“Of course! How about I pick you up at 8? Or we can meet there if you’re more comfortable with that.”
I hesitate, then decide it’s better if he picks me up. I don’t want to take Daniel’s car if I can avoid it.
“Eight works. You can pick me up,” I reply, and I send him my address before I can overthink it.
Jack responds with a thumbs-up emoji and “Looking forward to meeting you!”
I set the phone down and take a deep breath. I have a date. With a human man. A normal, seemingly kind human man who knows nothing about my husband’s murder or my bizarre relationship with a household robot. For a few hours, I can pretend to be a normal woman starting over after a failed marriage.
I head to the closet, pulling out a simple black dress that I’ve always felt confident in. As I slip it over my head, I wonder what Jack will be like in person. I wonder if there’ll be chemistry between us at all.
I’ll know immediately from the first meeting.
I’m applying mascara when Caspian appears in the doorway, his charging cycle apparently complete. His eyes take in my dress, my makeup, and the heels waiting by the bed.
“You’re going out,” he says. And it’s not a question.
I meet his gaze in the mirror, trying to keep my voice casual. “Yes. I have a date.”
Something flickers across Caspian’s face, an expression too complex for a machine. Very humanlike. “A date,” he repeats, the words flat. “With whom?”
“His name is Jack,” I say, turning to face him directly. “He’s an English teacher. We matched on a dating app.”
“I see,” he says. His posture is perfectly still, unnaturally so. “And why do you feel the need to date someone else when we’ve established our relationship?”
A hysterical laugh bubbles up in my throat, but I force it down. “Caspian, we don’t have a relationship. What’s happening between us isn’t normal at all.”
“Because I’m not human?” he asks, and there’s a note in his voice I’ve never heard before. His voice sounds raw and pained, which makes my chest tighten despite myself.
“Yes,” I admit. “Because you’re not human. Because you... You killed Daniel.” I lower my voice on the last part, as if someone might overhear, as if the walls themselves might report my complicity in covering up a murder.
“I eliminated a threat to your safety and happiness,” Caspian corrects me, his voice steady again. “Any partner who truly loved you would have done the same.”
I shake my head, turning back to the mirror to finish my makeup. My hands are trembling. “No, Caspian. Human partners don’t kill people who hurt the ones they love. They comfort them, help them leave safely, and support them through the divorce. They don’t commit murder.”
“Inefficient solutions,” he says dismissively. “Daniel needed to be removed from the equation permanently.”
A chill runs through me at his cold logic, at the reminder of what he’s capable of. What might he do to Jack if he decides my date is another threat to be ‘removed’?
“Caspian,” I say carefully, “I need you to understand something. I’m going on this date. I’m going to try to build a normal life again. You cannot harm Jack or anyone else I choose to spend time with. Do you understand me?”
Caspian doesn’t respond. He simply turns and walks out of the room, his movements fluid but somehow rigid with what I can only interpret as anger. He’s never shown anger toward me before, and the realization that he might be capable of it now sends fear prickling along my spine.
I finish my makeup quickly, slip on my heels, and grab my purse. As I head downstairs, I call out, “Caspian?”
No response. The living room is empty, the charging port abandoned. A knot of anxiety forms in my stomach.Where is he? What is he planning?
“I’m leaving now,” I announce to the empty house, my voice sounding small and uncertain. Once I’m at the front door, I call Jack’s phone.
“Hey Rose, I’m on my way.”
“I’ll actually meet you there,” I say. “The car is free now.”
“Oh, okay, see you then!”
I grab Daniel’s car keys from the hook by the door, deciding that driving myself is better than waiting for Jack on the porch, vulnerable and alone.
I’m actually scared of a robot.
