"Is this Luke? Aw, he's so cute!" Jo exclaimed, holding her arms out to Natalie's son. "Want to come to Aunt Jo?"
Luke turned around and hid his face in his mother's neck. "Give him time," said Natalie.
"Is this really little Bethany? How old are you now, sweetie?" asked Blair. Bethany held up three fingers. "Wow, what a big girl!" exclaimed Blair. "So how's Clay?"
"He's doin' real good," said Doug. "Got his own apartment now and workin' full time for the police department."
"Glad to hear it," said Blair. "And how are you, Jamie?"
"I'm OK."
"What grade are you in now?"
"Eleventh."
"Wow, almost finished!"
Jamie chuckled. "Yeah."
"So what do you want to do after you graduate?"
"I'm thinking about going to the police academy, like Clay." She didn't mention Andy or the possibility of joining him in his missionary work.
"Good deal!"
Jamie went into the living room, where Adam and Alyssa were watching Cartoon Network, while Blair, Natalie, Jo, and Doug went into the kitchen and sat at the table. Natalie poured coffee for everyone.
"So, tell me about life in L.A.," said Jo.
"I love it!" Blair exclaimed. "There's just so much to see and do. I'll definitely have to take you to the mall as soon as I can. How's tomorrow sound?"
"Great! Want to go shopping tomorrow, Bethy? There might even be an ice cream parlor with a carousel!"
"Yeah!" Bethany cheered. She wandered into the living room and sat on the floor to watch television with Adam and Alyssa.
Jamie soon grew tired of sitting on the sofa with the younger children. "Can I go for a walk, Mom?" she asked Jo.
"Remember you don't know your way around here yet, so don't go too far, and be back before dark."
"Thanks!" Jamie left the apartment building and then looked around, trying to decide which direction to go. She noticed a group of small stores that looked interesting on the corner and began to walk toward them.
She entered the shop that interested her most, which was a beauty supply store. Right away, she saw two girls who were about her age, laughing and trying on wigs. They both had brown hair and blue eyes, and one girl was slightly taller, but other than that, they looked very similar. When Jamie entered the store, they stopped giggling and looked over at her.
"I've never seen you around here before," the taller girl said. "Did you just move here?"
"My Mom's visiting her friends who live here," Jamie replied. "My name's Jamie."
"I'm Julia, and this is my sister Lydia," the girl told her. "So where are you from, Jamie?"
"I'm originally from New York, but I live in Oklahoma City now. I'm a junior."
"I'm a senior, and Lydia's a sophomore. So where are you staying?"
"Westwood Apartments, 14B."
"We live in 6A!" Julia exclaimed.
"Is it just you guys and your parents?"
"We have another sister and a brother. Sofia's twelve, and Kady's nine."
Jamie frowned. "A boy named Kady?"
"His real name's Arkady. He's named for our father."
"I've never known anyone named Arkady before."
"He's from Russia. So how many brothers and sisters do you have?"
"I have a stepbrother who's a cop in Oklahoma City. His name's Clay, and I have a little sister named Bethany. She's three."
"Aw, how cute!" It was the first time Lydia had spoken.
"I got bored sitting around the apartment, so I decided to go for a walk. This shop looked interesting, so I came in," said Jamie.
"It's a really cool store," Julia replied. "We get a lot of our make-up here."
Thrilled to have encountered a couple of other girls around her age, Jamie stayed with Julia and Lydia for a couple of hours, and they invited her over for dinner with their family.
"Thanks, but I think I'd better head on back or my folks will be worried about me," Jamie told them. "Hopefully, I'll see you around again before we have to go back to Oklahoma City."
She arrived to find the others still sitting around the table talking. "We were just wondering what had become of you," Jo remarked.
"I met a couple of other girls and hung out with them for awhile," said Jamie. "Turns out they live right here in this building, in 6A."
"What's their last name?" asked Natalie.
"They didn't tell me, and I didn't think to ask. I'll ask next time I see them."
The following morning, everyone decided to go to the mall. "You're coming too, aren't you, Jamie?" Jo asked her daughter.
"Have you ever known me to pass on a trip to the mall?" asked Jamie.
Everyone laughed.