Chapter 124
After they returned from Oasis Landing, Susan and Boyd discovered how much of a toll the trip had taken on them physically. They were exhausted and slept for the better part of a day after coming home. Even after resting, they felt weaker and slower, with more old age aches and pains than ever. Before, they only needed to use a cane on occasion, like when Boyd’s back would flare up or they were on their feet longer than usual. Now, they needed them for walking more than just a few feet.
“I hate being a decrepit old woman with a cane. I feel like everyone’s staring at me feeling sorry for the helpless little old lady or something.”
“Oh, honey, you’re not decrepit,” Boyd reassured her. He was more used to the cane, but he did not like needing it any more than she did. “You still look lovely and dignified. No one would dare say otherwise.”
“Only because they know I’d shove my cane somewhere the sun didn’t shine if they did.”
“Well, if you’ve still got the energy to do that, I’d say you’re still pretty spry.”
While the canes slowed them down physically, they did not stop them from putting what they learned and brought back from Oasis Landing to good use. Boyd reverse engineered the nanites he acquired and learned how to construct them in the present, and he also upgraded Plumboptimus to better quality and higher efficiency. Since he was their first plumbot, some parts of him were more crudely made due to their comparatively novice skills at the time. After the upgrade, though, he was advanced as any they could build now.
Susan tinkered with their new imported food synthesizer. Although they had a working prototype of their own, having an actual Oasis Landing machine to work on was a fun project. She hoped to make theirs run just as efficiently, and in the meantime, the Oasis Landing version was a nice novelty. It only came with the basic recipes, and Susan had not figured out how to program custom recipes into it yet, but they did get a program for Boyd’s Fruti Bobs for it that she installed.
For now, they kept that in the garage workshop with some of their other non-secret experimental tech, like the other food synthesizer and body sculptor they brought home from the lab. They did not tell anyone else where it came from yet, and the rest of the household assumed it was just more tech from Wainwright Innovations’ development shop. Even Orion, who worked in that division part time, did not ask beyond being curious what it was. The lab had so many projects that it was near impossible to be familiar with all of them without reading reports nonstop.
Although they planned to tell their family about Emit and Oasis Landing eventually, they decided to hold off on doing it right away. It was a long and involved story, and they wanted to give as much detail as they could when the time came to gather everyone and tell it. In the meantime, they kept working on projects that were reasonably close to finished and chronicled every detail they could remember.
Boyd re-read through Maria’s unwritten novels and noted changes in the text. They were artifacts that survived the timeline changes even though poor Helena Wolff, who gave them to them, had not. It seemed that Maria wrote the novels in both versions of the timeline, but parts of them did change. Fortunately, even though the text of the files changed with the timeline, the notes Susan made after reviewing previous versions had not, and she had made comprehensive ones of things she thought might have been inspired by some experience Maria drew from real life.
One stark difference he noticed was that the last time Susan read them, years ago, there was no mention of werewolves in either novel. Now, however, one of the main characters, a “kind but often sour-tempered” man named Brad who ran an orphanage, had a “hideous family secret” and disappeared on the full moon. It was later revealed that he was a werewolf. Boyd and Susan, when he told her, found it amusing that Maria gave her hated curse to a stand-in for her brother instead of herself, but Susan quipped that Sofia had enough angst without adding that to the pile, so even someone like Maria might find that overly dramatic. They felt more uneasy than amused, however, when later on in the story Chad bit Redd, Sofia’s hot-headed artist lover, and turned him into one, especially when Redd almost tore the head off of a longtime enemy in a wolfed-out rage. They hoped that was purely a product of Maria’s imagination and there was no real life inspiration beyond Patrick’s temper.
Susan updated her notes with all the discrepancies Boyd found, and included them in her detailed chronicling of everything related to Emit and Oasis Landing. That alone was quite a project, but well worth it. Although she felt like she had enough time, knowing the spoiler date of the year of her death on the statue, she also knew it was possible that anything they did now in the present could change it. It made sense to have a written record anyway. Memories were fallible, and it would make a good reference to make sure nothing was left out. It was also a backup in case something happened to her and Boyd before they got a chance to tell them. She did not like thinking about that, but people their age often became sick or otherwise incapacitated even if they were still alive. They had to be pragmatic.
