Ch. 2: A Week Later
It had been a week since Calvin had given Hobbes to Catherine and the two were already inseparable. It reminded Calvin a lot of his childhood and adventures with Hobbes. Catherine and Hobbes getting to know each other and Hobbes had to agree that Catherine was definitely her father's daughter. There were differences though. She was like a more mellowed version of Calvin, but no less fun. She had her dad's imagination, extensive vocabulary, philosophical mind, penchant for getting into and causing trouble, and sometimes cynical outlook on the world. Areas where the differences were more obvious were school. While it did take some prying to get Catherine out of bed on a school morning, it was not nearly as bad as it had been with Calvin. As a result people on their street actually needed to set an alarm. Catherine had an aversion to school, not as strong as Calvin's, but she got decent grades in every subject except math. She had an interest in Dinosaurs as well but also loved history in general. She was an outsider at school and had no friends, as Calvin had said. She had even hit a boy once for making fun of her. Calvin and Susie had gotten a call and Susie had been disappointed in Catherine. But Calvin went upstairs that evening and told her he was proud of her for standing up for herself, but to just do it in more civil ways in the future. He was still unable to see Hobbes as anything more than just a plush toy.
"Hobbes?" asked Catherine as they walked through the woods on a brisk fall afternoon.
"Yes?"
"Why doesn't my dad see you the way I do?"
"What do you mean?"
"He said you were his best friend when he was my age, so did he see you as a bipedal, sentient, intelligent, anthropomorphic tiger?"
"He did."
"So why can't he see you like that now? I mean, he's already referred to you as a stuffed tiger so it's obvious he doesn't see you."
"He grew up. Grownups and other people also saw me as just a stuffed animal when I was with Calvin. I think that part of the reason, if not the entire reason, that he could see me as I really am is due to his vivid imagination, something you obviously inherited. That broke down the barriers that most people have to protect themselves from information overload. But as he grew up the he conformed to the world view of the way things should be and eventually stopped seeing me all together."
"That sounds pretty sad. I'm not sure I want to grow up now if it means I can't see you."
"It took longer for your dad not to see me than I thought it would, though. He was in his Junior year of high school the first time he saw me as just and inanimate object. By the middle of college that's all he saw me as."
"Will he ever be able to see you again?"
"I don't know. But he might if the night he gave me to you is any indication."
"What do you mean?"
"When he was about to close the door he looked at me stared for a second, as though surprised. I think he saw the real me for the first time in sixteen years. But enough of this sad talk, I'll race you back to the house," Hobbes said and darted off without a warning.
"Hey! No fair!" Catherine yelled and ran after him.
Hobbes appeared back in the back in the backyard with a look of pride on his face.
"I win!" he announced as Catherine came huffing over.
"Yeah, but you cheated," she gasped.
"Me? Cheat? Never," Hobbes said feigning hurt.
"Well you did! You took off without even saying ready, set, go!"
"Those are just formalities that we do without in the wild."
"You are such a tiger."
"And you're such a human."
They glared at each other for a second before they broke out laughing.
"Well what do you want to do now?" asked Hobbes as he recovered from the laugh attack.
"I have an idea, c'mon!"
Calvin was raking the leaves in the backyard when he saw Catherine and Hobbes come barreling out of the woods. Catherine was carrying Hobbes and when she stopped she looked like she was having an argument with the toy. Eventually they fell down and he heard his daughter laughing. She got back up, picked up Hobbes by the paws, and started spinning him around. Calvin smiled as he watched the two and wished that he could see Hobbes again. But nothing else had happened since the night he gave him to Catherine.
"Fall wasn't so bad at that age," he reminisced. "Now it's rake, rake, rake."
Truth be told, Calvin's imagination did leak into his life every now and then, like it was doing now. He looked at the pile of leaves he had made and could see it smiling at him, like it used to do when he was about to dive in as a kid about to dive right in only to discover the pile wanted to eat him.
"Keep smiling buddy, you're not getting me anymore," he glared as he went back to work.
"WHEEEEEE!"
Catherine flew through the air and landed in the leaf pile, sending leaves everywhere.
"Wow! Hobbes threw me from way over there!" she giggled as she ran back over to the tiger.
Calvin looked at the decimated leaf pile and couldn't help himself.
"HA!" he said while pointing at it. Then he caught himself. "Wait… what am I doing?"
Calvin mumbled to himself about the extra work he had now and raked the pile back. But it never stopped smiling as long as he was out there.
Getting old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.
~Unknown
A/N: Well this was completely unexpected and yes, this is basically just a filler chapter. But it does serve the purpose of setting up the plot device of the possibility of Calvin seeing Hobbes again. On another note, I need quotes, nostalgic or otherwise, about childhood and growing up. If you have some please send them in a PM or put them in a review. I only have two more and this fic is going to be more chapters than that. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews this.
Next: The Return of the Cardboard Box
