Page 4 of Adventures in Spring

“He’s cute,” my mom says.

I laugh. “We should go. The kids are getting a little heated over there. All over popcorn.”

My mom laughs. “You can’t ignore the handsome man now that you’re living here. I’m pretty sure he’s not going to go away. And he’s still staring at you.”

“Omg. Mom. He’s not staring at me. He’s probably staring at you because you’re staring at him.” I laugh more.

“Fine. What time can we check into the Inn?” She chuckles.

“The woman I talked to, Rory, said anytime after two. Which is now, if we want.”

“We could check in and rest for a few hours. Then find somewhere to eat dinner. You’re not checking in at the high school till tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, I’m meeting with the principal at noon. And that sounds good. That drive was longer than I expected.”

I call the twins over so we can pay for their popcorn. Then we head over to the Evergreen Inn. It’s a beautiful Victorian house that’s been transformed into an Inn.

“Hi, I’m Emiko Yamaguchi. We have reservations for four rooms for a week.”

“Hi! I’m Rory, I spoke with you when you made your reservations. Are you here on vacation?”

“I’m actually moving here with my twins. I’ll be the new science teacher at the high school.”

“That’s awesome! Welcome to Wintervale.”

“Thank you, if we need to stay longer than a week, will that be possible?” I ask.

“Definitely. Just let me know how long you need the rooms for.”

“Thank you. We’re looking at a few rentals and I’m hoping we’ll find one within the week.”

“No problem. Where are you coming from?”

“We’re from Springfield, Illinois. Those are my parents and my two brothers. The two munchkins are my twins, Kaito and Miyuki. My family wanted to be here with us for the move.”

“Aww. I love that. They want to make sure it’s a good move for you.”

I nod. “It feels like it’s an easier transition with all of them with me.”

“You’re gong to love Wintervale. We’re a pretty close-knit town so the only real issue is everyone knows everyone business.” She laughs.

I chuckle. “Springfield is a pretty big town. So it’s a nice change to be in a small town.”

“I hope you love it here and if you need anything, I’m always around. Or you can find my boyfriend, Cass Whitlock. He’s the one who helped me renovate Evergreen.” Rory smiles proudly.

“It’s gorgeous. And thank you for the warm welcome.”

ChapterFour

Emiko

It took me two weeks to find a place to rent. The first few places were okay, but I really wanted a yard where the twins could play. And we really wanted to get a pet. Maybe a dog or a cat, maybe one of each. Seth and I had talked about getting each of them their own pet. We believed that having a pet to take care of would help them learn to be more responsible.

We finally found the perfect house. It has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a nice fenced-in backyard. I didn’t really want such a big house, but my parents said they liked it because they can come visit. They even offered to help me pay for it. Until I figure out my bills, it’s going to help me out a lot.

“Can we get a dog now?” Miyuki calls out from the room she chose.

“Maybe we should get settled in first and then look for pets.” I laugh.

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