Build-A-Boyfriend

8

"Come on now." Hands close around my shoulders and a gust of warm coffee breath grazes the side of my face.

Dr Henderson is trying to pull me away but I fight against him, rushing back towards Harry.

"Really, Frank, did you have to be so dramatic?" Dr P sighs. There's a mumbled apology before the brute picks Harry up and throws him over his shoulder.

"You.. You..." I can barely breathe.

"We sedated him. That's all." Dr P smiles. "I'm sorry that Frank likes to go in for the dramatics, but I promise your product will awaken shortly."

"Why would you do that to him?" I gasp, trying to calm myself down.

"Tell me, was he nervous this morning? Didn't want to come here?" Dr P smiles knowingly I nod as he guides me into his office, holding my elbow. He guides me to the seat opposite his as Frank lugs Harry down onto the couch. "It's not a pleasant experience for the products, they get nervous. Frank was supposed to wait, he gets a bit excited. Your product will wake up shortly, but he won't be aware that we are here. We can observe him in his natural state."

"Can you stop calling him the product?" I snap.

"What would you prefer?"

"His name is Harry."

"Interesting." The Dr scribbles something on the notebook on his desk. "You've stuck with the nickname we gave him then?"

"It's his name. He came with it." I mutter, gazing at Harry's innocent, sleeping face. "It's how he introduced himself."

The Dr frowns as I say this. There's a pause looks over at Harry.

"I see."

There's a long pause.

"Hendrix, I'm sorry to tell you this but our H batch was a mistake. We are recalling them."

"What?! Why?"

"Because they aren't what they are supposed to be." He sighs and rubs his eyes.

"I like Harry just as he is."

"That may well be the case, but you, in the contracts you signed, agreed to trial the product we wanted you to."

Harry has begun to stir and I want to walk over to him but the doctor waves his hand to make me sit down.

"Leave him, he won't know who you are for a while yet. I want to observe him in his natural state. How he acts when he doesn't realise where he is or who he is with."

"But you wanted me to trial Harry." I say suddenly.

"Section 79, part 15 of the agreement; the product trialled by the volunteer must be saleable for the dream factory. Batch H isn't sellable."

"Why?"

"Because... Because they're not what they are supposed to be. You saw Marcia with Juan? Thats what we are selling. Your absolute dream partner, made up of a lifetime of reading or watching films-"

"Harry is my dream man." I say stubbornly.

Dr P raises his eyebrows and I follow his gaze to where Harry is pulling blu-tac from the wall and giggling to himself.

"Look, Hendrix. I was slightly apprehensive when you told me that you didn't want to design his face. You're a volunteer, not a paying customer, but I decided to go ahead with it. There are other problems with this batch-"

"Like what?"

"To start with, there was a problem with them in the pods. They haven't developed to the customers needs. Look at the difference between Juan and him." He points over to Harry who is sticking his tongue out as he ties his shoelace. "H batch chose matches based on what they wanted with no thought for the customers needs and wants. They malfunctioned. We didn't realise until Marcia complained about her product and we checked back over our development data-"