Page 105 of The Pacifist
“I’m an adult, Freya. I don’t need to ask my dad’s permission.”
Freya came closer and lowered her voice. “Is it true that you’re not having a tournament?”
“Yes.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How did you get out of it?”
I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “I said the magic word.”
Freya leaned closer. “There’s a magic word?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
I looked deep into her green eyes, hoping that this beautiful girl with her brilliant mind and promising future in front of her would remember it forever. “The magic word is no.”
“No?”
“Yes, just no.”
She pulled back. “I thought you were going to teach me a real magic word.”
“Sometimes, the smallest things hold the biggest power. There will come a time when saying no will be the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do. I need you to promise me that you’ll still find the courage within yourself to say no, if yes doesn’t feel right.”
“I know how to say no.” Freya twisted her mouth. “I’ve known since I was two. I swear, sometimes you grown-ups are weird.”
“Yes, we are, and one day you’ll be weird too.”
She shrugged. “My parents told me to wake you up, so you’d better come downstairs.” Giving the dogs a last rub behind their ears, Freya moved to the door before turning to me, “I forgot to tell you that Christina came early and began working her way through the basement. I’m going down to help her.”
“All right. I’ll come and help in a little while.”
I gave my young cousin an air kiss before she closed the door and then I poked at Jonah. “Time to wake up, handsome.”
He made a sound of protest but I rolled on top of his back and kissed his neck. “Wakey, wakey…”
Jonah gave a long yawn. “Can we stay in bed all day?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“I feel dead. How long did we sleep?”
I moved off his back, so Jonah could turn around. He opened his arms and I snuggled up against him.
“It can’t have been more than a few hours.”
“That’s because sex with you is my new favorite thing in the whole world.”
“Ditto.”
Jonah grinned and tickled me. “I never thought anyone or anything would rank higher on your list than your dogs.”
Squirming to get away from his tickling, I grinned. “I know, I’m surprised too.”
We showered and dressed before walking downstairs to get some breakfast. Since the buffet in the dining room had been cleared away, I took Jonah’s hand and led the way to the kitchen, where my friends Sheriff and Jimmy were working on lunch and dinner.
“There you are. We were getting worried that you might be sick,” Sheriff said in his hoarse voice that always made his laughter sound so funny.