She tackled the project with her usual zeal and enjoyed it more than many would have, even Boyd. Although he loved science, he had always regarded the report writing aspect of it tedious and tended to procrastinate on it when it was necessary. Susan did not mind, though. She liked working at her computer with little Jessica often in the room, cooing away happily in her baby mat. It was nice being around her granddaughter, and made her nostalgic for days long past, when her kids and other grandchildren were that age. It seemed like it was not that long ago that the baby girl in the study with her was Iris, with Orion toddling around her and Patrick talking to his imaginary friend while playing on the easel and Blair, a young woman then, might’ve brought little Chris by. Now, that was Patrick’s baby girl on the play mat. Orion was grown and attending university, Iris was nearly a young adult herself, and Blair and Cycl0n3 were old enough to collect Sim Security while their kids were also grown up or nearly so.
One thing that really brought that point home was when Jessica got a surprise in the mail from Moonlight Falls. Like her father, Iris, and Blair’s children, little Jessica received one of the mysterious dolls. Fluffs, Jessica’s doll, was similar to Buddy, Patches, and the ones Chris and Travis had gotten, but this time they knew what it was even if none of them knew exactly who sent it.
Patrick and Maria set it in Jessica’s crib and discussed the matter. No one in Maria’s family had ever gotten any, and while she knew about Buddy and Patches and the spirit dolls, she found the notion of their daughter having one a little “weird and creepy.” Still, she conceded that she was used to Buddy and Patches and left the final call as to whether Jessica should keep hers up to Patrick since he was the one who had firsthand experience with one.
Buddy was annoyed to be called that by a “drama queen werewolf who had no room to talk,” but Patrick blew that off since Maria and Buddy would never be each other’s greatest fans. He was glad Maria couldn’t see or hear Buddy except for whatever she sensed while transformed, because then he would have a real mess of drama on his hands being that neither could see past their own plumbobs about certain things, in his opinion. He loved them both anyway, but it was true.
As for Fluffs, Patrick decided to keep the doll. Even though Buddy had caused him frustration back when no one believed him about him, he had been a loyal friend to him his whole life and, at times, he was the only one he felt he could fully confide in without judgment. Even Maria, who he loved wholeheartedly, Patrick could not voice certain thoughts to without feeling like they were better left unsaid. Perhaps it was because of what Buddy was that made him different, but he was. Patrick did not want to deny Jessica a chance at a meaningful lifelong friendship like that. And at least, unlike his parents with him, he would believe Jessica about Fluffs when the time came. She would not have to endure the second-guessing and the well-meaning but misplaced concern about her sanity that he did.
Patrick had just set Jessica down for a nap with Fluffs when Buddy came in. “So, what can you tell me about Fluffs here? She is one of you, right? And she is a she?”
“Yeah, she’s a girl. And not much, other than she’s young, like Jessica. Same age.” He looked at her. “We grow up with you. The people we’re sent to.”
“And you don’t remember anything before that or whatever.” Buddy had told him that before, but he wanted to make sure.
“Nope. I just… am. Like you.”
“Like reincarnation, if you believe in that stuff. You don’t remember stuff from any previous lives.”
“If you believe in that stuff at all,” Buddy scoffed. “But that’s what the geezers said it was probably like when they finally admitted I existed anywhere but in your head.”
“So, Fluffs will probably be curious about a lot of things, then. Like I was. You could help her understand. Kind of like she was your kid, if you want.”
“Hah. Yeah, I could, but I didn’t sign up for that, any more than I signed up for being Patchy-kins’ big brother.”
“You still act like it anyway. Besides, you like Patches, even if she gets on your nerves sometimes. Admit it.”
“She’s all right,” he conceded. “A lot better than that nasty little gnome of Alien Boy’s. Which reminds me, spring is here. Soon I can punt his pointy hat into the pool again. Maybe I’ll teach Fluffs that.”
