this time?”
I let out a breathless laugh, shaking my head.
“Fine.
But only if you promise never to wear that skunk suit again.”
“No promises,” he smirked, reaching for my hand.
And just like that, I finally stepped out of my costume and into something even scarier.
Real life.
Source: amomama
