She touched Theo’s shoulder and he stirred. He yawned, stretched, and got up from the floor as if sleeping by your sister’s bed was the most normal thing in the world, as if it was something that all brothers did. He got in the shower first so she went downstairs to forage for breakfast, as all the adults would already be out of the house. She didn’t have to forage, though, because Lance had taken it upon himself to whip up a fresh batch of oatmeal cookies. They were as good a breakfast as any, so she helped herself to four of them, which seemed to please Lance. (Granted, it was difficult to tell when a suit of armor was pleased, but Tess thought she detected a bit of a spring in Lance’s step when she reached for another cookie.) By the time Theo came downstairs, she had devoured a half dozen all by herself. Theo did the same, and then stuffed more into a bag for Jaime.

After Tess showered and dressed, they left the house to Lance and the giggling spiders, and headed for Hoboken. Tess was excited to see Jaime’s new place. She knew that he wasn’t happy with it, that his building in Hoboken was strange to him, stranger even than Aunt Esther’s house in Queens. It had taken him weeks—and the onslaught of twenty-two mechanical eagles—just to invite them.

As Jaime had suggested, they took the N train to the PATH train that ran underneath the Hudson River to New Jersey. The previous night’s rain had cooled the air, so when the twins burst from the train station, the sun was shining brightly on bars and restaurants and brownstones. They followed Jaime’s directions to his building, finally arriving at a tall bank of condominiums that faced the bright blue ribbon of the Hudson. It was a beautiful building, but unlike their beloved 354 W. 73rd Street in Manhattan, this building was only a year old. The stone outside was white and sparkling. The lobby smelled of new carpet, the walls of fresh paint.

At the security desk, Tess asked the smiling guard for Jaime’s apartment, and the woman happily rang Jaime.

“I have a Bess and Thom Friedman for you,” the guard said. “Bess and Thom.” Her eyes flicked to Tess and Theo, assessing. “Yes, she has a braid. And his hair is a little big. Great! I’ll send them up.” The guard rang off and pointed to the elevators. “Eleventh floor,” she said. “And have a nice day!”

“Thank you,” said Tess. “You too.”

Theo grunted, and punched at the elevator buttons.

“What’s wrong with you?” Tess said.

“Bess and Thom?”

“It was a mistake, that’s all,” said Tess.

“She’s too cheerful,” Theo said. “Everything about this place feels weird.”

“It’s new.”

“That’s not it.”

“I know,” Tess said.