Chapter Four Humility
Fast-forward to a few years later. Quite a few things had changed. Sam and Emily were now married. Claire's parents had been spending full summers up in La Push, bringing Claire with them. She was now eight, and I could see her changing before my very eyes. Her hair was longer, for instance, and held in tight pigtails that reached just below her shoulders. The features of her face were becoming more proportionate, though her eyes still looked too large to be human. Every day, she was becoming more beautiful.
Beauty didn't save me from humiliation, though. "Okay, so this is Surfer Ken. You can be him, Quil." I faked interest as I reached out for the Barbie doll that was being handed to me. "And this is Bahama Barbie. I'll be her."
"Okay..." Neither Jacob nor Embry were going to find out about this. As much as I adored Claire, I knew that even the quietest of the two (Embry) would find it hard to resist the temptation of making fun of me. "And what are Ken and Barbie doing?"
Her eyebrows furrowed as she touched Barbie's feet to the carpet. Apparently, she was working her creative little mind in this moment. "Well, Barbie can't swim so she's drowning, so Ken needs to save her. If he doesn't, a shark is going to come and eat her." The last part seemed a little morbid for an eight year-old.
Tiny hands rocked the doll against the floor. "Help. HELP!" Claire's tiny voice was high as she forced Barbie into distress. "I can't swim! HELP!"
A part of me wanted to snicker, but I refrained by hopping Ken toward Barbie. "I'll save you!" My hands forced him into the air before he landed on his stomach.
"WAIT!" Claire's eyes opened wider and rummaged into the small bag that she had by her side. She pulled something small but long and gave it to me. "He's got to have his surfboard otherwise he won't be able to swim her back and they'll BOTH be eaten!" This was obviously a bad thing.
I nodded and grabbed the surfboard, in shock that they actually made these things for toys. I then set Ken flat atop of the imitation and forced him against the imaginary tide. He stopped near Barbie; I forced his stiff arm to extend to the doll in danger. "Climb on!"
Barbie continued to writhe. "Help! I can't grab on! You have to come save me!" She didn't break from her character.
A smile threatened to spread across my lips, and a small one actually did peak through. I forced Ken to jump onto the carpet and grab hold of Barbie, pushing her onto the surfboard. "Okay. Now he has to get on, too, and take them back to the beach." I had noticed that Claire was becoming very directive lately. It wasn't something that I was used to. I followed her orders, though, and had Ken paddle them safely to shore.
The story was finished. "Good job. They're safe now, Claire."
"Noooooo." She looked at me and shook her head, expression serious. "Barbie swallowed a LOT of water. Ken needs to give her CRP!"
"CPR?" I corrected. I should have known how futile my efforts would be.
"No. CRP." That was the first time that I had ever been glared at by an eight year-old. She actually looked at me like I had something really stupid. The feeling wasn't welcomed at all. "C'mon! HURRY, QUIL! SHE'LL DIE!"
I tilted the doll down and pressed his plastic mouth against Barbie's, exhaling through pursed lips. Then I tried the best I could to press his hands against her chest in a mimic of CPR. After a few repetitions, Claire flopped Barbie over and made coughing sounds. "Is she okay?" I asked, making a face at the scene.
She replied by nodding and making Barbie jump onto her feet. "Thanks to you, Ken!" The high pitch returned to her voice. Barbie then rammed herself against Ken and did what I could only assume was kiss him. Claire even puckered her lips and made noises to exaggerate the scene.
I stared for a second, not sure if this was supposed to be romantic or a horror. A part of me was angry that Claire even knew what kissing was. That meant that she was only one step closer to finally noticing boys her age. Those punks better watch out... They didn't know what kind of arsenal Claire had at her disposal.
I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn't notice Claire digging inside of her bag again. She pulled out another Ken doll and handed him to me. "This is Mike. He likes Barbie, too, but Ken only want her for hisself, so they fight a lot." Obviously, I was being herded into another storyline.
Just as the other doll was placed into my hands, Claire's mother knocked on my door and opened it. "It's time to go to Aunt Emily's and Uncle Sam's, honey. Pick up your toys and tell Quil goodbye." Claire's face pulled itself into a defiant pout, but Rachel was obviously prepared for this exact situation. "Claire Marie, pick up your toys. You can see him tomorrow if he wants to come swimming with us." She looked at me, posing the question with her eyes.
Interesting. We had just been pretending to swim.
"Please come, Quil!" The defiance was gone from her face now, replaced with eager and begging.
It was so hard to resist Claire. Not that I ever, ever would. I smiled at her. "Of course I will. We've got to pick up these toys first, though. And when you get to Emily's and Sam's, brush your teeth." She smiled widely, revealing one tooth that was already gone. I took that as compliance to my demands.
Once the dolls and their accessories were thrown back into the bag, it was handed to Rachel. Claire was ready to leave but turned on her heels, realizing that she had forgotten her hug. She had nearly tripped into my arms, but they were strong; I caught her. "'Night, kid," I whispered affectionately.
"Bye, Quil!" I felt Claire's lips pucker against my cheek, felt the smack of the kiss, and watched as she trotted off with her mother.
