When they got to the front steps of the house Marlin said, “Oh hey, I was about to call you in, Charlie. Good timing. I’m putting dinner on the table. You might as well eat here with us, Al, instead of having us pack up your supper.”

“Don’t want to,” said Al with his usual charm.

“We saw a BEAR!” said Charlie.

“Really!” said Marlin, her eyes growing huge.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” said Al. “It was only Billy Bear. He lives here. I’ve known him since he was a cub. Let me tell you something, that bear scares me less than the lot of you. Just give me my supper and I’ll get out of here. Poor Billy.”

So Marlin packed up a food container with meatloaf and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole and Al grunted and headed for home.

Charlie told them all about the bear at dinner and Natasha said she had done the right thing going to the nearest house.

“They’re not Disney bears,” she said. “No matter what Al says. A bear might not attack you but it might. That’s the thing about bears.”

“Don’t scare her,” warned Fiona. “She’ll never go outside again.”

“Better to be safe than sorry,” said Natasha.

Then Charlie told them about Al calling Mr. Pennypacker a garden gnome and Fiona, who’d been taking a gulp of her milk, laughed until it came out her nose.

“What’s so funny?” asked Marlin.

“Wait until you see him,” said Fiona. “He actually does look exactly like a garden gnome. He’s short and he has the same kind of face and white beard. When I saw him, he was even wearing a red vest and I was trying to think what he reminded me of.”

“Al got mad that Mr. Pennypacker called him a waste troll,” said Charlie, who having calmed down was now reveling in being the one who’d had the adventure and a story to relate. She was seldom the one in the family with interesting gossip.

“Oh, Charlie, I told you not to tell him that,” said Fiona.

“I couldn’t help it,” said Charlie. “The bear scared all thoughts out of my head.”

Fiona just sighed and hoped it wouldn’t come back to haunt them later and then they all finished dinner, did their homework, and went to bed.