Free A Gala Event by Sheila Connolly

doing at your place?”
    Gail shook her head. “Not a one. You know the green, Art, and the buildings around it. There’s the restaurant, the general store, and the Historical Society. Maybe the church. If he was looking for some human contact, those were his choices. He probably wouldn’t go to the restaurant—too busy, too many people. He might have tried the church, if he was looking for a safe place to stay. I didn’t see what direction he came from—he just showed up behind me. And I don’t mean he was sneaking in like a thief—he was just quiet about it. That’s all I know.”
    â€œI guess I can ask him when I talk to him.” Art stood up. “Well, I’d better get back to business. I’ll let you know if I learn anything else. But he’s free to go wherever he likes.”
    Seth stood up, too. “I’ll see you out, Art.” The two men went out the kitchen door.
    When Meg hadn’t heard a car start up after a few minutes, she looked out the kitchen window to see the men apparently engaged in conversation—with an alpaca. Not Lulu—this one had darker fur. It looked surprisingly intelligent, as if it was closely following the men’s conversation. Meg turned to Gail, still seated at the table. “Have you met our new neighbors?”
    â€œNo. Who are they?”
    â€œMore like, what are they? Come see.”
    Gail came over and joined Meg at the window, then burst out laughing. “Is that an alpaca? That, I never expected to see in Granford. What’s it doing here?”
    â€œWe have new human neighbors a mile or two away. Apparently their fences need some attention. This is the second one we’ve seen. They seem friendly enough. How do you know it’s an alpaca? I didn’t.”
    â€œThe kids watch nature shows. Besides, they’re cute.” Gail looked at her watch again. “Shoot, I’ve got to go. Maybe Art can drop me back home. You think those two big, strong men can persuade the alpaca to get out of the way so he can move his car?”
    â€œYou can ask.”
    Gail turned and gave Meg a quick hug. “Thanks for helping me out. I feel so stupid about the way I handled poor Aaron, and I’m going to tell him so. Talk later!”
    Gail hurried out the back door, and as Meg looked on she approached Art, apparently asking for a ride. The alpaca responded to Gail’s arrival with interest. Meg watched with amusement as the three of them tried to persuade the animal to move out of the driveway, but it took a while—it looked like the alpaca was having too much fun playing with the humans. Finally they succeeded, and Seth stood watch over it as Art and Gail left in Art’s car. Then Seth pulled out hisphone and made a call, presumably to the owner of the alpaca. She decided she might as well join him.
    â€œYou know, this is better than television,” she said as she approached. “She looks so intelligent, almost like she was actually following your conversation. It is a she?”
    â€œSo says the owner. She’ll be right over. This one is Phoebe.”
    Meg turned to greet the alpaca. “Pleased to meet you, Phoebe. So you found a new hole in the fence?”
    â€œThat’s what Patty thinks. Maybe I can help her out with fixing it. These quick patches don’t seem to be doing the job.”
    â€œMay I remind you that you have about seventy-three other things on your plate? Fixing the neighbors’ fence shouldn’t leap to the top of the list.”
    â€œI’m just trying to be a good neighbor. You remember what Robert Frost said, don’t you?”
    â€œYou mean, ‘good fences make good neighbors’?” She sighed. “I probably can’t stop you anyway. And I’d feel terrible if something happened to any of the alpacas. You want company while you wait?”
    â€œNo. There’s no sense in two of us getting cold.