Breaking Dawn   ::   Meyer Stephenie

“Pity wock! Pity wock!” Claire screamed when he didn’t offer her another choice. She smacked him on the head with her little fist.

“Sorry, Claire-bear. How about this pretty purple one?”

“No,” she giggled. “No poopoh.”

“Give me a clue. I’m begging, kid.”

Claire thought it over. “Gween,” she finally said.

Quil stared at the rocks, studying them. He picked four rocks in different shades of green, and offered them to her.

“Did I get it?”

“Yay!”

“Which one?”

“ Aaaaawl ob dem!!”

She cupped her hands and he poured the small rocks into them. She laughed and immediately clunked him on the head with them. He winced theatrically and then got to his feet and started walking back up toward the parking lot. Probably worried about her getting cold in her wet clothes. He was worse than any paranoid, overprotective mother.

“Sorry if I was being pushy before, man, about the girl thing,” I said.

“Naw, that’s cool,” Quil said. “It kind of took me by surprise is all. I hadn’t thought about it.”

“I bet she’d understand. You know, when she’s grown up. She wouldn’t get mad that you had a life while she was in diapers.”

“No, I know. I’m sure she’d understand that.”

He didn’t say anything else.

“But you won’t do that, will you?” I guessed.

“I can’t see it,” he said in a low voice. “I can’t imagine. I just don’t… see anyone that way. I don’t notice girls anymore, you know. I don’t see their faces.”

“Put that together with the tiara and makeup, and maybe Claire will have a different kind of competition to worry about.”

Quil laughed and made kissing noises at me. “You available this Friday, Jacob?”

“You wish,” I said, and then I made a face. “Yeah, guess I am, though.”

He hesitated a second and then said, “You ever think about dating?”

I sighed. Guess I’d opened myself up for that one.

“You know, Jake, maybe you should think about getting a life.”

He didn’t say it like a joke. His voice was sympathetic. That made it worse.

“I don’t see them, either, Quil. I don’t see their faces.”

Quil sighed, too.

Far away, too low for anyone but just us two to hear it over the waves, a howl rose out of the forest.

“Dang, that’s Sam,” Quil said. His hands flew up to touch Claire, as if making sure she was still there.