No stores lined the road; nobody walked; it was just shrubs and flowers and big lawns. Aunt Vanessa made a sharp left and screeched to a stop when she reached the end of her long driveway.She drove like Emma’s father.“We’re here.” Her aunt waited a moment before taking the key out of the ignition. She turned to face Caleb and Gracie, putting her hand on Emma’s arm. “Mom will be okay. I just know it.” She opened the car door. “Let’s go.”Emma, Gracie, and Caleb scrambled to keep up as their aunt rushed down the brick path lined with pink and white hollyhocks. They followed her through the open door and a foyer that was larger than Emma’s bedroom to the living room.“Did my mother or Ben call?” Vanessa yelled as they entered the house.“No one’s called. Sorry, love,” Uncle Sean answered from the couch.Aunt Vanessa slammed her oversized shoulder bag on a leather club chair. “Jesus, Sean, couldn’t you have at least picked up the house?”Uncle Sean gave her aunt a look that managed to be both reproving and mild.