“Glad to hear you’re going to set a nice positive example,” Patrick teased, while Buddy grinned.
“What are best friends for?”
While Patrick and Buddy discussed the arrival of Fluffs and his potential doll fatherhood, Patches helped Iris get ready for her senior prom. “You look so pretty! Cameron’s going to be dazzled when he sees you.”
“I hope so. I want to be picture perfect to match my hot Simstagram model.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that. You’ll look amazing together and have a great time.”
“Heh. Well, I don’t think I could have a worse time than last prom.” She knocked on her dresser. “But I’m not tempting you, fate. Knock on… well, this isn’t actually wood, but close enough.”
“At least you’ve got a different date this time. Kristal and Rashida, now they’re the ones really tempting fate.”
“Rashida never messed around on Alfonso again and he seems over it, so I guess it’s all in the past for them.” She shrugged. “As for Kristal and Lester, if they’re happy, that’s cool.” She still felt a little bad about how things ended with Lester, but she was over him, and at least she and Kristal were friends again. They still were not as close as they used to be, and Iris kept her distance from Lester to keep things from getting awkward again, but even they were on casually friendly terms.
“Do you know who Lane’s going with this time around?”
“Marci Stokes, I think.” Iris barely knew her, other than that she was younger than them, in Esmeralda’s class, and she used to babysit Rashida’s little sister when Rashida had after school clubs and could not watch her herself. “Hopefully, he learned his lesson and didn’t sleep with any of her friends behind her back right before prom this time.” She finished touching up her lipstick and flashed a dazzling smile. “There. I think I’m good to go. Wish me luck.”
Patches nodded in approval. “Good luck, but I don’t think you need it. You look gorgeous!”
“Aw, thank you! I’ll let you know how it went when I get home.”
“I can’t wait!”
The limo picked up Iris first, then Cameron since his house was closer to the school. She went inside to greet him, and he beamed when he saw her. “Wow! You look incredible!” He handed her a pink corsage. “Here. This is for you.”
Being a plantsim, it was hard to impress her with flowers, but they were pretty, and she appreciated the thought behind it. “Thank you. They’re lovely.”
“I think you’re lovelier, but I’m glad you like them. They do match everything okay, right?”
“They’re fine.” She put them on and admired how he handsome he was in his crisp white tuxedo. “You look great, too. You ought to post this on your Simstagram. Show off how good those workouts can make you look all dressed up.”
“Not to mention how hot of a date you can get looking like that, right?” he replied with a flirtatious wink.
“Oh, you’re so cute! We should get going, though. We don’t want to be more than fashionably late.”
Apollo, Cameron’s father, came over to see them off. “Hi, Iris. You look fantastic. My son’s a lucky guy.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bloom.”
“You’re welcome. You two have a good time.” He looked at Cameron. “Remember to call if you run late.”
“I will, Dad. See you later.” Iris could hear the edge in his tone indicating it was not the first time he had been nagged that way. It amused her because she could relate. Boyd had said the same thing to her on her way out, although in her case it was because her father worried needlessly while in Cameron’s it was because he was flaky and forgetful and more than once he had neglected to call or text when he should have. He took her hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Iris and Cameron were not the only ones getting fussed over on their way to prom. When the limo pulled up in front of the Sw0rd house, Travis hoped to get to it without a final gushing commentary from his mother. He had already endured repetitions of how handsome he looked and how Starla was just going to be so surprised and love how distinguished her grumpy pants t-shirt wearing boyfriend cleaned up, and oh, they were going to have such a fun and romantic prom together! While he accepted that was just how she was, it did not make it less annoying hearing it over and over.
Cycl0n3 was less repetitive, but his remark that Travis looked “pretty good for being in a penguin suit” and “kind of like one of those old-timey stage magicians” did not inspire confidence when Travis thought he looked halfway decent in his more old fashioned style suit, especially for the discomfort and effort of dressing up. Blair stuck up for him, reassuring him that he looked handsome and dignified and his father would not know what fashion was if it bit him in the plumbob, but Cycl0n3 just protested that he did not say Travis looked bad, just that all suits looked stuffy and uncomfortable and that was why he never liked wearing them, either. He did agree that Travis looked nice, but then he added that if he really wanted to impress Starla with that “kind of Goth outfit,” that he could always add a top hat.
