The Camels of Misfit Farm Chapter 5

Maura was rattled after her encounter with the eccentric fortune teller. After all the years she spent in southern California she assumed she would be accustomed to colorful personalities, but apparently not. Perhaps it was because this one came too close to the truth. She wanted a quiet, comfortable life after the crisis that sent her rocketing cross country in her beat-up old car. As soon as the sale of the farm closed and FedEx delivered the keys she headed East to the only place she had felt completely safe, even after so many years away.

In need of both food and comfort, she stopped by Sharyn's Place. The diner had survived the intervening years since she last visited with her grandparents. Sharyn's daughters still cooked their mother's recipes and it felt as homey and friendly as she remembered it.

She settled into her favorite back booth with a silly Regency romance novel on her Kindle and enjoyed her club sandwich and fries. An hour later, relaxed and ready to face the farm again, she left the diner and walked into a commotion at the car wash next door.

Lorraine, Bobby's girlfriend, was a former dog-groomer and a recent graduate of the cosmetology program offered by the community college. Her father inherited the car wash from his father. It was the old-fashioned kind with concrete bays and hoses.

She and Bobby had led the camels to the car wash for a spa treatment. Their coats were two shades lighter after washing and grooming. Hazel sported a pink bedazzled halter and pink ribbons braided into the long hair of her mane and tail. She smelled of lavender and roses. Willis was decked out in colorful fabric pom-poms and tinkling brass bells. Faint sandalwood fumes drifted around him.

Bobby had rigged saddles from old couch cushions and his mother's prize-winning quilts. As Maura stood gaping at the spectacle a school bus from the local Head Start program pulled into the parking lot followed by a news van from the television station in Haywood.

The cameraman filmed the children riding Willis and Hazel around the parking lot, petting them, and offering them treats. Lorraine and Bobby were careful supervisors.

"Hey, Miss Maura!" Bobby called. "Come and help!"

The perky, perfectly groomed, reporter eventually corralled the three humans and two animals together for an interview. Lorraine and Bobby held the camels' halters to prevent them from investigating the unfamiliar humans. Maura tried to remain in the background but Bobby pulled her forward.

"This is Miss Maura. The camels stay at her farm!"

"Can you tell us a little more about the farm?" He pointed the microphone at Maura.

" It was my grandparent's place, " she stammered. "I am trying to restore it." Maura was uncomfortable being the center of attention. She had always been shy and introverted. During her career as an auditor for a financial management company, she hated dealing with the people she was assigned to audit. She preferred to be left alone with numbers and documents.

The reporter pressed her further, " What is the name of your farm?"

Maura was nonplussed. She had never thought of naming the farm. She had no experience with marketing or entrepreneurs. She wanted to grow things, care for animals, and feed people.

Before she could formulate a coherent answer Lorraine spoke up. "Misfit Farm!" She exclaimed. "Miss Maura said she was a misfit at her old job and she has taken in people and animals that no one else wanted!" She squeezed Bobby's arm, which was linked with hers.

The story of Misfit Farm as told by Lorraine and Bobby was featured on the evening news that night and given front-page above-the-fold status on several local newspapers.

(Next Up: Too many visitors and a blue light parade.)