Clawen • What comes next

|| CHAPTER 30 ||

           

They dug into their food, almost aggressively. Not much was said and Maisie was especially quiet. She took her time to run everything through her mind and find out how she felt about it. Not that she had a lot of opinions. Mostly she just hoped they would have a wedding so she got to wear a pretty dress, but not too pretty because Claire was going to wear a big white princess dress. She smiled to herself, thinking about her mom looking so beautiful, like a fairy. "What are you smiling at?" Claire asked, when she glanced over at the girl and found her with a cheeky grin on her face. Maisie looked up flustered. "Oh eh...Doesn't matter" She said, trying to wave it off and took another bite of her food. Claire looked at her with wonder, really wanting to know what was going on inside of that small head.

Owen was snacking on the fries, looking up at Claire here and there. Then he got one of his stupid ideas and couldn't help but go through with it. He looked in the basket for an onion ring, the right size. Finding one, he asked Claire for her hand which earned him a puzzled look from her but she went with it and reached over the table. "Here" He said and put the onion ring on her finger. Looking at the onion then up at him, she burst out laughing, just like when they argued over who left who. She left him, not important, at the moment though. "This is my ring then?" She asked, giggling, inspecting it as if it was a real diamond ring. "What's wrong with it" Owen asked her innocently, like he hadn't just spent a whole five seconds looking for a small onion ring. The look on his face was good, almost so good that Claire fell for his sorry pout. But she was better. "I want it bigger" She said in a challenging tone with squinted eyes. He looked back at her with the exact same look in his eyes and slowly reached over to the basket and found a bigger ring. Pulling it out carefully as you would with something valuable. He put his hand out, palm up to lay it down carefully on it. "Ma'am" He said, he could see she was trying to hold back a laugh. Covering her mouth with a hand as she inspected the huge onion. "Yes, this will do" She said in her oh so bossy manner and took of the small ring. He grabbed it and threw it into his mouth. Picking up the bigger ring, he carefully slipped it on her finger, careful of not breaking it. She inspected it and gave him a satisfied nod, before biting it off.

Maisie started laughing and Owen joined in right after. Claire looked at them very amused and a shy smile crept across her face. She realized how lucky she was to be stuck with this small pack of weirdos. Smirking at herself, she hoped they would always be by each other's sides and that Maisie would stay with them as well. Even when she got old enough to move out, that she would at least stay for a bit and then not move that far away. In the few weeks Claire had known the girl, she had grown extremely attached to her and was barely able to remember her life before they met.

After deciding that it was time to leave, they paid the bill and went outside. Owen thought back to their silly moment at the diner and realized that Claire should get a ring. She deserved the biggest most glamorous ring out there. Problem was, he couldn't afford that kind of ring. It had to do her justice. Seeing as they were already engaged and it was no surprise anymore, Owen suggested that they went into a jewelry store to have a look, before they headed home. Maisie was over the moon to look at all the shiny diamonds and pretty jewelry. Claire however, didn't see a reason to spend so much money on a ring. "Owen, I don't care about the bling" She told him and he pressed her further into his body as they walked. "But you deserve it" He whispered into her ear. It sent a cold shiver down her spine and she had to close her eyes for a second, to get back to reality. "You really don't have to Owen" She said, looking up at him. He smiled and dragged her to the left, into a shop. Of course, it was a jewelry store, Claire thought.

She looked around with Maisie clinging to her side. Both their mouths slightly open in amusement. Owen couldn't not enjoy the look on their faces. "What did you say about the bling?" He asked and she lightly slapped his arm. "I didn't say I didn't like it" She said back with a laugh.

He dragged his girls over to the counter and told the man behind it to find them a ring that would do the woman justice. He then gestured to Claire who scuffed and slapped his hand away. The man gave Owen a look which he sent right back. He looked a little familiar, Claire thought but pushed that thought to the side, to pay attention to what was happening in front of her.

The man gestured for them to follow him over to another glass box, showcasing a bunch of beautiful rings. Gold and silver and even a few completely black ones, which Maisie was extremely interested in for some reason. "What is the prize range?" The man asked Owen, who started to look a little embarrassed, reaching up to scratch his neck. "Not so good" Owen said and Claire looked up at him. "Don't spend the few cents you have left from the park, on a ring for me. I'll pay" Claire said rubbing his arm. He turned and looked down at her, with a very firm look in his eyes. "No Claire, I can't let you do that, no way" He told her in a begging voice. She rubbed his arm and leaned up to whisper. "I have the money, you don't. You can just make it up for me in another way" Thank god she was holding on to him, because he could feel his legs about to give out. He leaned down to whisper an okay, leaving a kiss behind her ear, which made her knees just as week as his.

After discussing the better prize range and looking through a whole lot of rings. All three of them finally agreeing on one. It wasn't too fancy for Claire and not too big. Owen still thought she deserved something much better but she tried her hardest to convince him, that that wasn't necessary. She eventually got him to give in and they paid for the ring.

Owen asked for the girls to go outside while he waited for the man to put it in a box and get it ready. They looked at him a little confused but did as asked. Claire looked through the big glass windows from the outside and saw the man walking around the counter to hug Owen. She got extremely confused. Maisie saw the look on her moms face and turned to find the source of the confusion. They both saw the two men talking and laughing, with still no idea of how Owen knew the guy. Later Owen came out and gave Claire a kiss before gesturing for them to walk.

They didn't make it far before he turned them down an ally. It wasn't a small one or one of those, that the homeless people hung out at. It was rather prestigious for an ally actually but Claire still got nervous and stopped walking which pulled Owen back, seeing as they were holding hands. "What...Where are we going?" She asked him. He just laughed and told her to trust her. She did, she always trusted Owen. She would trust Owen with her life, which now thinking about it herself, she has done more than once. 10 steps further and they were at a backdoor to what Claire could only assume was one of the shops. Claire looked at him puzzled. Maisie was just holding on to Claire's hand, not knowing what was going on but trusting her parents enough to just follow them wherever. Before Claire could ask anything, the door opened up. It was the same man from behind the desk, which made Claire even more confused. Owen gave him another hug and turned to his two girls.

"Claire, Maisie, This, is my brother, Derek"

I don't know about the name Derek, but it was the first one that came to mind LOL

Also, how about those damn onions huh? ;)

Chapter 30 already? Really? Wow

Side note: If you weren't aware, I have another story (Well I have 4 in total) But I have one where I write oneshots and I do take suggestions so if you have any, feel free to comment here, there, dm me whatever. :)