He was glad when the limo beeped its horn. “I’ve got to go, or I’ll be late, and then this will be funeral garb. So, see you later.”
Blair hugged him. “Have fun and ignore your father. You look fantastic, and he still thinks that ratty old yeti t-shirt is the height of fashion.”
Travis rolled his eyes, but he accepted the hug. “I will. There’s actually nothing wrong with yetis, but I get what you’re saying.”
“Ha! And you said he had no taste. Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Like that narrows it down.”
“Don’t get arrested, intoxicated, or otherwise in trouble, either with the law, the chaperones, or Starla,” Blair clarified. “Other than that, have a ball!”
“Heh. Sure, but I’ve really got to go now. Bye!”
When Travis arrived at Starla’s house, he presented her with the flowers he got her. “Uh, happy prom?” He was not sure what the appropriate greeting was, but he was so distracted by how pretty she looked that he could not come up with anything better on the fly. Much like his father, sarcasm was more of his forte than charm, although he liked to think he could pull off sincere, even if not suave, when he tried. “You look great! Really pretty.” And she did. While she was wearing a less traditional prom outfit, a silken skirt and blouse combination, she looked lovely for the occasion and the bold blue seemed to make her eyes shine all the brighter.
“Thanks. You, too, all sharp dressed up in a tux. I’ve never seen you in one except in the pictures from Patrick’s wedding.”
“It taught me how to sit through hours in a suit and dress shoes and pretend I know how to dance while not stepping on Esme’s feet because Mom and Maria had to have us in the wedding pictures. But at least it means I got enough practice not to step on yours.”
“Good, because these don’t have steel toes,” she teased back as her mother came over to see them off.
“Travis! Wow, you look fantastic! Starla, you’ve got quite a handsome man escorting you here.”
“Thanks,” Travis said, while Starla responded in a tone Travis recognized and identified with all too well after dealing with his parents.
“I know, Mom.”
“And he brought you flowers, how sweet,” Darlene remarked. “I’ll find a nice vase for you to put them in. Now, you two go off and have the time of your lives! Prom should be a night to remember. I still have fond memories of mine.”
Starla side-eyed her. “Didn’t you go with Dad?” Her parents had her not long after her mom graduated high school, but they broke up when she was young. Darlene and Michael had reconciled once after that, briefly, but that did not last either.
“Yes, but just because it didn’t work out long term doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good time or that it was somehow ruined by what happened later. I really loved him back then. Unfortunately, sometimes things with your high school sweetheart work out, and sometimes they don’t.”
“Well, gee, thanks for that vote of confidence for me,” Starla said on a sarcastic note, while Travis felt inexplicably torn between sympathizing and snickering. He could not wait to compare notes on pre-prom parental gaffes once they got to the limo.
“Oh, you know that’s not what I meant.” Darlene dismissed her sass with a wave. Blair and Cycl0n3 were not the only parents in Sunset Valley used to grumpy teenagers and she took it in stride. “All I’m saying is I’m sure you two will have a wonderful time. Now go and have fun. Enjoy yourselves.”
“Thanks. See you later,” Starla replied as they headed out to the limo.
While the younger of Blair’s children was off to prom, the older was in a new situation, sending his adopted stepdaughter off to her first one. Despite not being into the “romantic girly stuff,” Esmeralda was excited about the dance because she had fallen head over heels for her date, Owen Frio.
“Wow, Esme! You look so pretty!” Hilda exclaimed. “I’ve never seen you dressed up like that before.”
“She’s right. You look lovely,” Morgana agreed. “Owen will be dazzled.”
She blushed. “Thanks. I hope so. I feel so weird like this, and I hope I do okay dancing. I think the last time I did any formal dancing was back at Patrick’s wedding.”
“And then you were stuck dancing with my grouchy little brother, so I think you’ll do fine,” Chris teased her.
