Alex trailed behind Dan and Caroline, the bottom of her evening dress making a sinister whoosh sound against the pavement. She cringed inwardly as she saw Dan lean in to whisper something against Caroline's ear. On purpose, or perhaps not, his lips brushed her ear. That made Alex's lips settle into a tight knot. Even though it was a common understanding between Alex and Dan that they weren't anything more than friends with benefits, Alex still felt twinges of attachment every so often. She couldn't explain it. Maybe it was just the green eyed monster coming out in her.
She wanted to get home now. She needed to be alone. Alone with her loneliness. She felt a scowl cross her face as she noted the order: Caroline and Dan first, followed by David and Joe, and then there was her, a few steps behind like some lady in waiting. The princess and her court, Alex thought bitterly. Caroline had been silver spoon fed her whole life and now that her life wasn't going exactly as she'd planned, she felt the need to make a theatrical drama of it. Alex was near fed up with Caroline's bouts of depression and self-pity. In one way, she wanted to wake her college roommate from her apathy, and in another way, she wanted to shout at Caroline that what she was going through, was nothing new. In fact, it was ordinary life.
"Alex, are you coming with us?" Caroline called over her shoulder, as she held the door of the car that waited for them.
"No, I think I'll just go home," Alex answered sweetly. Then under her breath, she added, "Thank you for remembering me your highness."
Caroline, none the wiser, just flashed her brilliant smile and got into the car.
Alex put her arm around her nephew and slipped him a fifty. She knew what he would use it for and she didn't care. Alex just needed him gone right now. She and Joe had some bonding to do.
"Listen Joe, I'd feel much safer if you went with me. There have been so many muggings and hijacks by the dispossessed--especially of women travelling alone," Alex said, slipping her arm through the graceful crook of Joe's elbow. She was trying to be nice, but not to overdo it: Joe would suspect something was amiss if she were too friendly. Joe had not forgiven her for her rudeness to him upon their first meeting. Actually, Alex found it amusing: a mecha who could hold a grudge.
Unsure, Joe followed Alex to her car. After a slight hesitation, he got in. Alex noticed he didn't hold the door for her. Bastard.
"You don't have a driver?" Joe asked innocently. Alex was painfully aware of how little she earned compared to Dan.
"No." She said shortly. Alex wanted to add that most people in the real world did not have drivers. Nor did they have servants. Nor did they have estates for that matter. Millions were "dispossessed" by the flooding. Suddenly they were back a society of elite landowners and the landless poor. An eternal dilemma played out against the back drop of the twenty second century. It wasn't a lie, there really were dispossessed roaming around, mugging women for money. But they thought big, they targeted women like Caroline, not someone of middling class like herself.
The ride passed in uncomfortable silence. This was the sulking side of Joe. He now considered himself a respected member of the household. He thought he should have been riding with the family in the limo. Apparently, it was too beneath him to ride in a commoner's car.
In truth, Alex thought Joe and Caroline were perfect for one another, just two spoiled and pampered entities who needed a good kick in the backside to wake them up.
It was now or never. She had to do this now. She pulled into a deserted parking lot.
"You know, there are laws against date rape," Joe commented wryly. He wasn't sure what she was up to, but it was undoubtedly no good.
Alex fished around the glove compartment box, searching for the imprinting code.
"Joe, this is very important, so get serious for a moment--I know that's impossible for you."
Joe made a mock-offended face.
"I need you to read something aloud, alright?"
"I knew humans were stupid, but I didn't realize they were completely illiterate!"
"Joe!"
"Alright, alright," he sighed. He paused dramatically.
"Hurry up Joe!" Alex cried, exasperated.
"It adds suspense," Joe said defensively. " Anyway, 'Psyche, Plato, Cloud, Marble, Eros, Oleander, Orchid, Caroline, Joe, Caroline.'"
Alex waited for something spectacular, wonderful, astounding to happen. But nothing did. Joe just looked up from the paper and stared at her, clueless. Had she made a mistake? Should she have told Joe to specifically think of Caroline Hobby? But she was the only Caroline he knew, so how could that make a difference? It occurred to her that if Joe was looking at her while he said the words, he might have accidentally imprinted on Alex.
