“Boom.” She added the word for more dramatic effect. “You’ve got yourself a pearl.” The last part, she said, totally normal.
Then she crossed her arms and nodded.
They all waited for the rest of the story.
Barbie, however, said nothing.
“Barbie?” Annie asked.
“Mm?” Barbie replied.
“Why does that matter?” Annie didn’t seem to get the gist of the story.
Thank goodness it wasn’t only Em who found herself totally lost. Barbie told a lot of stories, but usually they at least had a point.
“We have to deal with the things that bug us,” Barbie said, like this was perfectly clear. “Especially when they matter. That way, we can cover them with snot and turn them into pearls.” She lifted her hands like this made sense.
“I don’t think I get it.” Ethan seemed to reflect a lot on a story centered around clam mucus.
“When something matters, you pay attention to it. You don’t just let it annoy you. You don’t just let it fester. And youdon’ttoss it aside. Otherwise, you won’t get your pearl,” Barbie said this as though the story made the gem of a point perfectly clear.
While the story did not, unfortunately, her explanation made sense. But—
“Which one of us is the parasite and which one is covering things in snot?” Em asked.
“We all are!” Barbie smiled brightly, gesturing to everyone. “You’re my parasite and I’m yours. Cress is mine, and Lauren, is too. And you’re theirs. And they’re yours. I’m paying attention to you because you matter. And you are paying attention to me because I matter. Something happened tonight. I have no idea what, but I know that you need to rub boogers all over each other and be happy. Don’t worry! In the end, we’ll have a gorgeous necklace.” This, she said brightly, with an abundance of fanfare.
“I still don’t get it,” Ethan said, seemingly lost.
“I get it.” Em hated that she got it. But she did.
She might be tossing Ethan aside for the wrong reasons, even though they felt right.
Ethan looked at her as though he would like some help to understand.
“I don’t want to be covered in anyone’s snot,” Annie said, horrified. “Can I just spit it out? The sand or Em’s ex-husband?”
“You can,” Ethan said, standing as though he was going to leave. “I reckon, you get to decide what relationships you’re going to cultivate.”
Emmaline glanced up at him.
“And which ones you’re not,” Ethan finished with a nod to Em. “It’s always a choice.”
Uh. Ouch.
Everyone stared at him, and Em realized he would walk away. The thought made her sink deeper into the carpet.
Unfortunately, that helped nothing.
“Are you going to slime her?” Fiona asked—gagged—clearly grossed out. “Like Mr. Clam-Oyster.”
“I’m not sliming anyone.” Ethan held up his hands as though those were words he never should’ve had to say. “Promise.”
“That’s not the point of the story,” Barbie grumbled. “You’re not getting it. The clams pay attention to the thing. They make it a pearl. That’s the point. Don’t throw aside what can be a pearl!”
“The deal was that this was only a ruse for so long.” Ethan nodded, curt. “Now, it’s done.”
Annie’s lips pressed into a thin line as Ethan took her hand and headed back to their house.
