Page 137 of The Pacifist
“Are you having a bridal tournament when you’re older?”
Lowering her brow, Freya scanned all the large Nmen waiting in line in front of the tent. “I doubt it. My mom would be crying for weeks if I did. She says I need to find a partner who can make me laugh more.”
“A comedian?”
Freya gave another shrug. “I’m too serious for my own good, but it’s just that most people bore me, especially children my own age. It’s not that I don’t have a sense of humor. I know a lot of Nman jokes.”
“Really? Well let’s hear one then.”
“Okay.” Freya delivered the joke with confidence. “A man went to a barber shop for a shave. The barber asked him to put a wooden ball in his mouth so he could get a closer shave around his cheeks. ‘But what if I swallow the ball?’ the man asked and the barber replied rather casually, ‘No problem, you just bring it back tomorrow like everyone else.’”
My laugh made Freya smile. “That’s a good one.”
“Now you tell me a joke.”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m terrible with jokes.”
“Come on Jonah, everyone knows at least one joke.”
“All right!” I rubbed my forehead but only one from my childhood came up. “A patient complains to the doctor, ‘I think I’m starting to forget things.’ The doctor asks, ‘Since when have you had this condition?’ The patient answers, ‘What condition?’”
She tilted her head to the left. “It’s not a bad joke, but your delivery sucks.”
“More stickers.” Leo came walking toward us with a large box in his hands.
“Excellent, you just saved me from embarrassing myself in front of Freya with more bad jokes.” I took the box from him and walked inside the tent where the line of people was moving slowly and men were greeting Anne, Mila, and Shelly, the three celebrities on duty with me.
“I’m so hungry,” Anne whispered to me when I joined her in the line. “When are the others coming to replace us?”
“Any minute now,” I whispered back.
Just a few minutes later we looked to the tent opening. By now we’d learned to recognize the rise in volume from the voices of the people outside. Sure enough, Tristan and Salma Rose walked in with their guards keeping people away. She was a world superstar and a professional at meeting fans. After greeting us in her warm fashion, she went to work immediately, replacing Anne, who still looked a bit star-struck whenever Salma was around.
I knew from Mila that Salma suffered from anxiety and that she preferred for Tristan to stay close to her. It was fun to see how he did most of the small talk, selling Khan while Salma smiled and placed a sticker on the shoulder of the people who came to meet her. “Don’t forget to vote for our friend Khan,” it said above the exit of the tent.
Hunter and his wife Emanuela strolled into the tent more than ten minutes past their shift’s beginning. “Tristan, Mila… look who we found outside.” Hunter grinned and pulled an Nman his own size in with him.
“Nero, my friend.” Tristan stepped out of the line to greet the man with that arm-grasp, shoulder-slapping thing that Nmen preferred. “I haven’t seen you since the reunion. What have you been up to?”
“Mostly, I’m keeping out of trouble.” Nero’s eyes were full of life and although tall and fit, he wasn’t an intimidating giant like Solo, Magni, and some of the guards. With his boyish grin Nero seemed friendly and approachable.
“Who is he?” Anne leaned against me and spoke into my ear.
“I don’t know. Maybe he went to school with them.”
Mila gave him a bright smile. “Nero, it’s good to see you.”
“Same. How is your little dog doing? They said on the News that he survived the operation after that stupid attack.”
“Loki is recovering fine, thank you for asking.”
Tristan still had a hand on Nero’s shoulder but turned to his wife. “Salma my rose, this is my old friend, Nero. He was at the school and used to drive Raven mad and come up with the best pranks.”
Salma held out both hands to Nero and gave him a warm smile. “May peace surround you.”
“Thank you and same to you.” His eyes lowered to the small bump on her stomach before he gave a questioning look to Tristan.
“You didn’t know? It’s all the News is talking about these days.” Tristan grinned at me. “When they aren’t busy discussing Jonah Cervici, of course. Is or isn’t Salma Rose expecting?” Tristan’s easy laughter filled the tent and he spread out his hands. “I’m happy to tell you that she is. I’m going to be a dad.”
