I'll always remember the first time she said my name, or tried to say it at least. There we were, the whole pack sitting in Emily's kitchen, and me at the table with this little auburn haired mess in front of me.
Watching her eat was fascinating. The spoon would miss and milk and cereal would splatter all over her face, her shirt, her high chair, and the floor. But she didn't care. Not my Claire. She would laugh as herself and her surroundings became more and more covered in her breakfast.
No one was paying her any attention. That was my job now. The guys were joking around, talking, complaining…and here sat me and Claire, off in her own little world. See, I didn't even have my own world anymore. All of it was hers.
My hand flicked out and I caught a muffin that had been hurtling towards her head. She hadn't even noticed it, but Jared got a glare from me for that one.
"I little care around her, please? Do you want I me to be throwing stuff at Kim?!"
He shot me a look back. "I don't think that it'd hurt her all that much, seeing as it's just a muffin!"
"Listen, I respect all your guys' mates, I would just appreciate a little respect for mine, especially since she's not even three yet!" Claire began to make little cooing noises from her high chair, oblivious to the fight around her, but I was already face to face with Jared. The fight was mild, but he'd been irritable lately since Kim was in Arizona.
"It's not like Claire can get special treatment just because she's two!"
"Kooooiiiiiiiiii...Juice!"
"That's exactly what it means, you dolt! She's still a baby!"
"Not a baby, a toddler! She can walk can't she?"
"KKKKKWWWWWWUUUUUUUUU!! Cup! Juice! My juice!"
"Of course she can, but it's not like she's full grown!"
"Kwiw! Kuiiiiiiiiiillll!! QUIIIIWWWWWW!"
My head snapped around. Her liquid brown eyes were alternately staring at me, then turning her head to the table. She was so focused on her juice cup; you might have thought she was trying to move it towards her with her mind. She turned her head back to glare at me.
"Quiw. Juce." Her eyes narrowed and she held out her hand, demanding her juice. Sam let out a laugh, and was soon followed by the others. Whether they were laughing at my reaction or the situation, I couldn't be sure, but it didn't matter. My mouth was wide open and my eyes were bugging out of my head. It was just one little sound, not even completely accurate in its pronunciation, but the meaning was clear.
Her little hand was still stretched out towards the table in front of her, trying hard to stretch the extra foot to grab the sippy cup. Her eyes looked back at me, this time pleading.
"Quiw…" her voice seemed unsure, like she shouldn't be asking me, but I snapped to attention. My hand reached out, twisted the lid extra tight to prevent leaks, and placed the cup in front of her. Her left hand lifted the spout to her tiny pink lips and her right hand reached out to me. Not even thinking, I lifted my hand so that she could grasp my wrist. She couldn't even get her hand around half of its width, but with a small tug, she had my butt planted in the seat next to her.
The boys soon lost interest in the spectacle, but I stayed where I was, my eyes locked on hers, her fingers clenched around the edge of my wrist, and my ass not moving an inch from where she wanted it: on that chair right next to her, ready to catch the next muffin that went flying our way.