Leo Newall must discover the secret his domestic android Xander is keeping before it threatens their companionship.
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Leo Newall is captivated by his household's latest state-of-the-art domestic...
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"We didn't get much sleep last night." I turned down the hall that led to the basement. "Dad had an accident right before we settled down for bed, and the cleanup took hours. I could've used your help." I chuckled, wondering if I had just wasted my breath.
"I'm sorry for the lack of sleep." An inflection of concern came through in Xander's voice. "That explains why you both were sleeping in the middle of the day on a weekday. It's unusual for most families to do so."
Nervous laughter left my lips as he followed me downstairs to the basement. I pointed to his living space, an attached guest suite equipped with a private bathroom and walk-in closet. An addition we added years ago for me to use as I saw fit, but shortly after the accident I moved to the room upstairs to be closer to Dad.
"So here you are." I smiled like a gameshow host presenting a guest with their newly acquired prize. "My conference room is next door, but I won't be a bother. I only use it during school hours mostly and this week is spring break. So, no school." When he didn't respond, I continued, pointing at some random bedroom objects. "Uh, I'm sure most of this stuff you won't use, but I think you deserve your own space anyway."
"You're right, I won't be needing the bed or the bathroom, and I don't own anything worth storing." The way he stared at the closed closet door made me want to open it and assure him it was only storage area.
I pushed the door open. "It's just an empty room. I'm sure Junkard didn't mind staying in here, but I figured with your advancements maybe you'd like a bed to ... rest in."
"Your previous caregiver stayed in the storeroom?" He tilted his head as if curious. "And had preferred it?"
"Well," I shrugged. "I don't know. It never complained, so... Plus, my dad refused to let it touch the bed or even enter any of the bathrooms especially after he started to develop sores."
"Because of the caregiver's skin?"
"Well, yeah." I nodded. "Dad was convinced it was making him sick, so he didn't want it spreading irritants around. Anyway, that thing was a piece of junk. It didn't look or act much different than one of those ancient vacuum cleaners people use to store in their closets. In fact, I ended up doing most of the work."
"James wouldn't mind if I utilized this room?" A valid question.
"I mean..." I shrugged. "Can you keep a secret?"
He grinned, mirroring my expression, showcasing shallow laugh lines at the corner of his lips. "If you instruct me not to speak of an activity, I will not."
"Just say, 'Sure'," I encouraged.
His smile widened. "Sure."
"Then the room is yours," I said. "He'll never know. I won't tell if you don't."
He stared, blinking and smiling his only reaction. "It's time for me to begin my duties. I will check in with you once I've completed them." He walked by, gracefully angling his body to avoid colliding into me. Something Junkard never considered. When Xander left the room, I sat on the bed to contemplate what I had just experienced.
