My Fair Franny
A Nandroid Fanfic by Scraps the Fool
Chapter 9: A Rose on the Grey
[*]
4 Weeks Later
I awoke from my sleep to the alarm on my phone, which was a series of bells ringing in a cheery tune. As I looked at the clock, the time read "5:00 AM". I then shut off my alarm and took a deep breath as I rose from my bed like a zombie from the grave. With a yawn and a scratch of my backside, I trudged into the bathroom to get ready for the day.
It took me about twenty minutes to shower and clean myself up. Even though I showered the night before, I still showered since that was my routine. As I got out of the shower, I wiped the mirror over the sink clean and examined my face, using a pair of trimming shears to shape my beard and cut down excess whiskers. I then flossed and brushed my teeth and for the piece de resistance, I took out my weekly pill case and took my medications, which consisted of one Valium pill, with a handful of vitamins as a chaser.
As I walked into my bedroom, I pulled out my workout cloths and put them on, which consisted of a light maroon sweatshirt, maroon sweatpants, a headband with light (in case it was dark), reflective bands for my arms, and weights to wrap over my wrists and ankles. As I trudged out of my bedroom, I stopped at Franny's door, considering checking on her. But I decided to do so after my jog was finished.
By the time I had finished my jog through Hawthrone Grove, it was about a quarter to Six. I then entered my house and quietly walked up the stairs to my bedroom, I then changed out of my workout gear and into a bluish-grey T-shirt with the icon of a moon with an arrow shooting through it, a navy-blue overcoat, and navy green cargo shorts. As I slipped on a pair of old back flipflops, I picked up the workout gear and, smelling the ripeness, decided to give them a quick wash.
With my workout clothes in hand, I walked downstairs, I approached a door near the kitchen that led to the laundry room and opened it. As I opened the door and walked into the laundry room, I was then startled by the sudden shriek of Franny, who was already using the washing machine to clean a batch of dirty cloths…along with her Nandroid attire.
[WARNING: SYSTEM TEMPERATURE RISING! TEMPERATURE SPIKE DETECTED IN PROCESSING UNIT 0X63A82! (Code 12)]
[WARNING: MEMORY STORAGE ERROR! MULTIPLE FAUX MEMORIES DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY! (Code 28)]
"SIR?!" Franny exclaimed in confusion and embarrassment, covering her naked Nandroid body with her hands.
"OH SWEET CHRISTMAS!" I exclaimed in shock, dropping the bundle of cloths in my hands to covering my eyes.
As I tried to turned around and leave the room, my head slammed into the door, causing me to let out a yelp of pain, as I reached for the door and, finding the knob, opened the door and walked through it, closing it behind me.
I felt my head throb as I opened my eyes, wincing as I touched the bridge of my nose, which again was the victim of another assault by an inanimate object, this time it being a door. As I looked at the door I just walked out of, I approached it carefully and knocked.
"Sir! I…I am so sorry for startling you!" Franny answered from behind the door, her voice was wavering from embarrassment. "I was just…putting a load in the washing machine and…my current attire was…dirty and…I thought you were still…asleep."
"Yeah, sorry about…that…I get up early for my constitutional." I explained through the door. "I…I'm gonna go get some breakfast while you…finish up."
As I walked from the door into the kitchen, I touched my head and checked for any blood loss before I went to get some cereal.
[*]
Grape Nuts with blueberries, the breakfast of champions. Low sugar, high fiber, High antioxidants all goodness. Check
Kale and Pomegranate juice, with pulp. Check.
Whole-wheat toast, with blueberry preserve, Check.
Part of an obsessively balanced breakfast, way too balanced.
It was a little, if not a lot, bit overkill, but after the cancer scare with dad last year, Mom's made it her mission that we eat healthier every opportunity. It's been this same breakfast each and every day, but after what happened yesterday at dinner, and after getting flashed and a door to face, I'm happy to focus on something else for a moment.
As I sat down at the kitchen table and started eating my cereal, my mind suddenly turned to Franny, I felt bad for scaring her, both with my invasion in the laundry room and from my episode a few weeks back. The though of a Nandroid being brought home to a nutball who freaks out at the slightest bit of Russian. I was so ashamed of myself, but thank god I'm going to see Dr. Guyanda, he'll get my head on straight.
However, despite my continued pangs of shame, I am happy that I was still able to apologize properly the following day and to explain my situation specifically, and she was able to accept my apology and promised to be a better Nandroid by being more observant (Goddamnit Kinsley). Since then, things have been relatively normal. Franny has been working nonstop, helping us out with cleaning the house, helping with shopping and errands, and even offering pops a hand with his yard work and projects. Even Mom's been having her accompanying her as something of a companion. Talking to her about this and that. Which makes me happy that Franny's not just some robot manservant, not that I even considered her one for some reason.
It what kept looping in my head about that moment was how strange it was to see her not wearing her attire, or anything at all. In fact, I was certain up until now that her clothing was literally a part of her. But it was clear that it wasn't, and when it was gone, all she had was plastic plates and ball joints, but that was all I could see at the moment, and all I could see with her hands covering herself. What was she trying to hide there? Why would she cover herself like that? Unless…did she…could she…"
"What the hell is wrong with you Raymond?" I thought to myself, shaking my head to throw my imagination back in line. "It's not even been a month and you're thinking about "that" again?"
