"The waves look like blue whales swimming in a line."
Troy followed her gaze out the port side window. "They just look like waves to me."
"You haven't touched your drink," Hannah commented.
He picked up the glass and gave her a nod. She sipped at the remnants in her glass and set it down on the polished oak bar with a thunk.
The bartender appeared as if by magic. "Another daiquiri?"
"Yes, a banana flavored one this time."
He gave her a playful wink and turned to her companion. Troy covered the top of his drink and shook his head. The bartender scooped up her glass and napkin and vanished.
She laid a hand on his arm. The muscles tensed but then relaxed as she squeezed it reassuringly. He looked at her sideways. She gave him her warmest smile. "Have you thought about it?"
He didn't return the gesture. "I have."
"And?"
He played with the straw in his drink, biting the end. She hated when he did that. He had so many bad habits that she couldn't break him of. Pets learned faster. He slurped at the straw but his icy drink jammed in the pinched straw. The noise grated in her head worse than the blender gyrating in the background.
"I don't know," Troy answered as he set the glass down mechanically.
"Honey, it is past the deadline."
"I don't think I can do it."
"Yes, you can. It's painless, and you'll like the changes. Everything is better. You'll see colors you never knew existed, have deeper emotions and heightened sensations."
"You keep on telling me."
"Please! I love you."
"I have feeling for you too. More than I thought I was capable for one of your kind."
The bartender returned and set Hannah's drink in front of her with a fresh white napkin. He gave Troy's half-full glass a glance and moved on to the next customer.
She asked, "Then why did you put me through this for the past year? I rescued you from a lifetime of slave labor. "
"I'm sorry."
"You've lived amongst us for a year. You can see we're not animals."
"I know. I thought I could do it, but I can't."
The cruise ships horn blasted as they left the port. Hannah jumped in her seat, knocking over her glass. She mopped at the mess with her napkin. The bartender appeared with a wet rag and swabbed up the shards of glass and white-yellow slush. She apologized profusely as he handed her a fresh napkin to clean her sticky fingers. He offered her a fresh drink, but she declined, not trusting herself emotions under the effects of more alcohol.
Troy sat motionless staring at the blue waves during the whole procedure.
Her voice cracked. "Then you know what I have to do. I have to deactivate you. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. I knew it would come to this."
"How about we wait until the trip is over? You'll love Grand Turk. The white sand on the beaches. The gentle waves lapping our feet as we lay under burning sun."
"No. Let's get it over with."
A tear spilled down the side of her faced. She brushed at it with the back of her hand, but it was useless. The tears streaked her cheeks like tributaries leading to Mississippi. Her eyeliner highlighted the trails. He reached and gave her delicate arm a comforting pat. Her heart broke into a thousand pieces.
The lump in her throat felt like she tried to swallow a golf ball. She reached a tender finger towards the 'kill' switch installed in the center of his back.
"I'll do it."
She withdrew her hand as if it had been slapped. Looking straight ahead, he awkwardly reached between his shoulder blades and depressed the button. One second, a guttural sound escaped her lips. Two seconds, she reached to stop him. He batted it away with his free hand. Three seconds, his body slumped forward. His chin landed on the bar with a dull thud. She grabbed onto his shirt, but the heavy lifeless body pulled free of her grasp and slid to the floor. The arm still positioned grotesquely behind his back.
Every head in the bar turned in their direction. Mouths open. Questions dancing on the tips of their tongues. The bartender shooed them back to their own business as Hannah leaned against the bar for support. The room swam in her tear-filled vision.
He scooped up Troy's drink with the twisted straw and tucked it out of sight. "Don't worry. We'll take care of the body."
"Thank you. You're very kind."
"No problem. I've never seen one do it to them self. I hear they usually put up a fight."
"Emotionless bastard, and he called me the robot."
The bartender laughed nervously. "So what was it like being with a human? Weren't you afraid he would break you?"
Overcome with grief, Hannah spun around her stool as fresh tears filled her orbital canals. She sprinted back to their cabin to cry herself into a slumber state. Why hadn't she listened to her self-replicating mother?
