Finding Emma

Skipping Ahead

Emma had her head on Jimi's shoulder and he had his arm around her back. When she heard another crash of thunder she buried her face in his shirt. Jimi looked over at Karen who had Elijah in the same position that Emma was in. They both made eye contact and smiled. Eventually everyone fell back asleep.

........................................................................................................................................................................................

Several hours had passed and it was 8:30. Elijah was the first one awake. He was still curled up to Karen. "Mama, I hungry" He stated with an attempt to be quiet. Karen slowly opened her eyes. "Can you wait a few minutes?" She said with a yawn, hoping he would say yes so she could stay in bed a little longer. "Yeah, I guess" he said and laid back down next to her.

A few minutes later Emma was awake. She was curled up next to Jimi. She was a bit confused when she didn't wake up in her own bed, but remembered last night's events. She rolled out of Jimi's grasp to face Karen and Elijah. "Morning sweetheart" Karen said. "Morning" She replied with a yawn and a stretch. "Are you ready for breakfast too?" Karen asked her. "Yeah" she replied. "Good, because I hungry" Elijah stated once again. "Alright, alright. Let's go downstairs and get some pancakes going" Karen said.

Karen rolled out of bed first followed by Elijah, then Emma. Jimi felt the bed move. He rolled over to see what all the commotion was about. "Where's everybody going?" He asked in a groggy voice. "Mama's making pantakes" Elijah said excitedly. "I'm not missing pancakes" Jimi said and rolled out of bed and followed the rest of his family downstairs.

Karen started the pancakes and Jimi started the coffee. Emma and Elijah were on the couch watching Disney Jr. Emma has grown to like a few of the shows and doesn't mind watching them with Elijah. Emma's phone went off. It was a text from Gracie.

"Hey Em, my Mom said it's ok if you come over for a little bit today to go swimming" Gracie said.

"Ok, let me just make sure it's ok with my parents first" Emma replied.

"Ok!" Gracie said.

Emma stood up and walked over to the kitchen. "Can I go over to Gracie's to go swimming today?" Emma asked her parents. "Did Faith say it was ok?" Karen asked. "Yeah, Gracie just texted me and told me that she is ok with it" Emma said. "So, can I please go? Please, please, please?" She begged. Karen looked at Jimi who shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, you can go" Karen said. "Thank you!" Emma said and gave both her parents a hug. "But you have to be home by dinner" Jimi said. "Ok, that's fine" Emma said and went back into the living room.

She grabbed her phone and texted Gracie back.

"My parent's said I can come over. I just have to be home by dinner." Emma said.

"Yay! I can't wait!" Gracie replied.

........................................................................................................................................................................................

After breakfast was done they cleaned up the table. Emma went upstairs and grabbed her things to go over to Gracie's. She went back downstairs. "Ok, I'm ready to go" she stated. "I'll be ready in like two seconds" Karen said as she was putting on her shoes.

When Karen was ready, the two of them got in the car. Karen had Emma drive to Gracie's. Emma pulled into the driveway. "I'll come and pick you up around 4:00" Karen said before Emma climbed out. "Ok" Emma said. They both got out of the car. "Have fun sweetie" Karen said and gave her a hug and kiss on her forehead. "I will" Emma said and walked up to the house. Karen got into the driver's seat and drove home.

She arrived back home and Elijah and Jimi were sitting on the couch watching 'Jake and The Neverland Pirates' while they were waiting for Karen to return. Karen walked in the house and took her shoes off. She then joined Jimi and Elijah on the couch. "What do you two want to do today?" she asked. "I wanna go to the park and get ice cream" Elijah said. "How does that sound to you Daddy" Karen asked Jimi. "Sounds good to me" he said. "If you want to go to the park, then you need to go upstairs and get dressed" Karen told Elijah. "Ok!" Elijah said and took off upstairs.

Karen followed Elijah up the stairs and into his room. She helped him pick out an outfit and he got himself dressed. When he was all dressed, they went downstairs. As soon as Jimi was ready they walked to the park.

........................................................................................................................................................................................

As they were walking, Jimi and Karen were swinging Elijah by his arms. He thought it was the greatest thing in the world. They arrived at the park and Elijah took off running towards the equipment. Karen and Jimi sat down on a bench and watched until Elijah requested them to come up and play.

They stayed at the park for about two hours. "Hey E, are you ready for ice cream?" Karen asked. "Hold on, one more slide, Mama" Elijah said and climbed back up to the top. "Watch this!" Elijah yelled. "Ok, we're watching bud!" Jimi yelled back. Elijah then sat down and rolled onto his stomach so his feet were still going down first. He pushed himself down the slide. When he reached the bottom, he rolled over and stood up. "Ta da" He said with his arms out. "That was pretty cool, E" Karen said. "Good job little man" Jimi said and gave him a high five.

Karen reached out her hand and Elijah grabbed it. Then the three of them walked to the ice cream stand. They ordered their ice cream and sat down at a picnic table to eat it. Of course the ice cream was all over Elijah's face instead of in his mouth. When they finished, Karen did her best to clean Elijah up with some napkins.

When he was all cleaned up, they decided to walk home. When they arrived back home, Elijah was ready for a nap. Instead of walking up to his room, he climbed up on the couch and made himself comfortable. It wasn't long before he was out cold.

........................................................................................................................................................................................

About two hours later, it was about time to pick Emma up from Gracie's. Jimi and Karen were sitting in the kitchen. "I'm going to go pick up Emma" Karen said. "Ok" Jimi said. Before Karen left the kitchen she gave Jimi a kiss. When she passed Elijah on the couch, she gave him a kiss on his forehead, then made her way out the door.

She pulled up the driveway and surprisingly, Emma was ready to go. Usually, Karen and Faith have an entire conversation before Emma is ready to go. Emma climbed into the car. "Did you have fun?" Karen asked. "Yeah, it was super fun" Emma said with a smile. "That's good" Karen said and drove home.

When they got home, Jimi had already started dinner. "Well isn't this a surprise" Karen said as she walked in the kitchen. "We're makin' dinner, Mama" Elijah said. "Is there room for two more helpers?" Karen asked. "There's always room for more" Jimi said. Karen and Emma walked into the kitchen and started helping. The kitchen was a little small for the four of them, but they made it work. Karen looked up and took in the sight in front of her. These were the moments she loved the most.