Alice wasn’t happy, she’d been dumped on the ground and ignored. Mommy was hugging a complete stranger, for the longest time they stood together and when they broke apart Mommy looked as if she was going to cry. Alice thought that perhaps she ought to cry too and stuck her lip out.
‘C’mere kiddo and say hi to Giles...erm Uncle Giles.’
Mommy held out her hand but Alice didn’t move. She looked up at the stranger he was very old and very tall, and everything about him from his hair to his clothes was grey. He was staring down at her as if he could see right inside her. Alice felt quite scared, she stepped back even further and hung her head.
‘Don’t have an Uncle Giles.’
‘You do,’ Mommy was starting to sound a bit cross.
She said to the stranger, ‘She’s not normally so shy’ and to her ‘Uncle Giles is The Bear Man.’
This surprised the stranger as much as Alice. He raised an eyebrow at Mommy.
‘I’m the what?’
‘Tell you later.’
Every birthday Alice received a bear wearing a red uniform and black furry hat just like the ones she’d seen the soldiers at the palace wearing. The four bears were placed one in each corner of every bed she’d ever slept in, and stood guard over her dreams. In reality Giles had absentmindedly sent her a bear every year believing each time that he’d bought a new and hopefully suitable gift. Alice thought The Bear Man was a genius who knew without looking that she’d needed a full set.
Now The Bear Man was stood before her she smiled shyly up at him. He quickly flashed a smile of his own in return then stepped forward and sat on the ground in front of her. This was so unexpected Alice couldn’t help but giggle - Mommy did too.
‘Giles, it’s kind of muddy for that.’
‘Perhaps your daughter and I will get better acquainted if we are on the same level, as it were.’
He offered Alice his hand
. ‘How do you do?’
She could tell from his expression that it was a game so she shook hands and replied in what she imagined to be a proper English accent.
‘How do you do? I am Miss Alice Joyce Summers.’
‘Dr Rupert Daniel Giles. Delighted to make your acquaintance.’
Up close The Bear Man didn’t look as scary or as old. In fact Alice decided he looked rather nice. She’d never seen anyone with green eyes before, and he was looking at her as if she were the most important thing in the world. Realising she had his undivided attention Alice became talkative.
‘Why do you have a ring in your ear?’
‘I thought putting it through my nose might look a bit odd.’
She laughed.
‘How tall are you?’
‘6”1.’
He didn’t seem to mind her enquiries and stayed sitting perfectly still in front of her so Alice decided to ask one of her favourite questions of all.
‘Did you know Tyrannosaurus Rex was five metres tall?’
‘Yes. Yes actually I did. Do you like dinosaurs, Alice?’
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