"Claire, honey, this is Jamie. Can you say, 'hello?' He and his mother are going to be living next door to us from now on, so we're going to be nice neighbors, okay?" Claire's mother patted her small shoulder firmly, as though to assert the impossibility of any protesting. Claire quickly moved to hide behind her mother's skirt, Jamie across the carpet doing the exact same. Both of the mothers nudged their children forward onto the red rug of Claire's family living room. The adults moved to the kitchen, neighborhood gossip already on their tongues. Claire looked at Jamie with wary eyes. He kept his arms folded across his chest, his thin eyebrows furrowed together as he, too, looked Claire over.
"Um… Hi…" Claire's voice was small and quiet but enough to be heard in the large living room. There was a long silence between them as Jamie narrowed his icy blue eyes, analyzing Claire. She shrunk under his gaze, awaiting what he could possibly say.
"Your hair looks dumb and I hate your dress."
Claire looked down at her pink plaid dress and then back up at Jamie with a scrunched up expression. "Oh yeah?" she started. "Well, I think your hair is dumb! A-And that thing you're wearing is stupid!"
"It's a poncho!"
"No, it's stupid!"
The mothers poked their heads into the living room with a shared look of concern. The two women bid their farewells and promised to meet up together again soon. Jamie's mother, Mariel, ushered him back to their own house next door, chastising him for being rude to strangers. Once the door was closed, Claire ran into her mother's arms in tears.
"Mama, I don't like him! He's so mean!"
"Oh, honey…" Claire's mother, Diana, rubbed Claire's back soothingly. "He's been through a lot, okay? Just give him some time to adjust and I'm sure you two will be good friends. I promise."
Ten years should have been enough time, right?