I was startled by the loud yawn of Dad trudging into the kitchen, he immediately walked to the coffee machine and poured a cup of joe before he sat down at the kitchen table. Mom soon followed suite and began to make breakfast for Dad and herself.
"Hey there Boyo!" Dad greeted me, giving me a firm pat on the back. "How are ya doing scout? Ya feeling better?"
"Yeah, I'm okay Dad." I replied, looking at my cereal, the memories of moments ago lingering in my head "I…I was thinking about the us…the dinner. You know the one I…"
"Oh! Ya hush that malarkey this instant, Raymond!" Mom scolded me as she was scrambling eggs on a frying pan. "Ya didn't do nothing we all haven't seen before, and to be honest, ya so much better than ya were when ya first came home."
"On that we can all agreed." Dad added. "At least ya not patrolling the lawn until all hours of the evening like before or sleeping on the floor under ya bed like a mole man."
I let out a long sighed in embarrassment, lowering my head until I felt my Dad's hand pat on my wrist.
"Look Ray, we all know that when ya came home, ya came home a changed man, and we don't blame ya." Dad explained to me, his eyes sincere as they could be. "But ya still don't have to prove anything to us. We know that you went through so much over there and it's still haunting you, but ya just as brave facing it now than ya were back then, and we're proud of you laddie."
"All of us are proud of ya Ray and we luv ya, even ya brother Julie." Mom added, placing a plate of scrambled eggs and tofu bacon before Dad and sitting down with a plate of the same. "He may not show it, but he does regret not going to war with ya, to have ya fight and suffer like that all alone. But know ya not alone anymore me boy, ya have ya family here, and ya have ya friends at your school and Dr. Guyanda. They all know what ya going through and want to help ya too."
"Now if anyone was feeling sorry about supper it was our 'lil Franny. The poor dear was so distraught from what happened to ya, she kept blaming herself and calling herself a "bad robot" for setting you off." Mom continued, eating her eggs. "It's good that ya apologized, but I think that ya better think of some *other* way make it up to her if you wanna make this work."
As she said that, a light bulb went off my head. It would be a little… "unorthodox," but it might work out in the long run. Unfortunately, I then caught wind of an implication with the last part of her suggestion and dropped it completely.
"What do you mean by "work"?" I asked Mom as I finished my cereal, turning to eat my toast as I looking at her suspiciously as she looked back at me with a cheeky grin. "What're you insinuating there, I don't like it when you do that. It makes me nervous."
"Scout don't think for a minute that we haven't seen how ya been around her. How happy ya are around her. How ya face lights up when ya talk to her, and the same for her, sometimes literally." Dad interjected, sipping his coffee as he too gave me a smile and a wink. "We've been around longer than you, and we know the "look" when we see it. Julian's ya younger brother and he sees it too in ya."
"What "look"?" I stammered defensively, confused by the two-pronged interrogation. "I…I don't have any look."
"Oh! Get of it, Ray, ya only fooling ya self." Mom objected sincerely. "Ya never been like this since before the war and even after, ya weren't like this with Sophia. That girl's changed something in ya, and as ya father and mother, we agree that it's for the better, for both of ya"
I paused, a portion of my head was saying that they both were crazy, that it was the desperation that made them assume what they were assuming. But a small, tiny, almost microscopic part of my head was agreeing with them. What if there was a "look" what if there was something, what if…
"Good gravy! Look at the time I'm gonna be late for my appointment today!" I exclaimed, desperate to finish this conversation as I downed my juice and looked at my phone. "So sorry about that, we can finish this conversation never. In the meantime, be sure to read your phones about the instructions for the Sterling Delivery crew, they'll be coming by to install some stuff, so make sure they follow my instruction *exactly* as I dictated."
As Dad gave me a thumbs up of confirmation while sipping his coffee, I took my plate and bowl and placed them in the kitchen sink, I stormed out of the kitchen to get my car keys, only for me to bump into Franny, who was carrying a hamper of cleaned cloths.
"Oh! Excuse me sir!" Franny exclaimed as she tried to pass me by, but as I was trying to do the same, we kept blocking each other unintentionally.
"Sorry…just excuse me…I'm…I need to…yeah." I stammered, awkwardly laughing as I kept trying to get past Franny. Finally breaking out of the awkwardness and moving past her. I then looked back at my parents, who had been watching the show and quickly turned back towards their meals, as if they weren't watching. Irritated, I rushed upstairs to grab my car keys.
As I was about to walk back downstairs, my unorthodox idea from earlier returned, and the timing was impeccable as Franny was bringing my clean laundry to my room.
"Here is your…cloths, fresh from the…laundry room…sir." Franny said her cheeks were glowing a bit, as she walked over and started placing them into my dresser. "I also took the liberty of cleaning your…exercise attire as well."
"Ah! Yeah! Thank you Franny. I appreciate all of your help, as always." I said meekly, embarrassed as I rubbed my head, which was still aching. "So how have you been acclimating to the house? Do you need help with specific kinds of work or…or anything I can…help you…ahem…understand…?"
"Your assistance will not be necessary sir, for I have been able to receive a routine list from your mother sir, and your father has provided his own additions as well." Franny explained in an elegant manner, as she turned towards me in a formal position, much like the Nandroids that nut Ms. Kinsley was teaching (Goddamnit Kinsley). "If you're worried about the amount of work, I can assure you that a Nandroid like myself is capable of such work."
