Page 86 of The Champion
“And you’ve had your way for thirty-two years. Maybe let someone else get a say once in a while.”
“I would if I agreed with what they’re saying. Your mom wants to put a tax on meat to make it too expensive for people to eat. That’s never going to happen while I’m in charge.”
“I’m trying to encourage people to eat healthy and avoid the slaughter of innocent animals.”
Khan took a stand with his feet firmly planted on the ground. “For as long as I live, I’ll defend the way of life that we have in the Northlands. No one will ever be a forced vegan while I have something to say.”
“It’s not forced. The tax is a way to motivate people to reconsider their eating habits.”
“I said no, Pearl!”
“See.” Pearl threw her hands up. “He’s impossible.”
“If it helps, it was seeing you two being complete opposites and still loving each other that made me believe in my relationship with Victor,” Freya told her parents.
“That’s sweet, honey,” Pearl said and smiled while Khan sighed.
“Are you saying it’s our fault that you chose a French guy? You bloody well know that I wanted you to pick a strong Northlander.”
“I wanted Victor and you taught me to go after what I want.”
“That I did!” Khan dipped his chin. “And in time, Victor may prove to be useful. We’ll see.”
We all laughed at Khan’s twisted humor because despite his open resistance to our union, he had welcomed me into their family in a way I could have never imagined.
“The trouble with you, Victor, is that I have to mentor you. I don’t blame you for not having a father figure in your life, but I’m making sure you have all the support you need to be a good husband and father like me.”
“That’s debatable,” Pearl muttered.
“What was that?” Khan asked her.
“I’m pretty sure that Victor could teach you as much as you can teach him. For instance, you need to learn how to listen to your wife and respect her ideas.”
“I do listen, and I respect at least half of your ideas. It’s the part that’s shit that I ignore.”
Pearl gave a grimace but didn’t reply because we had reached the end of the street and as we turned the corner, we had a view of a building site where robots flew around with heavy material as if it weighed nothing.
As we walked closer, we watched in fascination as everything happened in an almost poetic flow.
A man spotted us and approached us with a friendly smile. From his size I already knew that he was a Northlander before he opened his mouth.
“Good to see you here, sir.” He dipped his head to Khan and then he gave Pearl a polite “Ma’am” before greeting Freya and me. “Would you like a tour?”
“It’s better if we stay out here in safety,” Pearl insisted while looking down at baby Isobel, who still slept peacefully despite the noise.
“How tall will this building be?” Khan asked the man.
“This one will be six floors tall. We’re adding a floor to the buildings for every street we move out.”
“How long does it take for you to build a house like this?”
“Each floor has six apartments, and it takes about a day to build a floor. This building will be done in a week, and it’ll have room for thirty-six families.”
How many have you built so far?”
The large man shrugged. “I’ve stopped counting. We work in teams of three. One of us must always be present while the robots work, and they work twenty-four/seven. We try to have them do the noisy work during the day, but I think all of us who live here sleep with noise blockers.”
“Not those of us who have a baby we need to hear,” Freya said.
