Page 26 of The Pacifist
Jonah made a sound between a snort and a laugh. “Yeah, it’s really hard to know if Magni is angry or happy. I can never tell.”
“Very funny, Jonah.” I rose up and helped him put on the sheet. “It still surprises me how often you use irony and sarcasm. Are you sure you’re not the son of a Northlander?”
“It’s a possibility. Tristan and I are the same age and he was fathered by Finn long before the integration began.”
“You’re right.” I stopped and thought about it. “That would bring us back to the discussion of nature versus environment. Will a bird know how to sing like its ancestors did if no other bird is around to teach it the melody?”
“You mean, how did I get my wicked sense of humor in a place where everyone is nice?”
“Yes! You’re like the wolf that grew up with dogs and began howling even though no one had shown it how.”
Jonah finished making the bed and picked up the dirty bed sheets from the floor. “Sorry to disappoint you, Milove, but I’m not a lonely wolf howling in a pack of dogs. My siblings are like me and use irony and sarcasm all the time.”
“But why is that?”
He shrugged. “We studied the past to make Nostalgia Park as authentic as possible. Every movie and book we could get our hands on was consumed raw to apply the old-fashioned expressions when we worked in the park. People get a real kick out of our being rude, direct, and speaking like they did back in that time period. I guess it just rubbed off on us.”
“I can’t wait to see that place and meet your other siblings.”
Jonah moved around in the kitchen side of the room. “They won’t all be there, but Cole, my older brother, is head of operations and you’ll meet him for sure.”
“I’ve heard about him from Hunter.”
“Yeah? Why are you grinning?”
“Because wasn’t Cole the one who brought Hunter to the sex club?”
With his hand on his fridge, Jonah wrinkled his brow. “Hunter told you about that?”
“Actually, he told Solo, who told Willow, who told me.”
“Wow, people talk, huh?”
“They sure do. The rumor is that Cole is something of a sex expert.”
A small snort came from Jonah.
“You disagree?”
“No, I’m just not sure sex is something anyone would want to be considered an expert on.”
“Why not?”
Jonah reached for some cheese in the fridge and smelled it. “I’m not sure this is still good. Here, try and sniff.”
I leaned closer. “Smells fine to me. You were saying?”
“Huh?”
“About Cole being a sex expert.”
“Oh, right. I’m just saying that it’s not something to brag about. Sex is still frowned upon by many.”
“Really? Even with public figures like your sister and Salma Rose being in relationships?”
“Maybe the attitude is changing, but for the older generations sex is still seen as something only romantics and naturephiles would do.”
“How can people object to something so natural?”