"Oh no, I believe you." I assured Franny, rubbing the back of my head. "I just…wanted to see if you'd want to come with me to…to my appointment today."
[WARNING: SYSTEM TEMPERATURE RISING! TEMPERATURE SPIKE DETECTED IN PROCESSING UNIT 0X63A82! (Code 12)]
[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 34)]
Franny's eyes widened in surprise, she had never been asked to participate in anything like this before. She looked down at the floor and then back to me, trying to respond in a way that would not offend me.
"I…I don't know if that would be…p-p-possible today sir." Franny said nervously. "I…I still need to complete the tasks your parents have required of me, and I do not wish to...*fail* them."
"Don't worry about that, I've already talked with them during breakfast, and they understand." I lied to Franny with a scoff, giving a dismissive wave of my hand. "Besides…I…I w-would like for… uh…for y-you to be there…with…uh…with me. Plus after my…my uh…my appointment's done…w-we could go…um…g-get something…to uh…to eat…if you want of course…for all your hard work of course…"
[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 34)]
Franny's cheeks glowed bright as she began to fidget with her hands, trying to think about how to reply to my request. It was kind of me to ask for her help personally, and sure, she was now used to eating (and throwing up) food thanks to me.
But this time, there was a different feeling to my offer of food this time, this was starting to feel like something that Mr. and Ms. Flaggs used to do with each other from time to time. This felt like a…like a…*date*!
[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 34)]
"Oh! If…if t-that's what you'd need of me…" Franny said softly, not wishing to offend me by turning me down. "…then…I accept."
Giving Franny a nod in acknowledgement, I grabbed my car keys off my dresser. Unbeknownst to me and Franny, a pair of elderly parents were eavesdropping from the stairway, high fiving each other before they retreated at the sound of Franny and I walking downstairs to the car.
[*]
As I was pulling out of the driveway, I could see Mom and Dad, waving at me from the front window of the house with large grins on their faces. Realizing that played into their caring hands, I sighed quietly to myself as I began to drive my car down the road, towards downtown Hawthorne Grove.
The car radio was playing "Emotional Weather Report by Tom Waits" as we drove into Downtown Hawthorne. Franny was looking out the window at the trees as they passed by, it was almost October and the leaves in the trees were starting to change to orange. Soon all the green would become orange and yellow, and then they would become barren during the winter.
But what Franny was most excited to see was Hawthorn Grove again, it had felt like years upon years since she was sent back to Sterling, and now she was home again, perhaps she would see the Flaggs again, or even her old Nandroid friends Molly Polly, Amy, …and perhaps even Emmy!
"May I ask what kind of appointment you are attending today, sir?" Franny asked, her head in a loop of looking at the window and then to me, as if she was trying to look for something, or someone, while talking to me. "Is this an appointment for some form of medical procedure? Are you sick?"
"Physically? No." I replied to Franny with a dry chuckle, trying to think of a way to help the confused Nandroid understand. It was then that we arrived at a large building, pulling into a parking lot and parking by several other cars near the church entrance.
The building was square shaped and was made of large black metal covered in glass windows. At the entrance of the building there was a sign that read "Hawthorne Grove Mental Health Clinic and Services," and underneath the sign was a smaller sigh with a list of practitioners, of these names read "Dr. Richard Guyanda M.D"
"So listen…do you…remember…what happened to m-me at dinner that…night a few weeks back?" I asked Franny hesitantly, the thought of what happened last night made me feel faintly sick. "When I…a-acted the way I did?"
Franny's face became sad as she looked down towards her hands, nodding silently. It was clear to me that she still felt guilty for what she did, which broke my heart. I then took a deep breath to regain myself and then continued.
"Hey! None of that was in any way your fault. You didn't know much about my situation, and I can understand that." I reassured the Nandroid sitting next to me, placing my hand on her back. "That's part of the reason why I wanted you to come with me today."
"What do you mean?" Franny asked as she looked at me again, watching as I stepped out of the car and walked over to Franny, opening her door, and helping her out of the car.
[*]
As we approached the door to the clinic. The door slid open automatically and we walked into a large waiting room that consisted of bright dark green walls and a grey carpet floor. A dozen black chairs are set up around the room in groups of three. There were also three dark purple couches that were scattered around the room as well as several cheap coffee tables that had outdated magazines and pamphlets scattered over them.
Franny and I then approached the receptionist at her desk in the back of the room, a petite Hispanic woman with braided hair in a knot and was adorned with a colorful shirt and jeans, she was talking on someone on her cellphone and oblivious to the man and Nandroid standing in front of her.
"Lo único que digo, hermana, es que tienes que decirle "¡Vete a la mierda!" y luego salir de ahí, no es bueno para ti." The receptionist said on the phone, suddenly noticing that Franny and I existed. "Bueno, me tengo que ir, hay otro loco aquí que quiere gastar su dinero en estupideces. ¡Te quiero, adiós!"
The receptionist then hung up her phone and turned to look at Franny and me, her eyes the stared at Franny with a look of confusion as she looked at me, her jaw moved robotically as she smacked the gum in her mouth in a matter that emphasized her apathy towards me.
"Hi! My name is Raymond Stemley and I'm here for my appointment with Dr. Guyanda." I introduced.
"Right…I'll let him know that you're here sir." She asked, her eyes looking at Franny and then to me. "Just so you know, you can't bring your…robot to your appointment. It's something to do with privacy violations or some mierda. I don't know."
