She was making up traditions on the spot. It was ridiculous, and she knew it. ‘Now. I want the parents to stand in front of me.’ She slapped the father’s face, then the mother’s face, got them both to admit their worthlessness as parents in training, and when they cried, she applied their tears to the baby’s forehead. ‘Tears and laughter are the only common language between all people on earth.’ Everyone liked that. Whoever had a tear was welcome to moisten Jack’s precious brow.
