intestines wanted to swim out my arse even at the intimation that my father had another finger in my life.
“What amazed me even more is that I was able to revise my original design with elements from the foreign design.” Bajali’s face was luminous, discussing these incredibly disturbing, at least to me, things. “The design changes, improvements really, are the very heart of today’s upgrade. Once I get back to the lab, I will apply the upgrade, and no longer be contagious. Is this not grand?”
“Stellar. It is stellar.”
Charlie swatted me upside the head. “I think Frankie the Deadpan has reached his data saturation point for the day. Are you going to physically hand out the upgrade after you test it?”
“That is my plan. I imagine it will take about an hour for the revisions to complete, in situ . As soon as I am sure, I will call everyone to the lab and distribute the ‘package’ as it were.” He beamed. “Then we will all be able to relax. Dr. Bottsford and his team will be able to take their silly suits off!”
“That’s...” I was cut off by Charlie’s hand over my mouth.
“Great! Why don’t you two go handle that,” Charlie said, ignoring me licking her palm to show my vexation at being muzzled. “I’d like to spend some time with my guy, now that he can talk back!”
Baj and Jaya nodded, as if they knew something I didn’t. Hugs and kisses passed around, and they left the room. My girlfriend/partner/caretaker smiled at me and I smiled back. Then she exploded from her chair, landed on my lap, and wrapped all of her limbs around me like a mutant octopus.
“God, I’ve missed you!” She had time to tell me that much before she started sobbing. I held her and made soothing noises, wishing I could do more.
I guess all the accumulated stress of taking care of someone when you don’t know that they’ll recover needed to come out. By the clock in my head, it took her ten minutes and thirty-four seconds to go from wracking sobs to dry eyes. When she turned her face to me, I saw... I can’t even explain it. I knew how much she loved me, and like frogs cheeping across a pond, my heart answered the love.
“Can we go back home?”
“Sure, Charlie.”
“Can you find me a tissue?”
“You got it, m’love.”
We stood up, hand in hand, and left Building 2 behind. Of course, I found a bathroom and grabbed some TP so Charlie could empty her sinuses first. A boyfriend has to make priorities.
As we were walking back to the store, she pointed to a hole in the ground. “Hey, why is there a pothole that smells like blood and shit on the lawn here?”
I told her the story of my walk home from the night before, and her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull.
“I guess those guns really could do some damage, huh?”
“Yeah, I almost wish I’d seen the impact,” and then I thought about it, “but then again, not really.” I tugged her along towards the store. I wanted to be with her, not linger outside and obsess over guards with superguns. “By the way, where’s the Man Scythe?”
“Don’t worry, honey, it’s safe. I’ll get it out for you when we get upstairs.”
“Thanks. I need to see it and,” I waved my hands around in random circles, “reconnect with it.”
“You boys and your tools!” She giggled and I giggled with her. There wasn’t any point in telling her that I’d started planning how to kill the zombie baby with it.
Charlie led me upstairs in the store, after we sauntered down the aisles, being happy that we were together again. I sat down at my desk, pulled open the bottom left hand drawer, and took out the stones. I also pulled out the spray bottle of water, because you really can’t do a good job without getting your rocks wet.
“Darling, my darling? Would you hand me my baby?” I’ll admit that I cooed to her. I hadn’t been whole enough to touch my precious example of carnal brutality during my recovery, or even think about it. That was a
“What amazed me even more is that I was able to revise my original design with elements from the foreign design.” Bajali’s face was luminous, discussing these incredibly disturbing, at least to me, things. “The design changes, improvements really, are the very heart of today’s upgrade. Once I get back to the lab, I will apply the upgrade, and no longer be contagious. Is this not grand?”
“Stellar. It is stellar.”
Charlie swatted me upside the head. “I think Frankie the Deadpan has reached his data saturation point for the day. Are you going to physically hand out the upgrade after you test it?”
“That is my plan. I imagine it will take about an hour for the revisions to complete, in situ . As soon as I am sure, I will call everyone to the lab and distribute the ‘package’ as it were.” He beamed. “Then we will all be able to relax. Dr. Bottsford and his team will be able to take their silly suits off!”
“That’s...” I was cut off by Charlie’s hand over my mouth.
“Great! Why don’t you two go handle that,” Charlie said, ignoring me licking her palm to show my vexation at being muzzled. “I’d like to spend some time with my guy, now that he can talk back!”
Baj and Jaya nodded, as if they knew something I didn’t. Hugs and kisses passed around, and they left the room. My girlfriend/partner/caretaker smiled at me and I smiled back. Then she exploded from her chair, landed on my lap, and wrapped all of her limbs around me like a mutant octopus.
“God, I’ve missed you!” She had time to tell me that much before she started sobbing. I held her and made soothing noises, wishing I could do more.
I guess all the accumulated stress of taking care of someone when you don’t know that they’ll recover needed to come out. By the clock in my head, it took her ten minutes and thirty-four seconds to go from wracking sobs to dry eyes. When she turned her face to me, I saw... I can’t even explain it. I knew how much she loved me, and like frogs cheeping across a pond, my heart answered the love.
“Can we go back home?”
“Sure, Charlie.”
“Can you find me a tissue?”
“You got it, m’love.”
We stood up, hand in hand, and left Building 2 behind. Of course, I found a bathroom and grabbed some TP so Charlie could empty her sinuses first. A boyfriend has to make priorities.
As we were walking back to the store, she pointed to a hole in the ground. “Hey, why is there a pothole that smells like blood and shit on the lawn here?”
I told her the story of my walk home from the night before, and her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull.
“I guess those guns really could do some damage, huh?”
“Yeah, I almost wish I’d seen the impact,” and then I thought about it, “but then again, not really.” I tugged her along towards the store. I wanted to be with her, not linger outside and obsess over guards with superguns. “By the way, where’s the Man Scythe?”
“Don’t worry, honey, it’s safe. I’ll get it out for you when we get upstairs.”
“Thanks. I need to see it and,” I waved my hands around in random circles, “reconnect with it.”
“You boys and your tools!” She giggled and I giggled with her. There wasn’t any point in telling her that I’d started planning how to kill the zombie baby with it.
Charlie led me upstairs in the store, after we sauntered down the aisles, being happy that we were together again. I sat down at my desk, pulled open the bottom left hand drawer, and took out the stones. I also pulled out the spray bottle of water, because you really can’t do a good job without getting your rocks wet.
“Darling, my darling? Would you hand me my baby?” I’ll admit that I cooed to her. I hadn’t been whole enough to touch my precious example of carnal brutality during my recovery, or even think about it. That was a
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