His friend Marcus laughed softly.
"You always think something's wrong."
"Because usually something is."
Bear stood.
"I'm going to check the diner."
Marcus looked at his watch.
"We're supposed to meet the others in twenty minutes."
"You go ahead."
"Bear..."
"I'll catch up."
Bear climbed onto his motorcycle.
The engine roared to life.
But before he left, he looked toward the direction Emily had gone.
He didn't know her name.
He didn't know what had happened.
He only knew that he had seen pain before.
And he couldn't ignore it.
Twenty minutes later, the Quarter Grill heard the sound of motorcycles approaching.
One engine.
Then another.
Then three more.
Customers turned toward the windows.
The roar of the bikes rolled down Main Street.
The motorcycles stopped outside the diner.
The door opened.
The bell rang.
Bear stepped inside.
Behind him came the rest of the group.
Conversation immediately stopped.
Tyler and his friends looked up.
Bear walked to the counter.
Jenny stared at him.
"Can I help you?"
Bear removed his gloves.
"You seen a girl wearing a yellow sweater?"
Jenny nodded.
"Brown hair. Crutch?"
"Yeah."
Jenny's expression changed.
"She was here."
Bear looked toward the empty booth.
"Where is she?"
Jenny pointed toward the door.
"She left about half an hour ago."
Bear's jaw tightened.
"What happened?"
Jenny hesitated.
Then she looked at Tyler.
Bear followed her eyes.
Everything suddenly became clear.
A Joke That Wasn't Funny
Bear walked slowly toward Tyler's table.
He didn't shout.
He didn't threaten anyone.
He simply stood there.
His shadow covered the table.
Tyler swallowed.
"Can I help you?"
Bear stared at him.
"Yeah."
He pointed toward the empty booth.
"Tell me what happened."
Tyler glanced at his friends.
"We were just messing around."
Bear's voice remained calm.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing serious."
"What did you say?"
Tyler shifted in his seat.
His confidence was disappearing.
"We made some jokes."
Bear nodded.
"A joke."
"Yeah."
Bear leaned forward.
"Was she laughing?"
Tyler said nothing.
"Was she?"
"No."
"Then it wasn't a joke."
The diner was silent.
One of Bear's companions, a woman named Raven, crossed her arms.
"You saw someone already carrying enough pain to last a lifetime," she said. "And you decided to add more."
Tyler's friend looked down.
"We didn't know."
Bear stared at him.
"You didn't need to know her story to know she deserved respect."
That sentence hit harder than a shout.
Tyler looked uncomfortable.
Bear continued.
"You don't have to understand somebody's disability."
He paused.
"You don't have to know what caused it."
Another pause.
"But you do have to understand one simple thing."
His voice became firmer.
"She's human."
Nobody moved.
Jenny stood behind the counter, watching.
Bear pointed toward the door.