I was born at Carlton Cards in Fair Oaks, VA with no name. The employees there shoved me onto a shelf with dozens of my brothers and sisters in the cold winter days of March. I sat there and watched as tons of people filtered into the store, passing by us, giving us a quick glance and then walking out the door without a bear. At night my brothers and sisters and I would cry because no one had bought us and we were scared that we would be put back in boxes and shipped back to the factory.
Then one day a girl and her father came into the store. She looked around at the other bears on the shelves carefully picking them up, giving them a hug and then putting them back on the shelf. Then she picked me up, gave me a great big hug, smiled and said, "This is the bear I want."
I was elated! Finally I could go home to a place where I'd be loved. I said farewell to my brothers and sisters, wondering if I'd ever see any of them again and went happily up to the check out counter with Holly and her Dad.
For almost a week after she bought me, I sat on her bed watching over her at night and making sure there were no monsters under the bed. I kept a watchful eye on the bedroom when she was at school until one day she put me in her little white Omni and said we were going over to her friend Jenny's house for a sleepover. What's a sleepover? I wondered.
Jenny lived off of Bull Run Post Office Road with two dogs and a lot of cars stacked up in the driveway. The place looked and felt a lot like a zoo, but after living in a mall card store, I didn't care. Holly sat me down on the coffee table there while her and Jenny watched a movie. Half way through the movie, Jenny asked what my name was.
"I don't know," Holly said, "I never gave him one."
Jenny looked me over carefully, turning me over and looking at my big feet. "He has big feet, " she commented. "Maybe you should call him Bigfoot," she suggested.
Holly smiled and looked at me, "I think that's a fitting name," she said.
At last! A name, a new home and a sweet owner, what else could a bear ask for? Except maybe a girlfriend?
To be continued....