As Franny was about to speak, to say that she'll wait in the car, I put my arm around her shoulder and looked at her with a smile and wink. Franny felt silent as I explained myself to the receptionist, popping her gum as obnoxious as humanly possible.
"Actually that's also the reason I'm here. I want to see about having Franny here registered as my "emotional support android."
Franny, and the receptionist, looked at me as if I had just lost my mind.
"Sir, that service is only available to animals." The receptionist explained, "Robots can't provide emotional support because they don't have emotions."
Franny gasped, hurt by the stinging words of the receptionist. As she looked to the floor, trying not to cry. I saw this and then walked up to the receptionist and leaned over the desk to her.
"That's not for you to decide, isn't it?" I asked, my hands clenching the table. "That is decided by my provider, Dr. Guyanda. So you let him know I'm here and in the meantime, puedes volver a hablar de cómo pierdo mi dinero y mi tiempo estando aquí. ¿Qué te parece?"
The receptionist's face drained of blood as she quickly began typing on her computer, trying her best to ignore me as me and Franny sat down on one of the couches. Franny then looked around the room, there was barely a soul aside from the two of them, the only sounds were the noises coming from the TVs attached to the upper walls. One TV depicted a golf tournament, and the other was playing "The Lion King." Moreover, the speakers were playing their own music to add to the white noise. The song "As We Dance by Jeff Oster" was playing over the semi-broken speakers.
After a few minutes of waiting. A door that was next to the receptionist's desk opened, and a gentleman emerged from it. He was an older man, about mid 50's, and he was slightly overweight in girth. His skin and facial features indicated that he was probably Asian American, but I never really inquired about that. He had salt and pepper hair that was combed back and gelled. He wore small round silver glasses that made his eyes look bigger than what they were and helped emphasis his grey goatee on his face. The man was wearing a grey and orange wool sweater and dark grey slacks with black shoes and a black belt. As he saw me and Franny, he approached us and smiled. This man was Dr. Richard Guyanda, my therapist.
"Raymond, it's good to see you again, you're looking quite well." Dr. Guyanda, shaking my hand before he turned his attention to Franny, his expression lessened. "…And you must be the…Nandroid that Raymond told me about."
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well sir." Franny replied elegantly to Dr. Guyanda with courtesy. "I would like to thank you for your time and service to helping Mr. Stemley and to the community."
"Yes, it is my job after all." Dr. Guyanda said bluntly as he then turned back to me and gestured to the door he came from. "So how's about we come to my office and catch up?"
I nodded Franny and Dr. Guyanda, and I left through the door that Dr. Guyanda came out of. Franny then sat back down and picked up a magazine, reading a story about a celebrity midget cheating on his wife for the husband of a cult leader, resulting in a circus of divorce.
As she read about the celebrity's upcoming spy movie amongst the scandal, she looked up to see the receptionist glaring at her, causing the Nandroid's eyes to dart back to the magazine, her cheeks glowing in embarrassment as she heard a voice mutter the word "robóticoño" loud enough that she could still hear it.
[*]
Richard Guyanda has been my therapist since my return from the war. Early in his life, he witnessed his grandfather, a veteran of the Vietnam war, commit suicide due to losing his job at General Robotics. Since then, Dr. Guyanda has made it his mission to help those who undergo trauma, especially war veterans, to heal and regain their lives so they don't suffer like his grandfather did.
In the time since my first appointment, Dr. Guyanda has helped me overcome much of my trauma. Using techniques he had learned from Yogis in India, he helped me develop the strategy of focusing on my heartbeat and breathing, to help me overcome my episodes and to help me regulate myself. Of course, he also provided me with a small prescription of Valum as well to provide support. Prior to receiving Franny, I had told Dr. Guyanda about my prize and how it was helping keep my mind off of the past. The Red War, the Dupont Riots, Sophia…it was nice that since then, things have been going up for me.
[*]
"…and you seem to be in better spirits recently." Dr. Guyanda asked me, sitting in his black swivel chair that was in his office as he was writing on a note pad. "Have you been taking your Valium as instructed?"
"Once a day in the morning, with an additional pill if I have a panic attack." I replied, sitting on the couch in Dr. Guyanda's office. "Speaking of which, I did have an episode a couple weeks ago."
"Oh dear! I'm sorry about that." Dr. Guyanda said sympathetically. "Do you remember what happened."
"We…my family was having dinner together…" I explained, the memories returning, I rubbed my face as I tried to explain to the doctor what happened. "…and at one point, we were playing a game about identifying languages, and then Franny spoke Russian, and that set me off. I then left to the bathroom, took a Valium pill, and used the breathing exercises like you taught me."
As Dr. Guyanda wrote down in his note pad, he paused and looked at me in confusion.
"Hang on a second: Who's Franny?" Dr. Guyanda asked, leaning towards me. "Is she a relative of yours or a new girlfriend?"
"Oh no!" I reassured Dr. Guyanda with a slight chuckle. "Franny's the Nandroid that you just met.
Dr. Guyanda brow furrowed as he continued to write in his notepad.
"So this…this Nandroid …" Dr. Guyanda continued, still writing in his notepad. "…why was it eating dinner with your family? I thought Nandroid didn't need to eat or weren't supposed to eat with their owners?"
"Actually, they can now be due to a new upgrade provided by Sterling, but it's not a requirement for them to function." I retorted sharply, I felt blood rush to my face as I sat up for some reason as I did. "However, I did have her try food before bringing her home, and she enjoyed it. Even after throwing up on Julian."
