**Okay, just a quick note! If you happen to click on this (and thank ya kindly if ya did) you'll need to scroll down on my page first and find The Three and read THAT first if you want this to make sense. Then, if you happen to read the incredibly long thing, then comment, then read this, then comment, I will be eternally grateful.

 

Emily

 

“I had it first, mommy!” 

“No, Sam, I did!” 

“You’re being bad, Bart!” 

Emily tried to separate the two bickering boys helplessly. Joey and Joel watched with wide eyes as the two started a wrestling match. 

Emily didn’t believe in spanking, just taking reason with the children, so her soft, gentle voice was lost in the whoops of the two excitable boys. 

It was almost time for Jonathon to get home. She glanced over her shoulder. Dinner wasn’t even started yet. She hated for him to come home without anything seeming to have been done. 

But today was spring-cleaning day. She had mopped, waxed, organized, and vacuumed over all the rugs. She was against carpeting, so they had to put rugs down for the safety of the children. 

From upstairs, Rose could be heard crying, begging for her dinner. Emily threw and exasperated look over her shoulder. When Joey and Joel heard their sister crying, they two began to sob. 

“Please boys!” She begged, grabbing Bartholomew away from Samuel. “Stop it right this minute!” 

They stopped struggling. Bartholomew went limp in his mother’s arms. He stared up at her with concern. 

“Now, Samuel, I want you to go and set the table. Bart, please go hug Joel and Joey and show them you’re fine.”

Bart did as he was told, as did Samuel. Emily let out a sigh. Managing four boys could be hard. But she loved them, that was for certain. 

Emily settled the three youngest boys on the couch and hurried upstairs to the still crying Rose. She was hiccupping now. 

“Poor thing,” Emily crooned, hugging the baby close. “I know you’re hungry.” 

She fed Rose and carried her downstairs. Now Samuel was on the couch, with Joey snuggled on his lap. Bart had Joel in his. 

Emily smiled at the sight of them. Quietly, she crept into the kitchen to start dinner. Rose whimpered softly. Emily stroked her head and put her in her downstairs crib. Right as she started searing tonight’s chicken, Jonathon walked in. 

The boys exclaimed happily. Jonathon went to hug and kiss each of them hello. Emily smiled at him. Jonathon looked wild with happiness. 

“What is it?” Emily asked with a smile. 

“We finished the case!” Jonathon exclaimed, twirling her around. 

Emily blushed with embarrassment. “Well...that’s fantastic!” She caught her breath after being spun. 

Jonathon nodded. “They said I’m off until I have a new case! I just have to go to the big law office tomorrow and file the end of the case. After that-I’m free!” 

Emily couldn’t keep the smile off of her face. “To celebrate I’ll make your favorite cake!” 

He laughed loudly. “That sounds great!” 

Emily hugged him for a long while. There was a small tugging on Emily’s long skirt. She stared down into the face of Joel, who motioned for her to pick him up. 

With a laugh, she did, and kissed each of his round cheeks. Suddenly the other children filtered over. Jonathon picked Bart and Sam up, while Joey came to Emily. They all twirled around and laughed and sang for a few moments. 

“Alright,” Emily finally said, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “Let’s calm down so I can make dinner and dessert.” 

Jonathon went upstairs to change, while the boys went to the playroom to mess around with their new toys. 

Dinner was made and they ate quickly. Emily took the cake out to cool. 

Rose was ready to be put down. Emily fed her once more and Rose fell asleep. Emily crept up the stairs to put the sleeping bundle in her bed. 

“Night my little Rose,” Emily whispered, kissing her. 

Joey and Joel had fallen asleep in Jonathon arms. He too carried them up to bed. Bart went up after them to be tucked in. 

“Mommy,” Samuel said quietly. 

“Yes?” Emily asked, sitting beside him. 

“If I go to bed, will you save me some cake?” He asked, his eyelids drooping. 

“Of course,” Emily promised, trying to look serious. She wanted to laugh at his question. Cake was probably the most important thing in the world to him. 

Sam nodded and went upstairs. 

Emily watched after him and then moved to her desk to write a letter to Allison. She still hadn’t answered the letter that had come from her a few days ago. 

Dear Allison, 

 

Yes, the laptop is unfortunately not working again. I’m hoping Jonathon might be able to get a new one. He just settled a case. We are all so happy. He’s been working hard for about three months on this, working every day except for Sundays. 

Samuel is growing so fast. He’s up to my waist now. Bartholomew tries to keep up with him. He thinks of himself as older than he is. With that said, Joey and Joel are still my little babies. They’re starting to talk in sentences. And Rose is sweet, I have to say. She’s my little angel. She doesn’t cry and fuss as much as the others do. I can already imagine how overprotective Jonathon will be of her! But all the better. 

I would love to be at your wedding! I’m just not sure if the whole family can make it. I do wish we could, though! 

Your first home? How exciting! You’ll have to send me pictures. And speaking of pictures, I’ll enclose one of Rose and the kids. We just had it done about a week ago. 

