Page 94 of The Pacifist
“Has he lost his mind?” Leo exclaimed. He was standing next to Zasquash, who shouted down the hallway, “Willow, Darlene, come in here… you gotta hear this.”
My wristband began vibrating right away with incoming calls from my dad and Pearl.
“Did you know Jonah was in love with you?” Solo asked while Raven reached for Nora and nodded to my wristband, silently asking if I was going to answer.
“I… I…” My thought and words were stumbling on top of each other and nothing came out.
“She’s shocked,” Leo concluded.
“What is it?” Willow came into the living room followed by Darlene. "We were going through the baby stuff that Darlene wants to borrow."
“Jonah just declared that he loves Mila,” Solo told them.
Willow frowned. “What’s new about that? The two have been inseparable ever since our wedding.”
“No, he loves her in a romantic way, and he’s coming to fight in her tournament.”
Willow, who was holding a white baby blanket in her arms, wrinkled her forehead. “You’re not going to let him, are you, Mila? It would be suicide for sure.”
Everyone was speaking around me and I was still trying to get my tongue to work when Raven spoke for me.
“Mila isn’t having a tournament.”
“Shut up, Raven, that’s not funny,” Zasquash exclaimed.
“I’m serious. She’s not having a tournament.”
“But what about all the fighters? Morris, Conlan, and some of our other colleagues are fighting for her.”
Crossing her arms, Raven stood up for me. “It’s not happening. Mila already told her parents.”
Solo looked to Zasquash. “But I heard Conlan talk about it, just yesterday.”
“Yes, and Jonah clearly thinks the tournament is still on. Jeez, those guys are going to kill him if he fights them. Has he ever fought anyone?”
“Not unless you count the times that I’ve challenged him to thumb wrestling.” Raven sounded amused. “Maybe his two victories gave him a scent for more fighting, but it doesn’t matter because there’s not going to be a tournament.”
“Raven is right, Jonah isn’t fighting in my tournament because I’m not having one.” I finally spoke the words.
“Tell me you’re kidding.” Zasquash’s arms fell down. “I’ve been looking forward to that weekend since forever, and I had saved up money to gamble on Conlan.”
“Can we keep it between us, please? My parents asked me to think it over and give them a final answer tomorrow night. I don’t want you to spread the news until it’s official.”
Zasquash sat down with a deep sigh. “To think of all the hours I spent in the gym training with Conlan. I was going to make so much money on him when he won.”
Darlene stroked his back. “It’s okay.”
Zasquash looked up at her. “I wanted to win that money for you and the baby.”
“I know, but money isn’t everything.” She gave him a loving smile.
We had all gotten distracted from the Council meeting, and I walked over to stand closer to the screen where two presenters were now speaking.
“It’s been a very bizarre Council meeting. First, we were told it would be public and then chairman Isobel, chose to cut parts of the meeting and make it classified. We were then allowed to hear Jonah’s passionate speech, which I have to say came as a surprise to many.”
The other commentator agreed, “Yes, not only was his message very personal, but he was also presenting it with a different off-script style that has to have influenced the Council members.”
“Well, we’re about to find out since the Council members are getting ready to cast their votes on whether or not Jonah Cervici will be allowed to stay on the Council.”