"You…had it…eat with you…" Dr. Guyanda asked in surprise, pausing from writing in his notebook in response to what I just said. "Wh-why would you do something like that?"
Well I…my brother and I stopped at a restaurant, and she was with us and then…I offered her a fry, and she enjoyed it. I'd never seen a Nandroid so happy before." I explained to Dr. Guyanda my hand was propping my chin as I recalled the joy Franny had at eating my burger. "She's this kind sweet Nandroid, the sweetest you'd ever know, and she'd been through so much at Sterling's. I…my family and I just wanted her to enjoy her first day here with us."
"You said that "It'd been through so much" what do you mean?" Dr. Guyanda asked.
"Well…when I first arrived at Sterling, I met Franny there and she…she was being tormented by this witch of a teacher who was planning to get rid of her. I then was able to save her and give her a chance at a better life."
"So you picked this Nandroid, cause it needed to be saved?" Dr. Guyanda asked, writing in his notebook. "Has it occurred to you that perhaps you chose it because you wanted to be saved during the war? When you were being tortured for months at the hands of the Soviets?"
I paused at the question, the memories of blades slashing my stomach and Russian singing filled my head. I hadn't even considered the connection between Franny's situation and my own. I then sighed and rubbed my face.
"W-well…when you put it like that, I can see a…uh…a comparison." I said, stumbling though my words. "But…b-but that's not the…uh…the reason why I chose her. I…I just knew that she'd be…the…the right fit…for us, that's all."
Dr. Guyanda frowned at my response as he looked back at his note, flipping though his pages until he reached a specific page.
"Let's talk about Sophia for a moment." Dr. Guyanda said, looked up from his notebook to me. "About three months ago, she broke up with you and told me that you wondered why it wasn't effecting you. Has your feelings about the breakup changed since then?"
[*]
I paused for a moment, thinking about my time with Sophia, the dates, the fights, and the eventual breakup. It felt like ages ago, but it was only a few months ago. She kept telling me that I was not in the moment, that I just coasted through everything, even when we made love. I was like a ghost in her life, and she needed more than that. Looking back, I could see why she thought that, and yes, I was not there all the time. But I did try, even to the end I did try.
[*]
"I…don't know." I replied to Dr. Guyanda, looking at my hands and rubbing my fingers. "I did try to call her so I could talk to her, but…she didn't pick up the phone."
"And how many times did you *actually* try?" asked Dr. Guyanda, writing in his book. "How many days, weeks, months?"
"I…I tried about three times…only…" I confessed meekly, watching as Dr. Guyanda kept writing in his book. "…right after our breakup, and then I…"
"But you did nothing after that?" Dr. Guyanda asked, his eyes staring right at me, like spotlights on a stage actor.
"N-no…" I confessed softly, I then began to feel myself becoming agitated, as if this therapy session were starting to turn into something more of an interrogation. "…but why should that matter anyway? It's clear that she didn't want to be with me then just as she doesn't want to be with me now!"
Agitated, I sat up and locked my eyes to Dr. Guyanda, who was still writing in his notebook and watching me as I continued my tangent.
"I still *tried* to make it work! I tried to have her come to my sessions to have her talk about her feelings and mine, but she had no interest in trying! All she cared about was her "theater" work and "art" and anything else that did not pull her away from what *she* wanted. And with all that dross, she just expected me to just "fix myself" alone, without her providing her share of the work? I may have not been there, but at least I *tried* to be there! At least I *wanted* to be there!"
Dr. Guyanda was still writing in his notebook, but he raised a hand to signal for me to calm down, something he had done in our past session. Seeing this, I began to take deep breaths, focusing on my heartbeat as I began to simmer down.
"So you felt then, and still feel now, angry that Sophia was not there for you? That she didn't do what you wanted her to do?" Dr. Guyanda asked inquisitively, writing in his notebook. "Could you say that your *inability* to get her to listen to you had a large factor for getting yourself this Nandroid?"
My eyes widened with a look of disgust and offense as I stared at Dr. Guyanda. As I was about to shout at him, he raised his hand again, and I caught myself, taking a deep breath and rubbing my face in frustration.
"She…that's got nothing to do with Franny!" I tried to explain, placing my fingers on my right temple and rubbing them. "I got Franny because I… she's meant to help m…m-my parents, to help us…around the house. That's all!"
"If that's the case, then why did you bring it here with you to our appointment?" Dr. Guyanda asked, placing the notebook on his seat beside his thigh. "Why would you have it eat with you? Why have it spent time with your family? Why would you go out of your way for something like…*that*? Why does it seem to me that you've been happier with it in the span of one day, than all the time that you've been with Sophia?"
"Because I…I..." I tried to retort, but I paused, my mouth went blank as the realization hit my head like a ton of bricks. "…no…it's not like that, it…it…."
Dr. Guyanda sighed as he took his notebook and began writing in it again. He then looked at me, my eyes filled with confusion and anxiety as I knelt forward and placed my face into my hands, trying to process what I was feeling right now.
