Chapter 11: Come Fly with Me II
Gloria smiled warmly at Alex while brushing her hair back. "Alex, why don't you come shopping with me? Maybe I can help you find something that you like."
Claire interjected, "That's a really nice offer, but it's not really her thing."
Alex crossed her arms and lifted her chin. "Actually, I'd love to go. See, you don't know what my thing is." She repeated in defiance, "You have no idea what my thing is."
Claire let out a short laugh, already prepared with her rebuttal. "I know what your thing is. Your thing is to provoke, just like your sister's thing..."
She paused briefly and gestured upward, as if pointing to the bedroom on the second floor. "...is to never come out of her room, and your brother's thing-"
Before she could finish, Claire turned toward the glass door. "Well, there's your brother's thing." She shouted, "Luke! Put them on! Mm-hmm."
Seeing the tension, Gloria gently pulled Alex by the hand. "Come on, let's go. We'll have fun." Alex rolled her eyes but went along.
"Manny, go play with Luke," I said, patting his shoulder and gesturing toward the backyard.
He exhaled, took a deep breath, and went outside.
That left me with Claire. I leaned back in the chair. "So, Aunt Claire, it's just the two of us. Want to talk about it?"
"About what?" she asked, her brow furrowing.
"Alex, of course - the one giving you trouble right now. Not that the other two are helping much either," I pointed out.
She let out a deep sigh. "It's just kid stuff," she admitted, then continued, "Alex and I can't just disagree. I mean, she has to turn everything into a fight."
I nodded. "She seems like the typical kind of person who always thinks she's right, a know-it-all."
I met plenty of people like that in my previous life. Some I crushed completely, others I gave a hammer of humbleness, and some I managed to correct gently, very few corrected themselves on their own.
I never liked the idea of having to show off intelligence just to humiliate others, unless the other person was really asking for it.
And I continued, "she does have some merit. From what I know, she's one of the best students in her school, reads a lot, and has knowledge above her peers."
But that's it. At her age, I was already finishing my first PhD, breaking historical records...
I leaned back slightly and said, "She wants to be a strong and independent woman, but she's making a child's mistake. Independence isn't about trying to do absolutely everything on your own."
I went on, "True independence is about autonomy - being able to make your own choices, set your own course, and take responsibility for the outcomes (pay the price). But that doesn't mean refusing support, guidance, or partnership."
Claire widened her eyes, probably not expecting that from me. "That seems correct..." she muttered, clearly at a loss for words.
"But let's just focus on this specific part - the fight about wearing a dress," I redirected back to today's issue. "She can shield herself, claiming she just wants to be different, refusing to bow to established standards, and especially not wanting to be like her sister. But deep down, I don't think that's really it."
"I think you know it too - her real problem is self-esteem. Particularly because Haley is very popular and shines in that area."
Claire reluctantly agreed, already aware of the issue. "And how do we fix that?"
"I'd say once she starts kissing boys… or girls, I don't know what she likes, things will probably improve," I laughed.
Claire shot me a look.
"Don't worry, I bet she'll come back from shopping with a dress. Gloria will make it happen," I concluded.
That made Claire's expression shift into one of annoyance.
"Come on, Claire, Gloria can do things you can't, just like you can do things she can't. No one plays bad cop better than you."
"I don't know if you're complimenting me," she narrowed her eyes.
"I am," I emphasized. "You are an incredible mother, Claire. You take care of four children in your house. God knows I would've hung all four of them by their feet from the second floor and left them there for a while to see if they improved," I joked. But I did something similar once when I visited the orphanage. I got scolded for it.
Claire laughed at my joke, but for a brief moment I could see she was actually contemplating the idea.
Then Gloria and Alex appeared.
"Alex, I've been thinking, and... if you don't want to wear a dress to the wedding, it's not the end of the world," Claire said, looking at her daughter.
"It's all right. I bought one." Alex held up the hanger with the dress, but her mother's reaction was not what she expected.
"Let me see it, Alex," Claire said as she hugged her and pushed her toward the bedroom.
"Mom!" Alex complained.
"Come on! I want to see how beautiful my daughter looks!" Claire continued, her hand firm on Alex's shoulder.
Gloria and I exchanged a look and gave each other a high five, realizing the situation had been resolved. But then, I noticed Manny watching us, and I could see a hint of jealousy on his face.
"Come here, Manny, let's play Empire!" I gestured toward the board game he had brought. His expression changed completely, and he ran to grab the game.
"But this time, I'll be the red one!" Manny bargained.
"No way! I'm always the red one!" I complained like a child.
It was a nightmare playing Empire with Luke - the kid had the attention span of a mockingbird. But we tried our hardest.
After a while, something else happened: Jay suddenly appeared with Phil, whose face was covered in blood.