“Do not be ridiculous,” they said dismissively. “I told her there was no need for violence.”
Which meant she had threatened violence, and that didn’t make him feel any better.
As they headed for the exit, Nan remained tucked under Bryce’s arm as Zef towed her wheelie bag behind them. She launched into the story of how she and Zef had been planning this since April, and how it had been so difficult keeping it a secret. Bryce gazed at Zef over the top of Nan’s head, and when the Mantodea smiled at him, his heart gave an insistent throb inside his chest.
Chapter nineteen
Nicknames and Nipples
Zef
Nan stayed with themfor two weeks. She slept in Bryce’s bed, and Bryce slept on an air mattress in the living room. It was not ideal, but they could work with it temporarily.
Since Bryce had classes and Zef worked, Nan had to entertain herself on weekdays, but she waved off any concern they raised.
“I got a whole demon city to explore. Don’t you worry about me.”
As she wandered around the Pentagram, she sent Zef pictures of her exploits. She joined a tour group that rode a bus through the entire city, stopping in each district to show off historical landmarks. One day, she went to the nude beach in Envy, sending Zef voice-notes of all the different kinds of genitals she saw.
When asked if she was nude on the beach, she said, “What kind of question is that? When in Rome, right?”
Zef did not know what that meant, but since they also did not want to know if Nan was actually naked at the beach at that moment, they decided not to ask.
On Thursday, Nan went with Bryce to one of his practical lessons on a farm outside Gluttony district. She sent Zef pictures then too, of Bryce caring for a pregnanttortonand giving immunizations to a flock of hunlets. And, of course, selfies of them both during Bryce’s lunch break.
Friday, as they neared the lunch rush, Dex walked into the kitchen and said, “Yo, Zef, I got an old lady with crackin’ pink hair out here asking for you, my dude.”
“That is Nan, Bryce’s grandmother,” they said, before asking Glyma, “May I give her a tour of the kitchen?”
“Of course, I would love to meet her,” Glyma agreed as she wiped her hands on her apron.
“Nan, why didn’t you tell me it was you?” Dex said as Zef followed him out of the kitchen. “Zef has told us all about how you’re here visiting, which is super dope. I would have let you go back right away if I’d known it was you.”
On the other side of the bakery case, Nan waved at Zef exuberantly. “I didn’t know Zef was talking about me. It better be good things.”
“Oh, totally, Nan-Banan. Zef would never talk bad about you or anyone. They’re pretty top tier like that,” Dex said with a grand smile at Zef.
“Ha, Nan-Banan. I like it,” she said, and Dex’s fluffy tail wagged.
“Yeah, nicknames are kind of my thing.”
Rusty, who was doing his best to become one with the bakery case, winced. “No, not the nicknames.”
Ignoring him, Dex pointed two claws at Cya behind the espresso machine. “We got The Silent Cya, slithering assassin, caffeinator percolator, the macchiatah killah!”
With a rattle of their tail, Cya ripped the tea towel from their shoulder and slapped it on the counter. “That doesn’t even rhyme, Dex!”
“It does if you say it right.” Dex clicked this tongue and shot finger guns at them, and they snarled wordlessly. Swiveling his arms to point at Rusty, he said, “And over here in this corner—”
“No,” Rusty whined.
“—we’ve got Rustorama, The Ruskrat, the coolest cat this side of the Pentagram.”
“Not a cat,” Rusty growled.
“He’s pink, he’s purrfect—get it? ’Cause he purrs—and he is ready to par-tay!”
“I’m really not,” Rusty mumbled glumly. “I hate parties.”
