"I presumed the fourth class would be an umbrella category. And remember, you said three at first. I'm not old enough that my memory's going yet." Or drunk enough. She's just drunk enough for bad judgment.

She nods, suddenly somber. "When you teach a child to look for a punchline, you're giving them the skills to step back, for a moment, from the immediate tragedy and devastation of a situation. You're teaching them opportunism."

She runs her teeth over her lip. There's a lipstick stain on her front teeth, the result of doing that over and over again. "And that may be a dirty word to some, but it makes a natural problem-solver."

And a natural tactician, she tells herself, and runs her fingers just under her eyes.

"So prepare yourself. Disarming ourselves of that humor puts us at an unfair disadvantage," she concludes, following Daniel back over to the mummy. "So. Bob. How old is Bob?"