Arriving early before the center opened to the public, Ellie walked the dogs to the rear of the atrium, where it connected to a covered patio and several large, landscaped acres. To one side was a dog park. All well-behaved canines were welcome and were supervised by Alex, the dog handler. Visitors could comfortably leave their fur babies in the care of Alex, who would throw Frisbees, balls, or whatever the owner would bring for their pooch’s pleasure. Alex was also in charge of keeping the place in super-pooper-scooper condition. Ellie was pleased to have someone who was trustworthy on the payroll, especially someone who loved animals. She let the dogs run to their favorite playmate, and Alex squatted to give them both big hugs. Ellie gave a thumbs-up and headed into the center. She spotted Luna and Chi-Chi and waved.

Wiley was the first to notice Ziggy and Marley bounding out the back. He lay down prone and covered his eyes with his paws. “Oh, do you want to play, too?” Luna scratched his ears. Wiley immediately perked up. She grabbed the walkie-talkie. They were required and provided by Ellie. Just in case. After the crazy incident with Rowena Millstone and the hillbillies from West Virginia, Ellie insisted everyone have a means of communicating with each other. Especially security.

Several months earlier—shortly after the center’s grand opening—Luna had found herself face-to-face with a couple of intruders in Cullen’s shop. Cullen was horribly late getting back and the only thing Luna had at her disposal was a fire extinguisher. Fortunately, the intruders were unarmed amateurs and she was able to keep them at bay until help arrived.

After that evening, Ellie purchased two-way radios for everyone to carry when they were on-site, and everyone was tuned to the same channel. Rather than using data on their cell phones, most of the tenants often used them to connect with each other.

Luna pressed the button on her handheld. “Alex?”

“Yup!”

“Luna here. Incoming!” She unhooked Wiley’s lead and he made a beeline to the automatic sliding doors.

“Roger that!” Alex responded.

Ellie made her way to Luna and Chi-Chi, who were standing inside the atrium just outside the café. Ellie made a habit of stopping to greet the occupants of each stall she passed. She finally arrived where the two women waited.

“E kaaro.” Chi-Chi offered Ellie a slight bow with her morning greeting.

Ellie responded in kind. “E kaaro.”

“Namaste, Ellie.” Luna gave Ellie her version of a welcome.

“Look at us. Multilingual!” Ellie showed delight as the others smiled.

“Come. We have scones with your names on them.” Luna linked arms with Ellie.

“I am going to get fat,” Ellie chided.

“Not if you keep to only one per day,” Chi-Chi encouraged Ellie. “Moderation is important, yes. But one scone is important, too.” The women chuckled as Luna handed each of them a plate with a scone and a napkin.