"With many victims of trauma, they tend to develop a codependency on specific things that provide them a sense of comfort or escape from their trauma. A color that reminds them of a fond memory, or a toy that helps recall to an innocence that existed before their trauma." Dr. Guyanda explained, gesturing with his hands to make a point. "It would seem from all that I've heard that you've developed a codependency on this…Nandroid because you see yourself through it. You see an opportunity to fix the damage that you suffered, to recover the innocence you lost from the war, from the Dupont riots, and from heartbreak by Sophia, by "helping" it, but I'll be honest with you Raymond, as admirable as it may sound, what you're doing is not a healthy behavior, not a *normal* behavior for you, as it would be for any other *normal* human."
"I don't understand…" I muttered, my head was spinning and my eyes watered I felt sick to my stomach. "…these feelings, they aren't that wrong, are they?"
Dr. Guyanda then signed as he stood up from his chair and knelt next to me. His eyes, intense with emotion, locked onto mine.
"Raymond, these…*urges* that you feel right now, are…they're *unnatural*. They are…a… *sickness* brough upon by your addled mind, and for you heal properly, you need to better understand and get rid of these…these…*impulses* in order to start the healing process."
"What am I supposed to do then?" I asked Dr. Guyanda. "What would you have me do?
Dr. Guyanda pondered for a minute before standing up and sitting back in his chair. He then took his book and flipped over to a section for a prescription pad and began writing in them.
"If I were you, I'd first trash that Nandroid of yours and do it soon." Dr. Guyanda answered coldly, his attention still focused on his writing. "But if what you said to me was actually true, about needing help for your parents, then I'd fix that by getting a proper human maid or home assistant to help them."
Dr. Guyanda's response left a pit in my stomach. I've never heard him offer this kind of advice before. In fact, I never saw this side of him before. He seemed different than usual, especially when I was talking about Franny. Then Dr. Guyanda looked at his watch and stood up. Realizing the time that had passed, I stood up as well and we both walked out of his office door and walked down the hall back to the waiting room.
"Also, I'm upping your Valium prescription, you just take one of these pills a day, and an additional for episodes as usual." Dr. Guyanda said as he handed me the prescription, I then took the prescription and looked at it. "But you also need to take your Valium if these…*urges* of yours continue to occur, at least until you get rid of your…*problem*. They should dissipate as long as you follow the directions, and my advice."
"I…I understand…" I lied to Dr. Guyanda, my head was in turmoil as I tried to process our session. I then felt Dr. Guyanda's arms grab my shoulder and I looked to him, he has a smile on his face that showed sincerity, but my time in the army, and my relationship with Sophia, had taught me to recognize a fake smile when I see it.
"Just keep on the right path and follow my advice and you'll be whole once more my friend." Dr. Guyanda said softly, patting me on the shoulders as a parent would for their child. "But above all else take this piece of advice to heart: Get rid of the *machine*. If you continue down this path, of you keep that thing around you, then you'll *never* leave this cycle of codependence that *you* put yourself into. You'll *never* return to the normal life that *you* want. You'll *never* have a normal life.
[*]
"You'll *never* have a normal life."
Dr. Guyanda's words, those words, echoed in my head as I stepped out of the clinic and walked all the way to my car with Franny by my side. I found it ironic that therapy was supposed to help me get better, but this session actually made me feel worst.
As Franny and I both got into the car, I felt this strange sensation of guilt, confusion, shame, anger, and frustration at so many things, the war, Dupont, Sophia, and above all else myself. I didn't know what to think, I just felt like walking, shutting down my head, and just getting back home, pop a valium, then go to bed. As I was about to turn on the gas, I could hear a voice over the white noise in my head talking to me. Snapping out of my current mental state, I shook my head and turned towards it.
"Sir…" Franny asked, her faced concerned about my apparent state. "…are you alright sir, you did not say anything since you finished your appointment.
"I'm sorry, I…uh…I spaced out there for a second." I explained, taking deep breaths to recollect my scattered thoughts. "It was eh...quite intense today so…uh…yeah…sorry about that."
"I understand sir, better than I did before." Franny said sadly, looking down at her hands as she rubbed the back of them lightly. "I…would highly recommend that we cancel our…errands and go home so you may rest."
At first I was confused by what errands was Franny talking about, but then realization once again hit me like a ton of bricks again.
"Plus after my appointment's done…w-we could go…um…g-get something…to uh…to eat…if you want of course."
"Damn it Raymond, you asshole! You're making her feel like a burden! Especially after being here for you!" I thought to myself, fighting the urge to smash my skull into the steering wheel. "You better just forget what Dr. Guyanda said for a minute and keep to your word. Otherwise you'll never hear the end of it from the family…and from yourself."
I pondered my options very carefully and then decided what to do. I then turned on the car, looking at Franny, who was looking out the window, and then drove from the parking lot of the clinic…towards Downtown Hawthorne square. As we drove, Franny looked at me confused, expecting me to go straight home after my meeting.
"So tell me…" I asked Franny, giving her a slight smirk and a raised eyebrow like a cool greaser from the 60's. "…were the Flagg twins ever lactose intolerant?"
"No, not really…" Franny answered, giving me a puzzled look. "Why do you ask?"
[*]
The Gumtree Ice Cream shop was a simple shop run by a trio of brothers each named Hewie, Lewie, and Gus. The ice cream parlor's walls were pistachio green with white molding and the floor was a linoleum checkerboard of black and white. There were several tables around the inside of the parlor for customers to sit, as well as two tables outside for eating in the fresh air. At the counter in the parlor, there was a large fridge that displayed a multitude of ice cream flavors in large tubs.
