Clio

Clio
I again shouted, “are we there yet!” even higher and louder than last time and Dad turned around and shouted “No!” even higher and louder. Baby Tio was screaming even louder behind me and Mom turned around and said, “Clio, we are going to meet your first cousin once removed so remember what we told you and be on your best girl behavior. Do you know what that is?”
“Is he your brother?” I said, pretty sure her only one was Uncle Gordo and I knew for a fact that he was in San Francisco.
“No, and he is not Daddy’s brother either.”
Then why do they call him cousin? I wondered. The next thing I thought of was that horrible Orleans-something French or Britton family we went to last year. “Is he nice?”
“Well, he is. In fact, he is a writer.”
I was immediately entranced. “Have I ever met him before?”
“You have, but you don’t remember it. It was on the Island of Figi on the first day of the new Millenium. You remember the pictures don’t you?”
I couldn’t believe it! “The surfer looking man?”
Dad stopped the vehicle by the front door of Grand Ma’s and Grand Pa’s house and there he was, looking right at me from the table. The very first thing I noticed was he was wearing this beautiful silk fluffy shirt. Is he from England, I wondered? He smiled and came up to me and leaned down and hugged the top of my body, like he didn’t get down to my level, but it was gentle when pressed against me. He was strong, and older than I imagined. Then I looked over and there he was! “Hello, Doll,” Grand Pa said when saw me. I couldn’t believe it! Grand Pa had a green and a red and a black wire sticking out of his head. My first cousin once something-ed with the weird silk shirt hat had done it to Grand Pa! Then there was just a whole lot of confusion and then he was showing Grand Pa a something-o-gram on a very sweet laptop.
While the rest of them ate, I had to play with Tio, who screamed the entire time, so I had to go out to the side just to run away from her. On the other side of the tree, there he was! He said, “I do care for you. Very much, but I think you should take the it and stay longer.” Where? Who was he talking to? I heard only ‘separation’ ‘lawyer’ ‘treatment’ then he put his communicator down and went back inside and I ran.
I watched him eat and then I went up to Mom and showed her my new story right in front of him. He was busy trying to convince Grand Pa about something about science like he didn’t know that nobody except for me can convince Grand Pa about anything. Then there was a whole lot of confusion and everybody suddenly went to the living room and Mom said to me, “Have you asked him yet?” I am sure he heard her and suddenly he sat down right next to me.
I was nervous, so a told him. “Did you know that I have written a book?”
“Why, no, I didn’t!” he said.
“Yes and it is named…” and I told him. He smiled. “Mom says you are a writer?”
“Yes, I am writing the book called the Rev-something Fist.”
“What does that mean?”
“A Rev-something is a man who returns from a long journey.” Then he tipped his head way to the side on the couch like I had never seen a grown up do before and he repeated himself, almost. “A man who returns from a long journey as a ghost.” Yuk. “And Fist means the ‘first to another star journey.’ What was the first trip to another star like? He must be so smart, I was amazed. And suddenly I looked down and he looked down, then he looked at me and I looked at him. He was suddenly my friend, there, next to me but I didn’t know hardly anything about him. He didn’t say anything but I was thinking that he was going to. And I was also thinking I would, but I didn’t either. He looked in my eyes like he had always known me. But more than that like he was looking at an Angel. Does this mean he will be my friend for life?