Wonderful Life with fucking swear words. Fucking cretins.”
I thought about it long and hard, discussed it with Rabia and finally decided I would stay with the show for at least another season. Lucia decided the same thing and in the end, I’m glad we both did because neither Dove nor Lavinia left that year. They were both offered hefty pay raises and there was no more talk of being bored with their characters.
“Bloody hell,” David said. “Why didn’t we think of that?”
Lucia and I couldn’t help but agree.
62
Once Crispin was born, Rabia continued working on her dissertation and when it was completed she took a Uni-versity job teaching foreign languages to a student body of Unis.
I was somewhat skeptical of this decision, wondering what kind of impression it would give our son when he became old enough to start asking questions.
“What will he think? He’s not a Uni and neither am I.”
“But, I am,” Rabia replied. “And he won’t think, he’ll know that his moms love all Mues.”
“That’s my point. Why do you have to teach at a Uni-versity? Why not just a Mue-versity?”
“Are you aware of how few Unis there really are in the world? Do you realize that in some countries we are still hunted down and killed for study, or even worse, for our bodies to be displayed in a fucking museum? Are you aware that some Unis are being held in prison camps right at this very moment, while others are in cages at some fucking zoo ?”
I could see I hit a nerve. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about all that. I apologize.”
But, sorry didn’t cut it. Rabia stayed mad at me for days, even going so far as to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms and only speaking to me when it was about Crispin.
After that, I never again questioned what she wanted to do in her professional life. Whatever it was, it was fine by me. And if our son had any questions about it when he was older, I intended to let Rabia do all the talking.
63
One night when I got home from work, Rabia told me that someone had stopped by to see me but had refused to say who he was. Instantly, I thought, Oh, gods! Stalker! And tried to do the math in my head to see if it was time for psycho masturbation boy to be released from prison yet. When I concluded that it was still far too early, I asked Rabia to physically describe the person.
“Male,” she said, bouncing Crispin on her knee. “Young, early twenties probably. A Skin. Really, the most gorgeous dolphin Skin I’ve ever seen. He was quite attractive actually.”
My heart had stopped and my jaw hung open. Rabia couldn’t help but notice the expression and asked what was wrong.
“It was Zion.”
Her stare was empty. “Who?”
“My fucking brother Zion!”
“I didn’t know you have a brother.”
“Well, I don’t. Not really. Not anymore. But I used to, a long time ago and obviously he thinks I still do. Why else would he be coming here?”
Rabia was bewildered, but thankfully, not angry. She didn’t care that I had kept my family a secret from her as I had kept them a secret from everyone I’ve ever met after I left the carnival. She only cared that I was upset and after I told her the full story of my upbringing, she became upset as well.
“Do you think he wants money?”
“Probably. What else could the fucker want? To get all touchy-feely with his big sis? I fucking doubt it.”
She agreed that that was probably not the motive and lacking another, we had to conclude that it was in fact money.
“Well, fuck that,” I said. “Those people never gave me shit, so that’s exactly what they’ll get in return.”
“Maybe he read about Crispin in the papers,” she suggested. “Maybe he wants a relationship with his nephew.”
I laughed bitterly. “Yeah, maybe he’s acting on behalf of my parents, as a
I thought about it long and hard, discussed it with Rabia and finally decided I would stay with the show for at least another season. Lucia decided the same thing and in the end, I’m glad we both did because neither Dove nor Lavinia left that year. They were both offered hefty pay raises and there was no more talk of being bored with their characters.
“Bloody hell,” David said. “Why didn’t we think of that?”
Lucia and I couldn’t help but agree.
62
Once Crispin was born, Rabia continued working on her dissertation and when it was completed she took a Uni-versity job teaching foreign languages to a student body of Unis.
I was somewhat skeptical of this decision, wondering what kind of impression it would give our son when he became old enough to start asking questions.
“What will he think? He’s not a Uni and neither am I.”
“But, I am,” Rabia replied. “And he won’t think, he’ll know that his moms love all Mues.”
“That’s my point. Why do you have to teach at a Uni-versity? Why not just a Mue-versity?”
“Are you aware of how few Unis there really are in the world? Do you realize that in some countries we are still hunted down and killed for study, or even worse, for our bodies to be displayed in a fucking museum? Are you aware that some Unis are being held in prison camps right at this very moment, while others are in cages at some fucking zoo ?”
I could see I hit a nerve. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about all that. I apologize.”
But, sorry didn’t cut it. Rabia stayed mad at me for days, even going so far as to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms and only speaking to me when it was about Crispin.
After that, I never again questioned what she wanted to do in her professional life. Whatever it was, it was fine by me. And if our son had any questions about it when he was older, I intended to let Rabia do all the talking.
63
One night when I got home from work, Rabia told me that someone had stopped by to see me but had refused to say who he was. Instantly, I thought, Oh, gods! Stalker! And tried to do the math in my head to see if it was time for psycho masturbation boy to be released from prison yet. When I concluded that it was still far too early, I asked Rabia to physically describe the person.
“Male,” she said, bouncing Crispin on her knee. “Young, early twenties probably. A Skin. Really, the most gorgeous dolphin Skin I’ve ever seen. He was quite attractive actually.”
My heart had stopped and my jaw hung open. Rabia couldn’t help but notice the expression and asked what was wrong.
“It was Zion.”
Her stare was empty. “Who?”
“My fucking brother Zion!”
“I didn’t know you have a brother.”
“Well, I don’t. Not really. Not anymore. But I used to, a long time ago and obviously he thinks I still do. Why else would he be coming here?”
Rabia was bewildered, but thankfully, not angry. She didn’t care that I had kept my family a secret from her as I had kept them a secret from everyone I’ve ever met after I left the carnival. She only cared that I was upset and after I told her the full story of my upbringing, she became upset as well.
“Do you think he wants money?”
“Probably. What else could the fucker want? To get all touchy-feely with his big sis? I fucking doubt it.”
She agreed that that was probably not the motive and lacking another, we had to conclude that it was in fact money.
“Well, fuck that,” I said. “Those people never gave me shit, so that’s exactly what they’ll get in return.”
“Maybe he read about Crispin in the papers,” she suggested. “Maybe he wants a relationship with his nephew.”
I laughed bitterly. “Yeah, maybe he’s acting on behalf of my parents, as a
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