Page 59 of Single All the Way

He nodded. “She communicates a lot. She wants her breakfast.”

“Last night in the van she was louder, more distressed.”

“She groans in the van. Hums when she thinks it’s past time for a meal.”

“What about Betty?”

“She’s hardly ever in the van since she doesn’t run away like Esmerelda. She doesn’t vocalize much at all.”

The humming sounded from below us again.

“Demanding llama,” I said.

“She’s special.” He laughed. He heaved a bale of hay and tossed it over the railing to the large center aisle below, then sent a second one behind it.

We headed down the steps, and Ben showed me how to fill the llamas’ troughs with hay. Esmerelda was first. I felt bad for Betty, the better-behaved llama, because Esmerelda made sure she was served first.

As Ben spread Esmerelda’s hay out in her trough, I watched and gathered my courage. I knew llamas didn’t normally bite people, and I had made it through getting Esmerelda in her stall last night. Ben had reassured me they only spit when they felt threatened.

Betty stretched her neck out over the half wall of the stall, watching as her sister-in-llamahood dug in to the hay.

“You’re hungry too, aren’t you?” I said to her. She looked at me with those big, pretty eyes as if to confirm that she was starving and just as worthy as the loud, demanding creature in the next stall.

“I got you,” I told her, then grabbed a mound of hay and spread it in her trough.

Following Ben’s lead, I gave her several armfuls until we’d split the bale between the two.

“There you go, pretty girl,” I said as Betty chomped her hay and eyed me, not in an unfriendly way, more just curious. “Yes, I called you pretty. I love your spots.”

Ben sweet-talked Esmerelda, the high-drama llama, while I muttered praise to mellow Betty as she ate. Betty stuffed her mouth with hay for a few seconds at a time, then lifted her head, stalks of hay sticking out every which way as she chewed and studied me.

Now that I was this close and receiving no threatening vibes from this gentle creature, I was intrigued. Maybe even fascinated. Llamas were so funny-looking, but the longer I watched Betty, the cuter I thought she was, with her understated enthusiasm for hay, her unabashed interest in me, and maybe even some gratitude around the edges.

“The horses need hay too,” Ben said, heading toward the second bale he’d thrown over.

“Okay,” I said without moving. “I’ll hang out with you,” I told Betty in a softer voice.

Before taking another mouthful, she paused, stepped closer to me, tilted her head slightly, then ducked her head for more hay directly in front of me, telling me she was comfortable. I wasn’t sure why, but she seemed friendly and approving of me in spite of my nervousness.

On the other end of the barn, I could hear Ben talking to the horses as he delivered their second course. His affection for all these animals was obvious and oddly endearing. So was what he could do to me in a hayloft, to be honest.

I kept up a one-sided conversation with Betty as she ate, admiring her brown spots and her thick coat. A few minutes later, when she finished her mouthful, she paused and looked at me, poking her snout over the trough and half wall so she was inches from my face. I froze and waited to see what she would do; not gonna lie, I felt a little intimidated.

“Hey, sweet girl,” I said, working hard not to flinch or jolt away. I was starting to trust her.

Before I could register what was happening, she pressed her snout against my cheek then straightened. It tickled and drew a giggle from me.

“What is happening here?” Ben asked from behind me as he approached. “Betty, you big sweetheart. First Smoky goes for you, and Betty just kissed you, Ems.”

“Yeah?” I looked at Betty, then turned to gauge Ben’s face to see if he was serious.

“Without a doubt. That was her way of saying she likes you.”

I’d never given thought to a llama’s approval or friendship, but as I looked into the gentle beast’s eyes again, I felt a gratification and affection that stunned me.

“Can I pet her?”

“Try rubbing her neck,” he said.

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