“You’ll have fun, Esme. Just not too much.” Tad chortled. “Watch for people spiking the punch. You don’t want to end up coming home hammered like Aunt Maria and Uncle Paddy-cakes did after their prom back in the day.”
Caleb snorted. “I bet Uncle Paddy-cakes is the one who spiked it.”
Esmeralda’s eyes went wide, while Morgana hushed him. “Oh, stop. He did not. It was one of their classmates and it was a serious matter. Penny Bunch got very sick from it.”
“Not to mention Maria couldn’t walk straight. Yeah, that was quite a sight,” Tad told the kids. “You should’ve seen it. Snooty Auntie Maria completely plum-faced and tripping in her heels over everything in sight.”
“So, like you klutz into everything on a regular day, then?” Caleb needled him.
Tad made a face at his little brother, while Esmeralda shifted and smoothed down her dress. “Don’t worry about it,” Chris told her. “You look great, and you’ve got more natural grace than either me or Tad, so you’ve got that going for you. We stomped the plum out of each other’s feet.”
“Yeah, but we had fun. You will, too.”
“I hope so.” The limo beeped outside. “Guess it’s time to go.”
Tad hugged her. “Have fun. And if Owen’s dad takes any pictures of you two all dressed up together, have him text them to me.”
“I will.”
“And if you happen to spot Travis doing anything embarrassing, please text pictures to me,” Chris added. “I can always use more blackmail material.”
“Sure,” Esmeralda agreed with a giggle, and then headed out.
Despite her anxiousness, she had nothing to worry about. Owen, looking dashing in his own tux, told her she looked gorgeous, and they started their night off with a steamy kiss in the limo. They had a wonderful time together. By the second dance, Esmeralda stopped worrying at all about whether her moves were good enough, and she just enjoyed being there with Owen. She never even noticed if Travis said or did anything amusing enough to pass along to Chris later.
Fortunately for Travis, there was nothing bad for her or anyone else to notice, anyway. He and Starla kept to themselves for the most part, and neither were inclined to show off complicated dance moves or go out of their way for attention. Rather, their attention was all on each other, with the occasional snarky remark about classmates of theirs who were showing off.
“Iris sure seems to be angling for the prom queen crown,” Starla remarked as Iris and Cameron twirled by them in a flourish. “Bringing her Simstagram model boyfriend and doing moves like that?” Although Cameron did not go to school with them and was finishing his senior year remotely online from his old private school in Bridgeport, most everyone there knew who he was anyway. Iris had introduced him to all her friends shortly after they started dating.
“Unfortunately, it shows that she took scouting and not ballet back in elementary,” Travis scoffed when he saw her over-compensate and stumble, although she did not fall because Cameron caught her in time. She played it off with another I-meant-to-do-that flourish. “It does explain the masterful angling, though.”
Travis and Starla were not wrong that Iris hoped she might get the coveted prom queen crown, but her fancy dancing was mostly a celebration, knowing and showing everyone that she was having an absolutely great time with the most perfect date ever. A stark in-your-face contrast to the winter dance, where she had been so hideously humiliated that she left wanting to bury herself in the dirt until spring rather than face everyone at school afterward. She noticed Lane with his date, Lester with Kristal, and Alfonso with Rashida, and she wondered if any of them had similar thoughts. Not that it mattered, because it was all ancient history and totally behind them, but still, she smiled just a little broader and danced a little happier knowing that this time, prom night was coming up roses instead of filled with fertilizer.
Her night got even better when she was pronounced prom queen. She had hoped she was a serious contender, but she was not the only popular girl in school, even if she did have the hottest date and prettiest dress in her humble opinion.
She accepted the crown with a beaming smile and twirled with Cameron in delight. “I’m so excited I actually got it!”
“Did you really think you wouldn’t?” Cameron smooched her. “I figured you would.”
“Well, I hoped, but no, I didn’t think it was a given or anything. It’s not like we were the only good-looking dancers with a lot of friends in class.” She admired her crown. “But it sure feels like a nice reward after how horrible my last prom was.” Although Cameron had not been in Sunset Valley then, she told him her woeful tale of it when they decided to go to this one together. “I’m so glad you came with me.”