The thought made her shudder.
"Are you cold?" Joe asked. The worry in his voice made Alex sick.
"Yeah, yeah I am." She thought a moment. "Could I have your jacket?"
"Absolutely not! If you are cold, turn up the heat. Honestly, Alex!"
Inwardly, Alex breathed a sigh of relief. No, Joe was most certainly not pining away for her. But she still wondered if the code worked.
Alex started the car and drove on in absolute befuddlement. She was glad Joe was giving her the silent treatment; the quiet allowed her to think what could have gone wrong. She glanced over at Joe every now and then, wondering what he was thinking about. His face looked a little more blank than usual, as he watched scenery, blackened by midnight, go by.
"Why did Dan go with Caroline?" Joe's question cut through the silence that pervaded the car. Alex didn't dare get her hopes up. She acted as if she hadn't heard him.
"I don't like that." And with that, Joe's irritation burst into full bloom.
"He's sleeping with her isn't he? Isn't he? You would tell me if he was, wouldn't you Alex? What does Caroline think I am, something to be stored in the closet when not in use? Well, it's not her fault, I shouldn't bring her into this. She's just so lonely she's letting Dan use her. But what does she think, that I was assembled yesterday? I saw how she looked at him, she'd give everything to him. And do you know what he would do? He would take. Just take, take, take. But I'm not like that. You know that Alex, despite our differences, you know I would never use Caroline. Tell her that would you? Is she angry with me? He's sleeping with her, I just know he's sleeping with her!"
After a while, Alex ceased listening to Joe's tirade, she was too busy smiling.
*****************************************************
What was this about? Joe was now thoroughly agitated. When he walked through the door, Caroline didn't even greet him with a kiss. No, she was too busy talking and laughing with Dan. Instead she just turned around and giggled, "Hey Joe, whaddya know." Caroline rarely drank, so when she did, she got the giggles, bad. As irritated as Joe was, he had to admit he liked the new epithet she had just bestowed upon him. It was sweet in its insipidty. Perhaps then Caroline wasn't angry with him after all.
"Joe, Caroline was just telling me about your many talents. Ones I didn't even know you had, and I designed you! What is that little dance you do? Will you do it for me?" Dan sputtered.
"For anyone but you." He turned sharply and walked out. He needed to find David. Caroline would be terribly upset if Joe let David disappear. It was a job that Joe had put himself in charge of. It was thankless in most respects, but it did please Caroline.
Where was David? Joe panicked for a moment. What if David never came home? Caroline would never forgive Joe, she might even despise him, even throw him out of the house. A world without Caroline was not one he could comprehend, much less contemplate. He thought about calling David's name and taking the car to go find him when he realized that he had probably taken the money given by his aunt and spent it on….well whatever David did when he wasn't home.
Joe paced for a moment, at a loss at what to do. He wasn't going back in the house, not while that slime of a man basked in Caroline's presence. The rational thing to do would be to go do something that always calmed him, like painting or playing the piano. But Joe was feeling strangely irrational right now. He couldn't explain it. All he could tell himself was that love never was rational.
But I am an intelligent, rational entity, he thought to himself, I need to remember that.
So he found himself seeking out Tony, the servingman. Tony had been in the Hobby's service for six years, he would be able to tell Joe things about Dan and Caroline!
**********************************************
"Does Dan come by the house often?" Joe asked Tony innocently. He knew that Tony's model was too primitive to ever pick up on subtleties of intonation, but Joe wanted to play it safe.
"Far less often than he used to." Tony replied, smiling his vacant, good natured smile. Carefully, very carefully, he put away the dishes, making sure each one went in its precise place.
"Really?"
"When Mr. Hobby was away in Antarctica, Mr. Tagawa was here most everyday, come to think of it, he practically moved in." Tony laughed to himself, like he had made a joke. Joe was far from amused. But Tony didn't notice, he just continued stacking the dishes, smiling his dreamer's smile.