As Franny and I walked into the parlor, there was music playing on the speakers, it was a mix of songs from the late K20's and current music. The current song "Tantrum" by a band known as the "Six Ways" a band known for having an android guitarist named "Solo" was playing on the speakers.
Franny and I approached the counter to be greeted by the ice cream man, A tall thin Greek man with a thick moustache and curly hair in a hairnet and the nametag that read "Lewie." By the look of his face, and the mess of his uniform, he'd prefer to be anywhere but here.
"Welcome to Gum Tree Ice Cream." Lewie said dryly, in a tone and expression so robotic, he made Franny look human by comparison. "How may I serve you today?"
"I'll take a malt. Haven't had one of those in a while." I replied, rubbing my hands together in anticipation. After today, this would be a terrific way to get my spirits up. Much more than any amount of Valium would.
"Good for you sir…" Hewie said blandly, his enthusiasm could drive a clown to suicide, as he turned to Franny, his expression and tone unchanged. "…and what about you? What do ya want?"
Franny hesitated in response to the answer. She first looked at me for a suggestion, to which I gave a teasing shrug.
"Don't look at men I already chosen mine." I said with a smile and laugh. "You pick which ever flavor you want."
She then looked at the display of ice creams, each with a silly name and description of ingredients. Pondering which one she wanted to try. She then noticed one of the flavors, a purple, green and blue ice cream called "Wild Child Sherbert" and pointed to that one.
"I…I w-want that flavor, the… "Wild Child Sherbert" please." Franny addressed Lewie, his eyes glazed over from burnout, with a small, determined huff, her eyes then quickly noticing the other options available, causing her confidence to slowly rise. "Wit-with TWO SCOOPS…and…and in a…a sugar co-…NO!...A WAFFLE CONE!...Pl-Please…!"
I stood there, shocked, but amused, as I chuckled lightly to myself, watching Franny press her face to the glass, her reaction to Lewie scooping ice cream with flawless motions and apathy was as if she was seeing a magician perform a magic trick. My mind then went back to my conversation with Dr. Guyanda.
[*]
I then thought about what he had said about Franny, about how all of this could just be a means for me to escape from the pain of my past. To avoid facing myself and reality. I suffered so much during and after the war. Is this just a pastime for me, a trick to myself? Do I really care about Franny or is this a cheap way for me to pretend that I'm not broken. Does she even actually care about any of this or is this some algorithm built around my insanity. Do I even care…should I even care…about…her…?
But on the other hand, if caring about robots like Franny was as wrong as Dr. Guyanda said it was, or that this was only some form of coping mechanism for me, then how would one explain the Android Ethics Act and the humans, Like Dr. Zelger, who support it? To be honest, what exactly is *so* wrong about robots that they don't deserve a chance to live? To see them beyond their uses for service? They can talk like humans, act like humans, have their own thoughts, feelings, options like humans. Could that perhaps be more of a reason that Robots like Franny deserve respect as equal to any human. That perhaps they can have a chance to be considered a part of humanity's friendships, their brotherhood, their family or even…
[*]
"That'll be $12.50…" Lewie sighed blandly, his thought occupied with a burning ice cream parlor filled with screaming children. "…will that be cash or credit?"
I snapped out of my thought just as Lewie handing Franny her ice cream cone. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she stared at the multi-color treat in her hands, as if she had discovered a treasure of untold value. I then approached the counter and gave Lewie my credit card as he handed me my malt shake.
"Thank you for visiting "Gum Tree Ice Cream." Lewie said plainly, his deadpan voice the sound of rainbows dying. "We hope that you visit again very soon."
"Of course…" I said, placing a generous tip in the tip jar. "…and thank you for your tolerance towards robots. I didn't think you served them here."
As I said that, Lewie's bloodshot eyes grew wide as he looked directly into mine.
"I don't care about any of that…" Lewie stammered weakly, his thousand-yard state piercing my very soul. "…just as long as I'm not serving no more kids….no more kids…no more kids… no more kids… no more kids…"
[*]
As Franny and I stepped out of the Ice Cream Parlor, the image of Lewie's eyes still burned into my retinas, Franny and I decided to take a little walk around the park nearby the parlor. As I was walking beside Franny, looking around at the yellow and orange trees and sipping my malt, I looked at Franny, her eyes still mesmerized by her ice cream's many hypnotic colors.
"You know your ice cream's gonna melt unless you start eating it." I said to Franny with a chuckle. Snapping the Nandroid out of her trance as she looked at me, cheeks glowing, and gave a slight chuckle of embarrassment.
I then watched with amusement, and a little anticipation, as Franny, with a moment's hesitation, slowly put the ice cream up to her lips. As she did, I watched as her eyes widened in amazement, her cheeks began to glowing brighter as she pulled the ice cream away, licking her lips as her smile on her face grew wider and a small gasp of delight escaped. She then looked at me for a second, before she began devouring the ice cream as if she was a starving human.
"Woah there! Just take your time with it." I said in surprise. "I don't know about robots, but for humans, we can get brain freeze if we eat ice cream too fast."
"I am sorry for my reaction sir, but this is…" Franny said excitedly, pausing to looking to me and then to the ice cream and vice versa before she completed her though. "…but this is the greatest food that I have ever eaten! No wonder the twins loved it so much!"
"So…this is better than pork with applesauce?" I teasingly added, taking a sip of my malt. "Or even…a Twinkie?"
Franny then looked at me and then let out a small laugh at my jest. She then said something that I was unexpected to hear from her.