“I told you we’d have a good enough time it’d make you forget that llama load.” He put his arm around her. “Congratulations, Your Highness.”
She leaned in closer, enjoying his embrace. “As a queen, it should be Your Majesty, but thank you anyway. I couldn’t have done it without my Prince Charming.”
“Aw, I don’t get to be King Charming?”
“Maybe someday. In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for being a royal consort.”
He grinned. “Does that come with the benefits I think it does?”
She let out a flirtatious giggle. “Oh, possibly. Perhaps we can discuss it in the limo on our way home.”
While the teens danced the night away at prom, Boyd and Susan visited Blair and Cycl0n3 so they could catch up and give Cybelle a tune-up and the things they got for her in Oasis Landing. “What a nice surprise!” Blair greeted each of her parents with a hug.
“Quite a whack with the old stick we got seeing Travis, Iris, and Esme all off to prom tonight, huh?” Cycl0n3 quipped from his rocking chair. “Sure makes me feel old. It must be even worse for you, with Travis being your actual grandkid and Esme the honorary great-granddaughter. At least I’m still a generation behind you two.”
Susan refused to dignify his trolling with an answer while Boyd just chalked it up to typical Cycl0n3 and chose to be amused. “The cane is enough of an old stick for me without worrying about that. I just hope they all have a good time and stay safe.”
“Speaking of staying safe and ‘old sticks,’ what’s with the canes?” Blair eyed her parents with concern. “How long have you had that much trouble getting around?”
Boyd waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, my back’s been terrible for ages. You know that.”
“Yes, but it didn’t used to be so bad you needed a cane all the time. Did it just flare up, or did you fall and hurt yourself and not tell anyone again?” Although Chris had kept his word and not tattled to Blair, Susan told her later after she thought the statute of limitations on well-meaning lectures was up. She was wrong. Blair called her father almost immediately and went on to him about taking care of himself to the point where it felt like she was the parent. He knew it came from a place of love, but it did not make it any more fun to listen to.
“No, Blair. I just…” He sighed. “I’m just old.”
She frowned, more out of concern than frustration, as she realized just how frail and old her parents had become. “I know, but… just, please, be careful and take care of yourselves.” She turned to her mother. “Both of you. Mom, what happened to you? I never saw you use a cane before. How long have you been having trouble?”
“I can walk fine. I just get dizzy spells and aches sometimes and I feel a little more stable with it. That’s all. Like your father said, annoying old age.” Susan shot Cycl0n3 a sharp look. “No comments from the peanut gallery.”
“Nah, not when you’re dealing with serious stuff like that. I’m sorry. That sucks.” He cracked a rueful smile. “Besides, I’ve got no room to talk about old age here from my rocking chair with my own bum back.”
Boyd decided it was time to redirect the depressing conversation. “Well, we’re not completely obsolete yet, so try not to worry. Why don’t I go get started tuning up Cybelle?” He looked at the plumbot. “You ready for your upgrade?”
“I am pleased to accept that. Thank you!”
While Boyd explained the particulars of Cybelle’s upgrade to her, Blair continued talking with her mother. “Why didn’t you tell me you were having dizzy spells? That could be more than just age, you know. Did you actually go to the doctor? I know you can be just as stubborn as Dad when it comes to things like that.”
Susan tried not to be annoyed that her daughter was talking to her like she was one of her children. “Morgana said it’s probably just a bit of hypoglycemia.” It was a half-truth, since she had once asked Morgana about her occasional lightheadedness in a casual conversation at a family gathering, although it was well before their Oasis Landing trip. “You don’t need to worry. Your father and I are both fine. Just dealing with some of the downsides of, you know, getting up there.” Even though she accepted it, it still hurt her pride to admit that she was old.
It was enough to mollify Blair, although she could tell her mother was downplaying it for her sake. “All right, but promise me you’ll tell me if you or Dad do get sick or have any more problems. I want to know. I love you and I want to be there to help you if you need it. Don’t keep me in the dark. And definitely don’t avoid the doctor just because you don’t want to hear bad news.”
