Emma Moves In

Table of Contents

• Chapter One
• Chapter Two
• Chapter Three
• Chapter Four
• Chapter Five
• Chapter Six
• Chapter Seven
• Chapter Eight
• Chapter Nine
• Chapter Ten
• Chapter Eleven
• Chapter Twelve
• Chapter Thirteen
• Chapter Fourteen
• Chapter Fifteen

Chapter One

While on the plane to visit her cousins, Emma makes a list of all the activities she wants to do over the next week. Number 1: have a cookout, like she did last summer with her mom’s twin sister, Aunt Alison, her husband, Uncle Luis, and their two twin daughters, Zoe and Natalia, and their younger brothers, Tomás and Mateo.

Number 2: swim. The waters of Chesapeake Bay, near Waverly, where she’s flying to, are much warmer than the beaches in Seattle.

Number 3: sparklers, like they did last year, and it was so much fun!

Number 4: bonfire on the beach, where they’d make s’mores.

Number 5: knitting with Grandma Stephenson, like they did last year in Seaview House. Although since then, Grandma Stephenson has moved out of Seaview House, due to a bad fall and a broken hip, which has been in Emma’s family for generations, and moved in with Natalia and Zoe’s family, where their whole family, and Uncle Luis’ mother, Abuelita, lived, too. Although nobody lives at Seaview House anymore, it’s still the family’s—they didn’t sell it… yet. Emma’s whole family, including Mom’s brother, Uncle Dean, and his wife, Aunt Bonnie, live on the East Coast, while she and her mom and dad have traveled around and now live in Seattle. Emma’s mom is an environmental lawyer, and her dad is the head chef at a Seattle restaurant, Harvest Moon, specializing in comfort food.

Number 6: finish the Violet story that she and Natalia started last summer.

Number 7: cousin pact.

Emma doesn’t get a chance to expand notes on that item. But no matter what, she’ll make time for the cousin pact. Emma explains to her parents that she always tries to pack so much into these trips. Her parents remind her the most important thing is to enjoy spending time with her cousins and to just have fun.

By the time they pull up to Zoe and Natalia’s house, Emma is shaking with excitement. Natalia rips open the backseat and pulls Emma into a hug. Quieter Zoe trails behind. Although they’re twins, Natalia dn Zoe are so different; Natalia’s long hair is everywhere all at once, and she’s loud and always laughing or talking. Zoe, on the other hand, is more reserved and quiet, and is always keeping her thoughts to herself—she’s always watching and noticing other people. In many ways, Emma feels like she’s the in-between of the two girls.

They all head into the backyard where the cookout is happening, accompanied by the family dog, Riley. Emma’s aunts and uncles fuss about how much they’ve grown—they’re moving onto sixth grade already! Abuelita talks about how beautiful she is and how she’s grown. Only Grandma Stephenson allows Emma to relax a bit. It makes Emma feel better to know that Grandma Stephenson hasn’t really changed that much.

But when Emma asks Grandma Stephenson if she plans to sell Seaview House, Grandma only responds that not all changes are for the worse… the important thing is that they’re all together as one family.