Page 14 of Garbage

Quincy crossed his arms. “You shouldn’t let a man treat you that way.”

Evan laughed, but it still wasn’t mean. “Yeah?”

“Well, that’s what Mo always said. About her daughter. You should demand respect, too.”

Evan finally picked up his fork again. He chewed and swallowed before he answered. “You’re probably right. And you should demand respect, too. You’re a spark.”

Quincy considered that. He’d never thought of respect as being something that applied to him. He liked the possibility.

But Evan was looking sad now. Or maybe thoughtful? Could someone be both? Maybe Evan hadn’t realized that he could have respect, either.

Evan ate a few more bites while Quincy inhaled the glorious hot chocolate steam.

“Should we talk about spark stuff?” Quincy finally suggested. That was why he was here. And he didn’t like Evan looking sad.

“Oh, uh… if we do, will you remember it?”

Quincy’s world dimmed. What if he wasn’t good enough for… for towels and sloth pajamas and hot chocolate and Evan? He didn’t want to go back to what things were like before.

His processes started to spiral out, the same questions sparking more data calls without any answers.

“Hey… Hey! Quincy.” It took a moment for Evan’s voice to permeate his whirling thoughts. He was close to throwing another memory error, which was the source of this whole problem.

But Evan’s hand was warm on his bare arm. So much better than touching him through his shirt. “It’s OK, buddy. I was just going to tell you that my friend Ben is bringing you some more memory—RAM and storage. I think he’s getting you a faster processor, too. I was thinking we could install all that tomorrow, then talk about registering you as a spark and all your other questions.”

“Oh… really! Evan, really? You would do that for me?” This was better than a towel. Better even than sloffee.

“Really, Q. And it’s no big deal for me or Ben, but it’ll make things a lot easier for you. Of course we’re going to do it.”

Quincy stood up. He didn’t even know why. He bounced a little on his toes.

“Are you OK?” Evan asked.

“Yes.” He nodded. A lot of times. “I just have… There’s too much… I think I am happy, and I don’t know what to do.”

Evan stood up, too. “Would you like a hug?”

“A hug? Oh yes! A hug please.”

Evan’s arms encircled his chest and oh… that was much better than bouncing. Evan was soft but sturdy at the same time, and he smelled good. Better than hot chocolate, even.

“You can put your arms around me, too,” Evan told him.

Quincy’s body wiggled—another thing he hadn’t expected—and then he popped out all his arms, tugging up his shirt to make space. The humanoid ones wrapped around Evan’s back, feeling all the warm planes of his muscles. And then, somehow his claw arms landed a little lower and the steam hoses wrapped around Evan’s legs. Quincy was still bubbling with happiness, and all he could think to do was squeeze Evan tighter and rock back and forth. He wrapped his hoses around in another loop.

Evan’s body went rigid, and he made a little sound that wasn’t a word. “I guess you’re excited, huh?” His voice came out funny and his face was a little pink.

Quincy froze, like his pistons were locked in ice. In an instant, he snapped all of his appendages back into place. Well, not the humanoid arms, since he couldn’t retract them, but the creepy parts of his body. “I’m sorry. That was wrong.” He took a step back. Then another.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Evan only looked concerned.

“My… my other limbs? They’re steam hoses and tripod pincers, and I promise they’re clean.”

“Of course they’re clean,” Evan soothed. “You just took a shower.”

“But they’re still creepy.” Quincy was confident about that. “I won’t take them out again.”

Evan’s brow furrowed. “That’s ridiculous. They’re part of you, aren’t they?”