I have to get going. Keep well, Allison! I wish I could see both you and Ramona! 

 

-Emily 

 

 

Ramona

 

Ramona pushed back the blankets of her bed. She yawned loudly. Every day seemed to start with moving the blankets and yawning! She sat up and noticed she had slept later than anticipated. 

Ramona was excited. Today she was catching a flight from Japan back to America. She missed her family. She wanted to see Allison. After that she was going to go to Germany, where Emily lived, to stay with the family for a few days. 

Ramona, with this in mind, hopped out of bed and hurried to get dressed. She realized with a smile it was America’s fall and Germany’s spring. Or something like that. She wasn’t exactly sure how opposite weather worked there. 

Ramona bustled around her hotel room, stuffing clothes in duffel bags. She packed in her laptop carefully for carry-on. If she lost her laptop...her life would probably be close to over. 

She glanced at the card she had taped to the laptop. It was Alex’s business card. Ramona blushed whenever she looked at it. She would probably never need it. 

Finally, with her things packed and ready, she sat down to write a letter to Emily on the hotel’s boring cream-and-beige stationary. 

Emily, 

 

Hi! I’m about to go and catch my flight home. Yikes! I 

Haven’t seen my family in the longest time. Or you, for that

matter. I miss you a whole bunch! I can’t wait to see you. And 

guess what? I’m going to see ALLISON too! I’ll tell her you said hi. This is so exciting to be going to see my friends. 

I thought about settling in Greece, but I’ve decided I’m 

not quite ready yet. I’m going to write a book of short 

fairytales and hope it makes the bestseller list. LOL! 

I love traveling. Last week, in Italy, this man gave me his 

business card. Alex is his name. I’ve kept the card. I can’t have

a crush on a random stranger, can I? 

I’d better go. Sorry for my crazy handwriting. You know it’s usually better! :) 

I’D BETTER GO, THEN. 

 

LOVE YOUR FRIEND,

 

Ramona

 

Ramona signed her name with a flourish and put the note in an envelope. Her heard was thudding with the anticipation of seeing everyone again. 

She locked her hotel room and hurried outside. The air was warm, with the slightest touch of winter remaining. Quickly she dropped the letter in a mailbox. Japan was so busy. People bustled around, talking on cell phones. Ramona waved to a little girl playing with a jump rope. 

Ramona wasn’t really hungry for breakfast, but she knew she’d better get some or else she’d be hungry later. 

She got a fruit parfait at McDonald’s and left quickly. 

Ramona looked at her watch. 7:58 a.m. The plane would leave at ten. Even with that, Ramona wasn’t ready to go to the airport just yet. She found a bench, sat down, and began working on her new book. 

She was deep inside the world of dragons and dungeons and myths when there was a timid tap on her shoulder. Ramona looked up and did a double take. Alex stood there. He looked perplexed, too. 

“Hi,” Ramona managed. She blushed. 

“Mind if I sit?” Alex asked. 

Ramona shook her head. “Not at all. I mean, go ahead.” 

Alex sat on the other end of the bench. He smiled at Ramona. 

“What’re you doing?” 

She glanced down at her laptop and quickly shut it. “Nothing. What are you doing here?” Her voice broke at the last word. 

Alex’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Hey! You were the girl at the café in Italy. No wonder you looked so familiar. I was probably creeping you out, sitting here and talking to you. I thought I recognized you. What’s your name?” 

“Ramona...” Ramona stuttered, staring down. She took a deep breath and grinned. “And you’re Alex. Builder extraordinaire.” 

Alex shrugged. “My mom, Maria, made those cards. Not me. She’s a little biased. I’m not all that great.” He blushed modestly. 

“What brings you to Japan?” Ramona asked, desperate to keep the conversation going. She put her computer in its case, trying to look uninterested in his response.

“A house. Two houses, actually. These people I’m building for...they want a house for one of them and a house for the other one of them. They’re sisters. They both just got married. But I can’t say more than that, I’m afraid. I like to keep my client’s business their own.” 

Ramona blushed and looked away. “Sorry to pry.”

Alex shrugged. “Don’t be sorry.” He smiled. “I like to pry on my clients, too. And now it’s my turn. What are you doing in Japan? Following me?” 

Ramona blushed yet again. “Of course not. I didn’t even know you were going to be here. It’s a mere coincidence.” 

Alex laughed. “I was just joking. But seriously, do you live here? You don’t look Asian. No offense if you are.” 

Ramona couldn’t keep the smile off of her face. “I’m American, actually. But I like to travel. I’ve been doing it for the past...seven years. I’ve seen almost every place there is to see.” 

Alex’s eyes widened. “Wow, Ramona. That’s pretty cool.” 

She smiled. “Thanks.” 

There was an uncomfortable silence where they both paused and shuffled their feet. Ramona stared down at her clock. It was nine fifteen! 

“I’m sorry,” she stuttered, standing up. “I’ve got a plane to catch and a lot of bags to carry over to the airport. Bye!” 