"Mrs. Hobby is very fond of him. Master David likes him too. When Mr. Tagawa was here, he'd take the boy out for ice cream and to the zoo. Sometimes I was allowed to go too! That's very kind of him, don't you think?"
Joe shrugged off that last remark. He was trying to think of a way to phrase his next question so he could get to the heart of what he was burning to know.
"Tony…you said it was like he moved in. Where did he sleep?"
"Why none other than the master bedroom…he was a very honored guest."
If Joe hadn't been sitting down, his equilibrium monitor would have failed him and he would have collapsed to the ground.
"Joe," Tony said.
"Yes?"
"I think you're just swell!"
Joe made an attempt at sincerity.
"I think so too Tony."
Tony just continued to smile. Humans liked smiles, didn't they?
"Let me help you with the last of the dishes, Tony," said Joe. He took one of the plates from Tony's hands. He inspected it closely, turning it over and over in his perfectly formed hands that were neither to big or too small. Finally, Joe tossed the plate to the floor. It made a satisfying crash. Joe looked up at the other robot.
"You need to be more careful Tony."
**************************************************
At around midnight, Dan finally left the Hobby residence--and not a moment to soon for Joe. He wasn't sure how he would broach the subject to Caroline. He wouldn't be accusatory. Oh no, it was not as if he was angry at Caroline, but he wanted Caroline to know right away where he stood with Dan.
Honesty is very important in a relationship.
So are gifts. Joe had taken the trouble to track down David for Caroline. He'd stolen away in the car and driven to that disgusting Ken's house. David had been dragged to the car by his ear, all the while his head lolling, like it was too heavy to support.
Then Joe had hauled David over his shoulder and deposited the boy in his room, but not before making David help gather a bouquet for Caroline. "Your mum will be very sore at us if we don't make her happy!" Joe had told a near comatose David. That's how he was coming back from Ken's: sleepy or completely wired.
Something was amiss in their relationship if Caroline needed Dan's company. With his usual firm resolve, Joe decided tonight was the night to patch things up.
Joe skipped up the stairs a little bit to Caroline's room. He could smell her bath oils from out in the hall. It comforted him. He loved her smell, come to think of it, he loved everything about her.
He tried the door, but it was locked. That worried and bothered him slightly.
"Caroline? Caroline open this door. Are you alright? Is something wrong?"
Inside, Caroline twisted around her frame to look towards the door. Was that Joe? What was he doing here? Without knowing why, she got up and opened the door. She didn't care that she was in her slip--it was just Joe afterall.
"Caroline you've been crying haven't you?" Joe reached his hand towards her face. "I found a tear."
"It's a long story Joe…"
"Tell me it," He said softly. Normally, Caroline didn't care to confide in non-humans, but she desperately needed someone, something to talk to.
"It's just that Dan and I…well we were once involved. When he was over here tonight, I realized how much I enjoyed his company and felt guilty. You know why? Because I've already rolled my dice. I have a husband, a child. I've never been good at selflessness, and my relationship with Dan was extremely selfish. I need to change, am going to change."
Caroline started to say more, but Joe hushed her with a finger to her lips, and led her to sit on the bed. He reached out to caress her face. On instinct, Caroline jerked back. The tear she could understand, but this?
"Joe, what are you doing?" she asked in a low voice.
"You're still angry with me aren't you?"
"Wha--"
"Yes you are. That's why you are trying to make me jealous with Dan. I'm not mad though, don't worry, I forgive you."
Caroline bolted up. Since when was he in a position to forgive her?
"Joe, I think you need to leave. You are acting strangely. You're…scaring me.
Joe took another step forward, to put his arms around her. Caroline just stood there, arms glued to her side.
"You know I would never hurt you," he murmured in her ear. Caroline remained, unable to move a muscle, except for the occasional tremble. Joe then took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead tenderly. He turned and stormed out, slamming the door as he went.
Caroline sank down on the rug, and then it hit her: they had just had a lover's quarrel.