"T-th-thank you Ra-…thank y-you s-sir…" Franny said meekly, trying to hide her glowing cheeks behind her ice cream. "I…I am happy…to be part of your family…a-and…to be…with…y…y-you…"
I felt a sudden jolt run through me, as if a bolt of Zeus' lightning just shot into my chest and ran all over my body. As I processed this feeling, I then recovered and found a half-eaten ice cream in front of my face.
"Do…do you want to try some sir?" Franny asked hesitantly, holding the ice cream up to me. I then looked at Franny, her face with ice cream smeared over her lips like a child. "It is very good, I insist on it."
I hesitated for a minute before I nodded and took the smallest bite of the ice cream I could, the fruity sherbet was a mix of sweet and tart, which was something I already knew as I had this flavor years back.
But what made it even more delicious was seeing the little Nandroid next to me, smiling gleefully as I gave her a thumbs up for the ice cream. Just then, Franny's eyes widened, and she chuckled as she was looking at my face, specifically the blob of ice cream on my chin and lips.
"What is it? I got something on my face." I asked, knowing exactly what Franny was seeing, due to the cold on my face, as I began to tease her by touching my face in places that weren't my chin. "Is it here? How about here? Maybe it's here?"
"Sir…" Franny said in an unamused tone at my bad joke as she reached into her pockets for the napkins "You should not act in such a way, you don't want others to see you as a clown now, do-"
[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 34)]
Franny then paused as she did not feel any napkins in her pockets, realizing that they had forgotten them at the parlor. She then looked at me, her eyes, already welling with tears, were wide with shock and panic, as alarms blared in her head, and she began to hyperventilate and pace back and forth rapidly.
[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 34)]
"N-n-no…napkins s-s-sir! How c-c-could I-I-I forg-g-get your n-n-napkins?" Franny exclaimed frantically, stimming her hands as she tried to remain calm, only to fail and make herself worst. "I fail…I…forgot your napkins sir. I…I am so sorry…please for…forgive me…I will…I…"
[WARNING: MEMORY STORAGE ERROR! MULTIPLE FAUX MEMORIES DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 28)!]
[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! PLEASE CONSULT ANDROID TECHNICIAN FOR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIENTLY (Code 34)]
To Franny, I was a "complete mess" in a public place, and it was her fault. If she didn't do something now to fix her *failure*, she would be a bad robot, just as Ms. Kinsley had said, that I would be sending her to Crewe, first class, for her *failures* and then she'd be like all the others. Franny then knew that had to fix this, that to make it right, she had to act…right…now!
Seeing Franny panicking like that, I approached the frantic Nandroid, my heart breaking as I watched her in such a state, trying to figure out a way to calm her down.
[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! UNAUTHORIZED ACTION IMMINENT! (Code 34)
"H-hey! Don't worry about it, I'll just run back and get some from the parlor, that's all!" I said reassuringly to Franny, gesturing to the ice cream shop with my thumb as I handed Franny my malt. "Here, just hold my malt for me and I'll go get some, you can have it if it'll help cool yo-"
[SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN ERRORS DETECTED! UNAUTHORIZED ACTION IMMINENT! (Code 34)
[WARNING: SYSTEM TEMPERATURE RISING! TEMPERATURE SPIKE DETECTED IN PROCESSING UNIT 0X63A82! (Code 12)]
[CRITICAL SYSTEM ERROR: UNKNOWN COMMAND OVERRIDE DETECTED! EXECUTING UNRECOGNIZED ACTION COMMAND! BRACE FOR IMPACT!(Code 34)
Then everything happened at once.
Franny suddenly rushed up to me, and grabbed my arms, causing me to drop my malt to the ground and spilling it. I stood there, startled by Franny's behavior, looking upon her face, which expressed a mix of hesitation, panic, and…and…something else, the sort of how one would look when they're about to descend down a roller coaster, or probably kill someone.
Her cheeks were as red as a rose, glowing brighter than I've ever seen before. Her eyes stared at me and into me, tears flowing down her face. Her breath was hot and heavy as she pushed herself closer into my body, I could feel the intense warmth emitting from her body, which while helped with combating the frigid air of the park, was not a good thing in this situation.
"F-F-Franny…" I stammered, frightened by this sudden change in my Nandroid's behavior. "Are…you okay? Do you need a bot doc?
"R…Ra…SIR…" Franny muttered weakly, her voice on the verge of breaking as here whole body trembled. "I…I'm sorry…but…I…I can f-fix this…I w-w-want to…I…want…"
"What are-" I tried to ask, to understand what was happening, to understand why she was acting this way, to understand why my right shoe was starting to feel damp. But then it happened…
She took her hands and planted them gently on my face.
She pointed my head downward until I was at eye level with her.
She took a deep breath, looking away for a brief moment, as if to stop, but then she looked back to me and executed her plan.
{*}
Maybe it was the ice cream I've been eating, the anxiety caused by my conversation with Dr. Guyanda, or perhaps a strange mix of both, but by the time my brain finally caught up with the rest of me. I was feeling a strange sensation, it felt as if there was something pressed up to my face, specifically my lips.
It was then I noticed the face of Franny, who was close to me…remarkably close…too close…
as in her lips were currently entrapped around mine…
...as in a kiss…
...as in she was kissing me!
…AS IN SHE WAS FUCKING KISSING ME!
[*]
End of Chapter 9