The first ‘night’ on our temporary base, in the tunnels outside Justin’s dream wasn’t too bad. We measure ‘night’ here by the times in which Joy sleeps. For all the Dreamers who appear, our ‘day’ is their nighttime, while they are asleep in their own beds.
Joy fell asleep on the slightly slimy floor of one of the tunnels.
Suzy and I don’t sleep. We do in the waking world, but here we are Justin’s creation of the parents he knows, made permanent by Joy. One of the few changes is: We never need to sleep. So we sit on our lawn chairs on top of Justin’s Shroom and talk, while Master Mind stands watch without moving or commenting, and while a few Fairy Flies land here and there on Suzy’s hat.
Soon, Charlie comes in from the tunnel. He lets Joy sleep.
Then Justin enters the tunnel and wakes Joy up.
While Joy wakes up, Madelyn appears as well.
“Before we do anything, Joy has to brush her teeth,” Justin shows her the toothbrush and toothpaste that usually hang on the sabretooth’s teeth in her cabin. In his other hand he produces one of the many bottles of water made permanent on Bonny’s Revenge.
Joy, still groggy from sleep, makes a face, but takes the toothbrush.
“Zhoy sleeps in her, uh, clothes?” Madelyn says, forgetting for a moment a word in English then remembering it.
Joy looks around, confused, holding the toothbrush and the toothpaste in her hands.
“Joy, what’s the matter?” Charlie says.
“This is just… strange. How can I brush my teeth without a plank?”
“What do you mean?” Justin says.
“This is strange, Dad!” Her hand shakes as she pushes toothpaste out onto the toothbrush.
“The Little Pirate’s hand is shaking,” Master Mind says.
“I’m okay, it’s just strange!”
“Do you not brush your teeth every day, Zhoy?”
Joy opens her mouth and tries to put the toothbrush in it, but can’t.
“Holy cow!” Justin is flabbergasted. “What’s the matter? You do do this every day! I see you do it!”
“But on a plank, Dad! Hanging upside down! And I use ocean water! And my ponytail is upside down!”
It is true. Every day I’ve seen her brush her teeth by hanging upside-down on the plank while Justin almost dunks her in the ocean water. She had never gotten used to Suzy’s offer of doing it in the bathroom at home.
Joy tries again, but feels too awkward and stops. “This is just weird.”
“Joy, seriously. You can brush your teeth standing up!”
“It’s weird, Dad! You try it!”
“I believe I can solve this complication,” Master Mind says and extends his arm forward. “Climb aboard, Little Pirate.”
Joy grabs his arm, bounces off his torso, and ends up hanging upside down on his arm by her legs. Upside-down, she begins to brush her teeth.
“This is much better,” she says with a mouth full of toothpaste. “Master Mind, I’m going to spit.”
Master Mind takes a step forward, so that Joy is hanging upside-down above the abyss. We all gasp and shout in horror: “Jeez!” “No!” “Holy shit!” and “Merde!” But no one can move towards her without unbalancing her.
Suzy has her fingers in her mouth. My face is contorted. Charlie hides his eyes. Madelyn digs her fingernails into the sides of her wheelchair.
All this while Justin says, “You guys are making a big deal out of nothing. She’s fine!”
Joy spits into the seemingly bottomless abyss and Master Mind takes a step back.
“Ready for adventure!” she says. “Let’s go!”
—Told by Grampa Walt