Clare Hutton

“at baby Charlie, making him giggle. “You like the beach, don’t you, Charlie?” Charlie made babbling noises and reached up toward her, and Natalia took his plump little baby hands and smooched them. She and Mrs. Lau chatted for a couple minutes. When Mrs. Lau and Charlie moved on, Natalia spotted old Mr. Ainsley, another neighbor, washing his car, and ran across the street for a minute to say hello. When she came back, Emma raised her eyebrows pointedly. “What?” Natalia asked. “You were wondering why you haven’t gotten a ton done?” Emma reminded her. “It’s because Mr. Ainsley was probably the eighth person you’ve stopped to talk to since we started.” “I like to talk to people,” Natalia said defensively. She reached down and picked up her rake. “Besides, I couldn’t be rude and ignore them.” “You want to be friends with everybody,” Zoe diagnosed. She reached down and pulled a lemon-”
― Clare Hutton, Natalia Takes the Lead

“They could play catch with a tennis ball on the porch, she thought. There wasn’t much that was breakable. And Ruby would probably”
― Clare Hutton, Natalia Takes the Lead