Chinese apples in my hands. (Original novel)

These are the first seven chapters in a novel set in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico close to the Mexican Border and on the Rio Grande. It is a story about a family of seven children, ages ranging from eight to twenty-six. They live in a hundred year old abode house, and haven't spent a summer together in years. Erica Harris Gilotti, the oldest daughter is married and nine months pregnant and has decided to come home to have her baby. The story is about the effect that her returning home has on the family. The theme of the novel is the interaction of the Harrises and how they deal with jealously, anger, humor, birth, death, and love. Mixed in with that is New Mexican history, culture, folklore, Mexican Catholicism and the mystery and spirituality of the desert.