Event 7E:  Claribel's Just Grievance

Boy, was I tired!!  All that fighting wore me out.  Now what was 
bothering me so much a while ago?  Cara.  I get out of bed and head 
downstairs, forgetting for the moment that I'm wearing only a T-shirt 
and underpants.  "Mama, Papa?"  I called out.

	"We're in the kitchen," Sharon replied.  I walk in and find 
Sharon sewing something and Kerwin cooking something.  "You're rather 
underdressed, aren't you, Claribel?"

	"I'm aware of that, Mama," I replied, "but I need to talk to you 
really, really badly."  I then grab Sharon and pull her into the 
living room.  "Sit, sit, sit," I urge, indicating the couch.

	"Claribel Mei'ou, what's gotten into you?"  Sharon demanded, 
puzzled by my behavior.

	"Mama, please!!"  I whined.  Sharon sits down and I sit down on 
her lap and wrap an arm around my waist.  Actually, I wanted Sharon's 
hand on my left hip, giving it some positive attention for once.  "You 
used to hold me like this all the time when I was younger, Mama.  You 
loved me unconditionally.  I used to like these hands holding me and 
these arms comforting me.  I used to smile and giggle as you told me 
how much I'm like you and Papa and how cute I was.  What happened to 
those days, Mama?"

	"I don't know, Claribel," Sharon replied, "but you barely fit on 
my lap now and it's hard to lift you into a hug.  You've grown and 
changed so much on me, Claribel, that I'm astounded even though I knew 
long ago that this would happen.  And you still have a long way to 
go."

	"Mama, am I really here because of a deal you and Papa made with 
Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion?"  I asked Sharon, shedding a 
tear.  "Tell me it's not so."

	"I should have never said that to you in the hospital, 
Claribel," Sharon said as she pulls me closer to her and strokes my 
bottom. "When I get angry with you, I say things I don't really mean.  
Please believe me, Claribel; I wish I could go back and stop myself 
from having said that to you, but I can't.  I never really noticed how 
vulnerable you are when it's just you and me.  You just did your duty 
as Young Pluto dutifully without complaining when I started your 
training.  You tried to take the teasing and taunts you experienced in 
school as stoically as you could.  I never realized that you need to 
know that you're loved and cherished especially now more than ever 
since the power of Sailor Pluto has been awakened inside of you."   
Sharon then kisses me on top of the head and I grab Sharon's chest 
playfully.  "That's how I used to feed you, Claribel."

	"Mama, do you see me all grown up with a chest like yours?"  I 
asked Sharon.  Sharon bursts out laughing and strokes my hair.

	"For right now, I think you should just enjoy being a little 
girl, Claribel," Sharon replied as she grabs my legs and wiggles them 
playfully.

	"I'm concerned about Cara, Mama," I said as I lay down on the 
couch so that Sharon could rub my belly.

	"Oh, really?" Sharon prompted me.  "Why is that?"

	"Cara is just a baby compared to the rest of us, Mama," I said 
as Sharon lifts my shirt to massage my tummy as she had done when I 
was a small child.  "Cara is only two or three years old and she has 
to get in there and get beaten up trying to prove what?  It's not 
fair."

	"I know, Claribel," Sharon agreed as she rubs my belly.  "It's 
not fair that Cara has to prove herself in such a manner, but she is a 
Sailor Scout as you are, Claribel."

	"But, Mama, can't you talk to Neo-Queen Serenity and arrange an 
alternate test for Cara?"  I asked Sharon.  "You have influence with 
the Queen."

	"Yes, but nothing is written in stone, Claribel," Sharon 
replied.  "I can talk to Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion about 
Cara on your behalf, but what they do after that is completely out of 
my hands, honey."

	"I know, Mama," I sighed as I sit up, leaving behind a few of my 
hairs on the couch.

	"I am glad that you're concerned about someone besides yourself 
and your family and friends, Claribel," Sharon said.

	"Correction, Sharon," Kerwin declared as he steps out of the 
kitchen.  "You should be congratulating Claribel on expressing her 
concern by talking it out instead of explosively and impulsively 
acting on it."

	"Hear that?"  Sharon asked me.  "That's a vast improvement from 
last month."

	"Yeah, I thought that you guys were real monsters to me," I 
said.

	"No, we're not mean by nature, Claribel," Kerwin disagreed after 
a pause, "but storming off like a lunatic to do something like burn 
someone's house down is a poor choice for handling your anger.  Your 
mother and I were very disappointed in you."  I lean against Sharon 
for comfort.  I do not like to be lectured.

	"I'm sorry, Papa," I whispered, about to cry.

	"Claribel, please don't cry; I'm not angry with you," Kerwin 
soothed as he walks over, sits down next to me on the couch, and hugs 
me.  "Come on, Claribel; cheer up.  I won't bring it up again. I 
promise."  I look up at Kerwin and smile.  "Come on, ladies, I have 
dinner all dished up fer ya."