Chapter 4: Who's That Knocking At My Door?

It began as an ordinary school day although, during this time of Stage 4 restrictions imposed upon them due to the Corona virus, nothing seemed quite ordinary any more. Teachers and students were doing school from their homes, communicating via emails and zoom meets with the assistance of the internet. They’d done it once before but this time, it felt harder, which may have been because there was a curfew between 8pm and 5am, you couldn't have visitors to your home and could only go within 5kms of your home, you were only allowed out to exercise for one hour each day and only one person from your family could go shopping. 

Hibiscus began the day teaching Maths to her Year 5 students on the topic of converting units of measurement. “How many metres in a kilometre?” she asked, “How many millimetres in a centimetre and if there are 10 millimetres in a cm, how many millimetres are there in a metre?” and so the lesson went on.

The sun came out and the Hibiscus clan took the opportunity to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. After the last few days of rain, the backyard lawn was still soggy under foot and the ground went “squelch, squelch” as it was walked on. None of the teddies had even thought about wearing gumboots!

Bruiser and Richo climbed up into the front basket of the bike. They wanted to feel the wind on their face and feel like they were flying as the bike moved fast around the streets. Ronnie was up to his usual tricks and gymnastics, doing somersaults wherever he could. He found an old wagon wheel and wanted to spin around with it while The Old Wise One and Tumbarumba chatted away on the bench beneath the window.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Hibiscus jumped up from her chair expectantly. She hoped it might be Dovic arriving but she didn’t tell her students in case it wasn’t. When she opened the door, no one was there and she looked up and down the driveway, across the road and into her next-door neighbour’s front yard but couldn't see anyone. She was about to close the door when she looked down and saw the package there on the ground, against the brick wall. She carried it back to her ‘classroom’ and placed it out of sight until all the children had finished their Maths.

At last they were finished and she eagerly retrieved the package and held it out for them all to see. They all cried, “Is it Dovic?!” “It’s Dovic, isn’t it?” and a few of them held their breath and waited as she tore open the package.

Hibiscus showed them Dovic and told them how soft his fur was and they all exclaimed “He’s so cute!” Milly, the black lab dog who lazed in front of the door came over to see what the excitement was all about and came over and sniffed Dovic while the children all laughed. Everyone was pleased and perhaps a little relieved that Dovic had finally arrived. He sat next to the laptop where he could see all the students on zoom, as well as hear Hibiscus teaching the class.

Later Dovic was introduced to a few of the bears and they sat around getting to know each other while Ronnie tried to impress him by doing a somersault. He almost fell off the arm of the chair when he did one flip! Dovic really enjoyed meeting his new forever family and becoming a part of the Hibiscus clan. At one stage he did think of The Elf, Lulu and Gazza and wondered how they were going, he even missed them for a moment but at that time Ronnie and Bruiser beckoned him to follow them and he could see by the mischievous glint in their eye, they were offering him a chance to join in their adventure.

He looked around and everyone was resting, Richo was watching the footy news on TV, some of his new friends were napping and some were talking about what the weather would be tomorrow. He crept out of the door and didn’t notice Tumbarumba watching him. Ronnie and Bruiser were sitting with a glass bowl of lollies and marshmallows between them. They offered him one but he preferred to watch and he was feeling a little guilty. He wondered if they were allowed to eat those lollies. Ronnie explained to Dovic, as he stuffed another marshmallow in his mouth, “Iffs sweet treats Chewffday” and Dovic wondered if sweet treats Tuesday meant you could have as many sweet treats as you wanted on Tuesday. Even so, with no one else around, he decided not to eat any… maybe next Tuesday. He slipped down off the bench and walked nonchalantly back to the couch where most of the other teddy bears were. Tumbarumba looked at him quizzically but Dovic blushed and looked the other way.

Meanwhile back at Teddy Bear Treasures, Lulu was inconsolable. The Elf had gone back to his shelf and was preparing for new practical pranks for Christmas and even Gazza, the bumbling elephant who she had become a little fond of, seemed to have disappeared. She sighed deeply and wiped her eyes again. Angela, the lady who had taken Dovic away came over to her and looked her in the eye. “He’s gone to his forever home Lulu and he will be happy there. He’s going to meet a class of children who have been waiting for him. Here…” and she handed Lulu a photo, “This is a photo of you and Dovic. Whenever you miss him, you can take it out and have a look at it. Remember you will always be friends, no matter how far apart.” She gave Lulu a pat on her head and left the room and Lulu dried her tears and looked at the photo, long into the night.