Ty, a shift manager with an alcoholic wife, creates a female replicant in a dystopia veering toward full mechanization. For Ty, the surreal drudgery of working in a retail environment is interrupted when robotic interfaces are installed at his job...
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Helia giggled all the next day. Her broken digit was easy to overlook in light of her sweet disposition. Ty played with his daughter non-stop, taking a break when she was napping to call potential sitters. Many "no's" later, he got Wallace's mother to agree to watch Helia. She was unemployed (had been for years), and generally bored. Watching Helia would bring her something to do, at least that's what she told Ty over the phone. The conversation was awkward because she kept clearing her throat, a sort of nervous tick following every sentence. He wondered how much compensation she would ask for, but she read his mind, telling him she was glad to help him free of charge.
"You're such a good friend to Wallace. Goodness, you're all he talks about when he gets home. I appreciate anyone who makes my boy happy."
Ty was glowing from the praise, but something she had said made him want to backtrack.
"Wallace told me he lived with his roommate."
Tammy laughed. "I'm the only roommate he's ever had."
Ty was sure she heard his large grin through the phone lines.
Wallace spoke of his "roommate" daily, never mentioning his roommate and his mother were one and the same. A blue car would drop Wallace off at work and Ty would ask about the driver. Wallace would shrug and answer, "Just my roommate."
Ty hung up the phone, shaking his head.
Oh Wallace.
A thought stuck him, and he meant to follow through before he forgot. In the bedroom, he opened and closed drawers, loudly at first, but he quieted down after remembering the thief they'd encountered. Slow and steady finds the gun, he thought.
Ten minutes later, he hadn't found it yet. His wife was notorious for hiding things(liquor) in strange places, and Ty tried them all: under the bathroom sink, her underwear drawer, the inside of her boots. After another ten minutes, he gave up. The search had yielded two bottles of Jim Bean, and little else. He would try again later.
~*~
The next day, he planned on leaving for work early, giving him time to drop Helia off at Tammy's.
While he got Helia ready, Jennifer staggered over.
"Why are you packing her diaper bag?" she slurred.
Ty didn't want to answer. He hadn't said a word to Jennifer when he had gotten home. It was easy when she was passed out drunk, and he wanted to continue ignoring her. Finally, he decided to speak.
"Taking her to a babysitter."
"Hey, I can watch my own kid!"
Jennifer's raw breath and Helia's casted finger contradicted her statement. Ty looked at her with a mixture of pity and disgust, heavy on the disgust.
"Just go back to bed." He headed to the front door with Helia. "We'll see you around five 'o'clock."
"Fucking asshole." Jennifer slammed the door after them.
"As-ho," Helia said.
Ty smiled, then tried to look sober. "No Helia. Don't say that word."
"As-ho!" Helia repeated over and over as she was buckled into her car seat.
The neighbor to the left heard the squeals and glanced up from his mailbox. He gave Ty a wave, pausing when Helia distinctly screamed, "As-ho!" from within the car.
Ty returned his neighbor's look with a shrug.
~*~
A/N: Hit on that little star if you appreciate the story so far. Go on, it won't mind :D
Another story to add to your reading list is The Kitten and the Cloud. OtherEvilTwin has crafted a unique sci-fi storyline, in which citizens upload their soul, with the main character on a quest to ensure her family's presence on the feed. Definitely a writer to follow and watch:
