The Quest for Skye: Chapter 12

Recap: Skye discovered a comet once. I'm convinced she's planning on being a cult leader. She has now made several more plans to hang out with Morgan and Tammy, including zip-lining because her father is afraid of heights (though one of my readers has brought up the very good question: Why can't Malinda take her to any of these places?).

This chapter is very short, which is just fine with me, because I can really only take so much Skye at a time anyway.

We start right off with a reminder that the Hamiltons are being worn down by that oh-so-charming little girl.

Early the next morning, the weary Hamiltons met Skye and her parents by the lighthouse man.

Maybe she should stop waking them up in the middle of the night and just let them sleep, dang it!

Morgan and Tammy and Skye and the Leontious all go swimming with stingrays, and then the Leontious go back for the conference, having met their quota of time with their daughter for the day and being anxious to leave her in the hands of people not yet exhausted by her bossy pushiness and cutesy condescension. (I can only assume.)

Morgan and Tammy and Skye go on to a butterfly farm, where it turns out Skye is a butterfly magnet. They surround her and land on her, completely astonishing the butterfly keeper and all the people around.

Tammy snapped a few pictures and whispered, “Morgan, who is this child?”

Seriously, what is Rothdiener trying to suggest with all this? Is he suggesting that if I live my life in trusting faith as he claims Skye does, then butterflies will land on me all the time too? Is this a sign that someone is doing the right thing as far as their religion? Or is he really truly trying to imply Skye has some sort of super special power because... well, for no reason at all? (Because, really, making butterflies and dolphins love her is of no practical use other than to make people marvel at her.)

I know I've made this joke before, but I really feel sometimes like he's trying to make her Jesus... which doesn't sit well with me.

We then jump ahead several days, where we learn that Morgan and Tammy pretty much spend all their time with Skye while the Leontious are off conventioning and avoiding their daughter. In the middle of all this summarizing, we do get an all-important scene where Skye sees an outfit in a shop window and asks if they have it in blue. They don't.

WHY IS THAT SCENE THERE?

That better become important later. Although I don't have a lot of faith it will. I feel like it was just a random tidbit.

Finally, finally, the boat enters the Panama Canal.

As the large ship crept through the famous locks, Skye explained its history, offering tidbits of information that astounded them.

Like "did you know this should only have taken like a day?" (OK, admittedly, they are apparently going to other places on their way down to and back from the Canal, but, really, they shouldn't call it "a cruise through the Panama Canal" when it's going all over the place and they're only in the Panama Canal for like a fourteenth of the length of the cruise.)

Morgan and Tammy go to a passenger talent show, where they see the Leontious in the audience, but no Skye. They are worried. WHO WANTS TO BET SKYE IS PERFORMING AND IT WILL AMAZE EVERYONE?

*raises hand*

“Our last musician is known by almost everyone on this ship. How can you not know her? She’s always first to say hello, or assist an elderly person.”

Oh, yup. Here she is. The Girl Who Helps Old People By Making Them Take Pictures For Her After They've Magically Teleported Up Waterfalls.

Morgan and Tammy jumped to their feet, applauding wildly. They were not embarrassed, even though they were the only ones on their feet.

Morgan and Tammy will be the first to join Skye's cult, as they are apparently far more excited about her performance than her parents are.

Skye is going to play the piano tonight:

Like a trained entertainer, she sat on the piano bench, straightening her dress.

I am going to have to use that line sometime. "Man, you sit on that piano bench like a trained entertainer!" Or is it straightening her dress that reveals her training? Either way, apparently one of those is much harder than anyone anticipated and required some training.

Skye plays Pachelbel's Canon in D, and, whaddya know, it amazes everyone. Morgan's crying and Tammy mentally proclaims it to be the highlight of the cruise. (Um. Okay.)

Skye dedicates her song to her parents and then talks about how much fun the cruise is.

“I’ve met some wonderful people. Kim, Zack, Mrs. Scott, and I can’t forget Morgan and Tammy. They’re really special to me.”

She looked out into the auditorium and shouted, “Mom, Dad, I love you, too!”

First of all, it's really convenient that the only people she mentions of the hundreds (possibly thousands) she has met are the few we've actually met. As far as I know, Skye has had zero interaction with Gym Kim and Hunky Zack since that first day. She's just been with Morgan and Tammy the whole time. But they get a shoutout.

But I'm mostly curious as to which "Mom" and "Dad" is she referring to? Her actual parents, or Morgan and Tammy? I think she's talking about the Hamiltons, and it continues to be just weird that she calls them Mom and Dad.

And that's the end. This chapter is literally just there to tell us Skye is a magically perfect piano player and that butterflies like to land on her.

I've glanced ahead at the next chapter, though, and it looks like some plot might actually start happening, so that's going to be fun.

(Chapters 13/14.)