Now that school had started they’d had little time for much else besides homework Astrid and Rowan sat glumly at the counter staring at their books It wasn’t long before Jace and Quinn joined them The four of them must have looked pretty pathetic When Mr Vega saw them sitting there he asked What’s going on here Is the Frowny Face Convention in town He shaped his mouth into an exaggerated frown and added Can I join your frown fest Astrid tried to contain the smile that crossed her face Not funny Dad Mrs Vega made her way over and asked How was your day kids Anything exciting happen at school About the most exciting thing that happened was when Tyler Shepard split his pants in math class and had to go home early Rowan snorted
Then he looked up as if he’d just had a great idea Hey Mom do you have any of my old pants from last year Mrs Vega smiled and shook her head Nice try How about you girls anything exciting as split pants happen to you today Mr Vega asked Astrid and Quinn I wish Astrid replied All we got was a huge assignment for school Oh yeah What’s it about asked Mrs Vega Thanks to that letter and everyone’s sudden interest in our town’s history we now have to write a report about our family and how we came to live in Somerville Astrid said Over the summer a letter of historic importance written by former President Abraham Lincoln had been found in the Somerville Museum After much debate about selling the letter the residents were
persuaded by Miss Coco the town’s oldest living resident to keep the letter and display it with pride The situation had sparked curiosity about anything to do with Somerville’s past and made the museum a popular place That sounds interesting Mrs Vega said I’m glad you think so because I have to interview you and Dad to get information Astrid replied I can tell you this Mr Vega said When we rolled into Somerville we didn’t plan on being here any longer than the time it took to fill up our gas tank Really asked Quinn What made you stay With a big smile Mrs Vega said A man named Mick
CHAPTER TWO It all started during one of the worst blizzards in New York’s history Mr Vega began as he leaned back on the counter settling in to tell his story Sixteen inches had already come down and the storm wasn’t even halfway over The roads were a mess and many of them were shut down completely My parents almost didn’t make it to the hospital Oh no Dad Not again Rowan interrupted It’s bad enough that we have to listen to that story every year on your birthday Jace and Quinn looked confused so Astrid had to fill them in Long story short My dad was born in the
