The Receiver

1 4 - E Q U A L S

Sosh and Cora take to shopping like fish to water, spending hours in half a dozen shops and fitting rooms, and the boys even more so, only literally. In one of Upper's many public pools, Bo and Bear quickly graduate to the adult diving board and prove their skills in the water, that is until they decide to ditch their swimming trunks and get kicked out by the lifeguards.

But after a raucous day of exploring the city, the nine of us are dead on our feet and wicked hangry by dinnertime. Frank whips up a four-course meal in which no two bites are the same.

We gather around the dining table, which has sat untouched in a room off the kitchen Iris and I haven't entered once since moving in. Everyone except the twins, who are still too wired to stay still. The boys ride the oval table's moving surface as it delivers a plate to each person. They're like little hairless monkeys grabbing cubes of diced fruit and vegetarian sushi wraps, gnawing on each piece of food once with their little teeth, then setting down what they don't like until almost every time has at least one bite taken out of it. This embarrasses May to the point that her caramel cheeks grow rosy, but Iris and I just laugh. It's nice to have some real-life entertainment for a change. As I sit back in my chair, stuffed to the max, and look around, I realize this is what it must be like to have a big family. It's loud and boisterous, but there's rarely a dull moment.

I lock eyes with Iris, who sits across from me at the table, and we share a smile as the same thought passes between us: it's been quiet for too long.

As we finish up and Frank begins clearing our dishes, I see Iris's face contort into a grimace. Before I can ask what's wrong, she points to something behind me. I spin around in my chair and see Zander sauntering across the living room toward us.

I twiggled out a message to him and Zoa earlier, though I'm not sure why. Out of obligation maybe, or because they always seem generally unhappy.

"Am I too late?" he asks. "My photoshoot ran late."

"Don't you hate it when that happens?" Iris teases, crossing her arms on the tabletop.

The tilt of her head and narrowing of her eyes tells me she knows I invited him, she just doesn't know why. I haven't told her about last night and I may never.

"We just finished," I say. "Sorry."

"That's okay," he says.

For all the attention he pays our new guests, they might as well be invisible.

"Why don't we put on a movie?" Iris suggests.

While everyone else piles onto the couch, Zander and I find ourselves wandering out onto the balcony.

The sun hangs low and shimmers like a gold coin in the blue-orange sky. Air traffic has slowed down. The trains go by with longer intervals between them and the pods are few enough to count like stars in a mostly black sky. Far below, the garden sim blooms with virtual colors, a cybernetic orchard concealing the filth hundreds of feet below.

"I see you found yourself a few new roomies," he says, leaning against the ledge.

"They're good people," I say. "They've been my friends as far back as I can remember. The younger ones are great too and their mom is a saint. I imagine the two boys are a lot like what you were like as a kid."

"And what's that?" He humors me.

"Unrelenting," I say slowly, my eyes languidly following the silver thread of the monorail. Out of the corner of my eyes, I can see this brings a faint smile to Zander's face. Then I think of a better word. "Uncompromising." Zander nods in agreement and I know I'm right. "Anyway, I didn't think I needed permission first."