Aunt Maggie and Uncle Paul:

Lyle looked Kat in the eye.

“When are they coming?” he asked.

“Saturday,” Kat replied. We looked at her with big eyes.

“That soon?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered. I couldn’t stop smiling at those words. It’s always fun when Aunt Maggie is around. She always comes with great stories.

“Can with buy that pudding from that shop that she likes?” I asked. For once since yesterday, Kat smiled.

“Of course,” she said. Lyle made a face at me.

“Pig,” he muttered under his breath. I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Come on, guys,” Kat said. “Behave for me, please?”

“Yes!” Lyle and I said together. Kat gave us another smile.

“Very good,” she told us.

Our aunt and uncle came over that Saturday morning. I got up early and waited by the big bay window. I still had on my pajamas; that’s how excited I was.

“You still not dressed?” Lyle asked me as he walked into the living room. I turned and looked at him.

“Neither are you,” I pointed out.

“Well… yeah!” he said. I smirked at him.

“Admit it,” I said. “You are just as excited as I am.” Lyle only nodded at me.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Are they here yet?”

“Nope,” I said. A few minutes passed when I noticed a black BMW pull up in the driveway. I felt my heart flip in my chest.

“They’re here!” I exclaimed.

“No way!” my brother gasped as he hurried over to the window. The BMW pulled to a stop and shut off. Out came our aunt and her high-powered lawyer husband. They got married four years ago. There is still not much I know about Uncle Paul. From what I hear, he dresses really sharp and smells like expensive leather. Lyle just loves the gold rings on his hands. I raced over to the door to let them in.

“Auntie!” I cheered aloud. Maggie waved at me.

“Angel!” she called out. I raced forward and hugged her.

“I missed you so much!” Maggie called out.

“Me too,” I said. I looked out to see Uncle Paul walking up beside her.

“Hello there, Claudia,” he said. I waved at him.

“Hi!” I said.

“Hello Maggie, Paul,” we heard Lyle say behind us. We looked up to see him waving at our aunt and uncle from the doorway.

“Lyle!” Maggie said with a huge grin on her face. “Come over here and give your favorite aunt a big hug!” She let go of me and walked over to him. My attention turned to Paul. He straightened out his khaki shorts. I walked up to him with a strong step.

“Can you please save him?” I asked in a serious tone. Paul adjusted his watch.

“It’ll be tough, but I can work through it,” he said.

“Please?” I begged. “I don’t want to see Kat upset anymore.” Paul lightly shushed me.

“I’ll see what can do,” he said. I breathed with a sigh.

“Thank you,” I said in a small voice.

“Of course he can!” Maggie boomed. “Your uncle here is really good at what he does!” I hope so, I thought. I followed them as they all went inside the house.

“Baby sis!” Maggie said when she spotted Kat sitting in the living room. Kat rose to her feet.

“Maggie!” she said. “So nice to see you again!”

“Same here!” the older sister said. “We got your call as soon as we came back from Paris. The airports here are a nightmare.”

“I see,” Kat said.

“Paul is already starting to look into the case,” Maggie said.

“That is good to know,” her younger sister told her. Kat straightened back some of her hair.

“Have you had anything to eat?” she asked.

“Not really,” the older sister said.

“We still have some lentil soup left over from last night,” Kat replied. Maggie had a grin up to her ears.

“Sounds good,” she said. Kat turned her attention to us.

“Kids, go get changed for the activity center today,” she said.

“Yes, Kat,” we said. Then, Lyle and I turned and headed down the hall to the bathroom. As I followed my brother, I happened to hear Kat, Maggie, and Paul all talking in the kitchen. Their conversation stopped me still in my tracks.