Clockwork [final]

Ten

“Would you slow down, Adette? You’re running around like a beheaded chicken.”

“No, I can’t!” Adette cried frantically as she darted past him, a broom clutched in her hand. “The customers are going to be here any minute and the place is still in a mess!”

Derek caught her by the shoulders. “Adette, relax. Everything is fine.”

As if he had flicked a switch, she slumped, letting out a sigh. “Okay,” she mumbled, resigned. Coincidentally, at that moment there was a knock on the door.

“Do I look okay?” Adette hissed, desperately patting her ruffled hair.

“You look fine,” Derek assured her, restraining his amusement. He had never seen her behave so feminine. She walked up to the door and, with surprising calmness for someone who had been near hysterics only moments before, greeted them with a smile and a “Hello, why don’t you come in?”

Derek watched curiously as a stereotypical married couple stepped in, looking around. “The laboratory is right this way. Tea? Coffee?”

“Some coffee would be great,” the woman smiled pleasantly. Behind her, the man nodded his assent. Derek hid his a smirk; it was clear who wore the pants in their relationship.

“Derek, would you get some coffee from the kitchen please?” Adette said sweetly; an order disguised as a question.

He nodded and shrugged, feeling that his internal mocking of the couple’s relationship had suddenly become a tad ironic. He disappeared into the kitchen, their voices fading away. “Who’s he?” they were saying, “He doesn’t quite seem like he belongs here.” He heard the man add in a grouchy, “He needs a haircut.”

Derek couldn’t help but smirk as he picked up the two mugs of coffee. Adette had prepared them in advance, along with two mugs of tea, two mugs of water, two mugs of lemonade, and just about every other beverage the couple could’ve possibly requested. He had to admit that despite the fact he probably shouldn’t, he found her anxiousness a little bit cute. He should have anticipated remarks like those from the couple; he realized he had come to forget about the world and their judgemental views. All that had existed in his world for the past two months was Adette and robots. At that moment, he unexpectedly became aware of just how delusional he’d become. He reached up and touched his hair, wrinkling his nose; it really was getting a little long. The longest parts almost touched his shoulders. He hadn’t even looked in the mirror for years; he couldn’t remember his own face at all.

He wordlessly handed the couple their coffee and watched along with them as Adette smoothly explained the functions of the robots, any technical errors that may come up, how to use them and everything else she deemed necessary. He couldn’t help but wonder how many times she’d had people come to look at her robots before; she seemed pretty confident about it despite her panic only ten minutes before.

The couple seemed quite impressed with the robots. By the end of the session they had placed an order for three; Derek gathered from peeking over Adette’s shoulder that the amount of money that would give her was quite a lot.

The couple’s attention seemed to be drawn back to Derek and how unusual it was that he was there. During his time with Adette, living a stable life and getting over his addiction, he had changed quite a lot. He swore less, he spoke more eloquently, and even his personality seemed to have softened. With the assistance of a steady three meals a day, he’d filled out a bit; his ribs didn’t protrude as much and his cheekbones were less visible, though he still had a bit more weight to put on before he looked healthy. Despite this, however, with his blank expression, long, scruffy hair and slumped way of standing, he still was clearly out of place.