Alex was after her in a second. “Let me help you carry your stuff.” 

Ramona nodded with surprise. “Okay.” 

So they ended up walking to the airport together, laughing. Ramona waved goodbye and got on her plane. She was heading home! 

 

Allison

 

“Do you like the hardwood floors?” 

Allison stared up at Nick with a look of surprise. “Of course. They’re beautiful.” 

Nick smiled at her. “I thought you’d like this house.” 

Allison nodded. She really did. It was great. It was a four bedroom, two-story home with hardwood throughout, a big master with a bathroom, and two fireplaces. The exterior needed some fixing up, but other than that it was perfect. The fourth bedroom could be used as a double office for Allison and Nick, plus the backyard was on two acres and fenced in so, if they wanted to, they could get a family dog. 

“Do you like the house?” Their agent, Kelly, asked them with a smile. She was an older woman of about fifty, with graying hair and a grandmotherly figure. 

“Yes,” Allison agreed at once. “I love it.” 

“Would you like to place an offer?” 

Allison looked over to Nick, who nodded. 

“We would,” he said, giving Kelly their number. 

She wrote the amount down and promised to call the seller with it and get back with them as soon as possible. 

Allison was bouncing with excitement as she walked home. Everything was falling into place, now. The wedding and her dream of marrying Nick, which had once seemed so far away, was practically breathing down her neck. 

“Isn’t it exciting?” She asked softly, staring up at Nick with a smile. “We’ll finally have our future together! And Ramona is going to drive down here after she sees her family and we’re going wedding dress shopping.” 

Nick hugged her close. “Of course it is.” He rested his chin on her head. “I can’t believe this is happening.” 

“What? The house?” 

“No...that you agreed to marry me.” 

“Oh shush!” Allison exclaimed with a laugh, stepping away. “You’re embarrassing me, Nick.” 

He smiled and opened the door to her apartment for her. “It’s my job.” 

Allison sat down at the table and opened her Mac computer. She wanted to send Ramona and email with the news before she got here. 

Hi Ramona! 

 

We saw a house today...and we’re putting in our offer! I’m hoping it works out. I want this house so bad, Allison! It’s gorgeous. 

I suppose I could have waited to tell you this in person but...I am so excited! Please reply if you get the chance. How’s your family? Are they all doing well? 

We’re going dress shopping the day after you get here. Did I mention you and Em are going to be my bridesmaids? (I’m sneaky!) And so are my two cousins. I’m choosing to not have a maid of honor. (Is that weird?) 

 

-Allison

Allison shut the computer after sending her email. Nick sat, grading papers for his English class. 

“How’re the students?” She asked playfully, peeking over his shoulder at the paper he was grading. Nick shrugged. 

“What is it?” Allison asked worriedly. Once again, Nick didn’t answer.

“Tell me,” she demanded, pushing his papers to the side and standing in front of him. She sank down to her knees to look him in the eye. They stared each other down for a long moment. 

“Well?” Allison said, breaking the silence.

Nick pursed his lips. “It’s just...everyone is class is doing so horribly, Allison. I’m going to have to fail them all if they don’t start working harder. None of them want to read...they’ve lost motivation. They’ll never graduate high school at this rate.” 

Allison waited for a moment, thinking of how to respond carefully. “Well...what’s on your reading list for them to pick from?” 

Nick smiled. “The classics, Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Bambi, Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer...the list goes on.”

Allison laughed. “I see now, Nick.” 

“What?” 

“Well...” she giggled behind her hand. “I hate to break it to you, but teenagers don’t like the classics very well. They love action novels with romance.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Since when were you, madam, the fine expert on teenage likes and dislikes?” 

Allison wiggled her eyebrows. “Since now. But believe me...” She stood up and faced Nick. “If the mountain ain’t coming to you, come to the mountain!” They laughed. 

“Do you want to eat here or out tonight?” Allison asked, getting herself a glass of water. She drank it slowly, chasing away the last of the anxiousness about Ramona’s arrival. She would be here soon enough. No need to worry about it. 

“Here is fine,” Nick said with a dismissive wave of his hand. 

Allison turned to start cutting vegetables for some kind of stew. The only sound was her knife coming down on the cutting board and paper’s rustling as Nick graded his tests. Neither one of them felt the need to fill the silence with unnecessary chatter. 

The unexpected ring of the phone echoed suddenly throughout the house. Allison jumped and very nearly missed taking her finger off with the knife. She set it down and dried her hands on a towel before picking up the phone. 

“Hello?” She inquired, indicating she would be off in one minute when Nick shot her a look of surprise. 

“Hello, Allison. This is the Writers Association of America. My name is Patricia.” 

“Hi Patricia,” Allison said with confusion. “May I help you?” 

“Yes, in fact. I have some questions for you.” 

Allison leaned back against the counter. “Yes?” 

“What’s your current marital status?” 

“Engaged, why?” 

“Are you strongly opposed to moving?” 

“Moving where? And why?” 

“England.” 

“England!?”