FOUR: CLAIRE

It turned out that the five-hour and forty-five-minute flight in first class wasn't as comfortable as people said if the whole trip I only thought about minions. Yes, minions in quotation mark. I didn't want to explain it because it would only make it harder for me to forget. I even started to be afraid of what we would do for two weeks in Hawaii. I hoped Raviel would be busy with my mother, so that the things that happened on the plane wouldn't come to the surface again.

"How do you feel after landing in Hawaii?"

"Good. It turns out I'm not airsick, and I'm relieved. Yesterday I was worried if I would get airsick. Especially because I was sitting in first class. That would definitely be embarrassing."

“Yeah, and that would be a hassle for the flight attendants. Let’s go.”

“Where are we going? We’re not picking up our luggage at the conveyor?”

“No. Someone has already taken care of our luggage. We’re going straight to the resort.”

“Honey, I can’t wait to spend the night with you. Will there be a surprise for me after we arrive at the resort?”

“Maybe,” Raviel answered nonchalantly.

My mother was clinging to Raviel’s muscular arm affectionately. It was as if she wanted to show all the women who were staring at Raviel with hungry eyes that Raviel was hers. Tsk, my mother was indeed cheesy. I was a little embarrassed by her attitude, so I decided to walk first to the exit.

A man with a thin mustache stood among the people who crowded the arrival gate while carrying a nameplate that said Mr. and Mrs. Marshal. It was sad because I was not a Marshal, but Osborn. I felt like I didn’t belong to them.

“That’s our driver. Come on, Claire, don’t miss out.”

Raviel glanced at me briefly before my mother dragged him towards a white van that was waiting for us in the VVIP parking lot. I sighed softly. Maybe I should have stayed home, spending time watching the collection of action-romance movies that I had downloaded since last month. And yes, even though it was a bit boring, at least I didn't have to hold back my annoyance at seeing my mother being clingy to Raviel.

Oh my, Claire! What’s wrong with you today?

I slapped my cheeks lightly. I felt silly with myself for suddenly becoming possessive of Raviel after what he did on the plane earlier. God, that was embarrassing. I was lucky that Raviel seemed to have gotten over it and didn’t care about the embarrassing incident earlier.

“Claire, you sit in the front.”

“What? B-but…”

My mother glared at me sharply as I was about to get into the back seat. I saw that there was still plenty of space in there since the van could fit six people at once. But my mother insisted that I sit in the front with the driver.

“You’re lucky that Raviel took you on this trip, but that doesn’t mean you can ruin our anniversary celebration. Raviel and I need privacy.”

I clucked my tongue in annoyance and jerked the car door open to sit in the front. The driver glanced at me briefly, but didn’t say anything. He probably thought I was my mother’s assistant, instead of her daughter.

When I looked back, I found a partition separating the front and back seats. Damn, I wouldn’t know what they were doing back there. And I really hated the thought of my mom and Raviel probably having a quickie in the back seat on the way to the resort.

Oh my God! Why did I suddenly become like this? They must have done it a lot during their one year of marriage. What could have made my mom happy all this time other than Raviel’s money? Sex, of course!

“Claire, why don’t you sit in the back?”

“Umm… I just want to see the road more freely.”

I smiled awkwardly at Raviel, who was looking at me with a frown through the window.

“You can see the view from the back seat too. It’s a bit hot in the front.”

“Yeah, I just didn’t want to bother you and my mom. It’s your anniversary after all. You and my mom deserve to have fun.”

Before Raviel could say anything, my mom’s voice interrupted from the back seat. She whined, asking Raviel to get in the car immediately because she was starting to feel hot. She said her hundreds of dollars worth of makeup would melt if the van didn't leave for the resort soon.

“It’s ok, my mom is waiting for you.”

I was relieved that Raviel didn’t try to persuade me to move to the back seat. Tsk, I guess I misunderstood Raviel's kindness all this time. He only sympathized with me because of my mother's attitude towards me, and it didn't mean he was interested in me.

Remember, you’re fat and ugly, Claire!

I sighed softly and leaned my back against the back of the seat. The van started to drive slowly towards our resort. And it turned out that sitting in the front wasn’t so bad if I didn’t keep thinking about my stepdad in my head.

-00-

“Wow, beach!”

I jumped out of the car like a three-year-old girl who was going to the beach for the first time. In fact, I rarely went to the beach. This was the third time. The first time I went to the beach was with my mom’s first husband, Harris Morison. He took me to a beach in LA which was only an hour away from our house when I was eight years old. It was quite a fun experience because I played a lot in the sand and ate sandwiches with Harris under a very big red umbrella.

Honestly, I liked Harris. He and my mother were married for about five years. They divorced because my mother was caught cheating on him with one of Harris's office friends. I was ten years old at the time. I already understood adult problems. My mother and Harris had a big fight for days. My mother kicked Harris out of the house, and two weeks later my mother and Harris officially divorced.

Harris and I never got to say goodbye properly because my mother kicked Harris out of the house in the middle of the night. And my mother never allowed Harris to come near our house again, let alone meet me. I always prayed to God that he would find a better woman than my mother and have a happy little family, like he had always dreamed of.

"I'll show you where your room is."

"Eh."

I flinched in surprise when Raviel whispered right in my ear. His warm breath tickled the back of my neck and made my heart beat fast.