“I won’t, sweetie.”
She shot her father a knowing look. “That goes for you, too.”
“I won’t,” Boyd replied while working on Cybelle.
“You better not,” she asserted playfully. “Just because you’re my parents doesn’t mean I can’t go all retired Cop Mom on you, too.”
“Oh, I know that full well.”
Cycl0n3 snickered from his rocker. “I love it when, for once, I’m not the one in trouble.”
“Well, we’ll give you five minutes and that’ll change,” quipped Susan.
“Oooh. Careful, there. You’re sounding an awful lot like a grumpy old lady with that cane.”
That time Boyd snorted. “You should’ve given him more credit, honey. It didn’t even take him one minute, let alone five.”
“He’s why I’ve got just as much gray hair as the rest of you, even though I’m the youngest,” Blair giggled.
“Ah, you wouldn’t know what to do without me keeping your skills sharp.”
Boyd finished upgrading Cybelle. “She’s all ready to go. Outfitted with an extra chip slot that I took the liberty of adding a simulated emotions chip to. She can now comprehend and experience something akin to our emotional states.”
Blair was impressed. “Wow, cool! You’ve got feelings now, Cybelle? How are you feeling now?”
“I am happy,” she replied on what sounded like an upbeat note. “I enjoy interacting with all of you.”
“Happy is the default, and I set her in the mode where she can change her emotions on her own as she responds.”
“You can also set her in a specific mode if you want, but most of the time, her A.I. will sort itself out, so it shouldn’t be necessary,” Susan explained. “Just keep in mind that she can read your emotional state and tone to an extent when you interact with her.”
“Sure. I wouldn’t be mean to her, anyway,” said Blair.
Cycl0n3 nodded. “I’ll keep my snark to a minimum until I figure out how she deals with it. Wouldn’t want to get an angry zap like Plumboptimus gave Orion that time.”
“And I’ll warn Travis not to get snappy with her. Sometimes he can be a little grumpy-pants when he gets impatient.”
“In that case, she should be good to go. Oh, Boyd, did you give them the new tune-up tool yet?”
“I was just about to.” He handed it to Blair. “This will tune her up more efficiently. She’ll probably do it herself often enough that you won’t need to, although checking every so often never hurts. And, of course, if you run into any issues, call us.”
“That goes for you, too,” Susan told Cybelle. “If there’s anything you want us to fix, let us know and we’ll take care of it.”
She beeped happily. “Thank you. I will store that in my protocols.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Cycl0n3 echoed. “You’ve spoiled us with her. She was great before, and now she’s even better.”
Blair smiled at her parents. “It was great having you over, too. Thanks for coming.”
“We were happy to,” said Boyd.
“Now you two make sure you don’t overdo it. Get enough rest and keep yourselves tuned up. Got it?”
They could not help but find her persistence endearing. “Got it, officer,” Boyd agreed.
“Will do.”
Orion went to Sunset Valley’s martial arts academy that night. April was working, and none of his friends were doing anything interesting, either. Since he did not feel like tagging along with his parents to visit Blair or bumming around the house with Patrick, Maria, the baby, and Plumboptimus, he decided to do some martial arts practice. Although he could also do that at home, the academy had better ambiance for it.
It was not crowded at that hour, and the lobby was empty. He changed for practice and headed to the training room. At first, he thought he had the place all to himself, but as he started down the hall, he sensed even before he could hear it that someone was in there. Someone familiar…
He stopped short when his eyes confirmed what his heart and mind had already sensed.
She was wearing a green belt now, breaking oak boards with the same precision and grace she always had while training.
Tara!Orion’s heart soared through a spectrum of emotion. He had no idea she was back in town. They were still friends on social media, but he had unfollowed her to stop seeing unwanted reminders about her while getting over her. He still looked her up on occasion, but the last time he had, she was still in Shang Simla, training with the masters of the Resolute Fist.
“Tara?”
Her hand snapped the board in two, and she turned around, startled. “Orion!” She was just as surprised to see him as he had been to see her. “Hi.”
