Interesting.

"Bradley! You look wonderful," Aunt June said as they approached. She threw her arms open and Brad hugged her, then she turned to D. "And you must be Daphne. It's very nice to meet you."

"Thanks," Daphne said politely. "My friends call me D."

"Then 'Dee' it is," June said. She gestured to the two empty chairs and they sat. "I must say, you're not quite what I was expecting."

D glanced nervously at Brad for a moment. "I'm not?"

June shook her head. "You're quite a bit prettier than most of Bradley's girlfriends have been. Why, you are as cute as a button!"

D's cheeks turned crimson and Brad suppressed a grin. "Thank you," she said without making eye contact.

"How did you two meet?" June asked. They glanced at each other briefly, then D started describing the canned meet-cute from the sitcom.

By the time the waiter arrived with the third pitcher of margaritas Brad and D had loosened up considerably. D's nervous tension had been gradually replaced with a laidback, easy charisma. She slipped up a few times, most notably when June brought up Brad's past girlfriends.

"...and what was the tall one's name? Sandra?"

"Sarah," Brad muttered. "She was a real piece of work."

"But beautiful," June said. She turned to D. "Not as much as you, though."

"Thanks," D said through a mouthful of onion rings. She turned to Brad. "I like your aunt, dude. She's got good taste in nephew's girlfriends. We should hang out more often!"

Brad dissembled. "Yeah, maybe we'll try to-"

"Dude, come on! You never let me out of the house!" she protested before realizing what she had said. June was looking at her with an odd mix of puzzlement and concern.

"What do you mean, he never lets you out of the house?" June demanded. "Bradley, I never took you for the controlling type. And you're living together already?"

A long silence passed before D attempted a recovery. "No, I mean, we just spend a lot of time at home. At Brad's house, I mean. I still have my own place."

June nodded, clearly still suspicious but willing to drop the matter. They continued to drink and chat, and as the afternoon wore on D started to grill June for embarrassing details about Brad's life.

"Come on, he never tells me anything! Didn't he do something silly and embarrassing as a kid?" D asked, leaning forward over the remains of her burger. "Maybe his friends pranked him or something?"

"Honestly, Bradley never had a lot of friends," June said. "He was always such a sensitive kid. One Valentine's Day when he was in elementary school, he came home sobbing because the girl he liked didn't give him a card."

"Paydirt!" D said gleefully. Despite Brad's protests, she insisted that June continue.

"He had a slight speech impediment and some bad acne," she recalled. "Not anything unusual for a teenager, but poor Bradley was so self-conscious. To see him now, dating a beautiful woman and making a fine career for himself-"

"Ok, enough." Brad motioned to the waiter, indicating that he'd like the check. "Sorry, Aunt June, but we've got to run."

D reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it almost hard enough to make him yelp. "We're going antiquing," she said in a singsong voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Of course, dear. Lunch is on me today. There is one thing I'd like you to take a look at, though." She slid a scrap of paper encased in plastic across the table. Brad picked it up and examined it curiously.

"What's this?" he asked, but June nodded to D.

"It's a modifier," D said nonchalantly. "It alters a golem's processes and script interpretation on the fly."

June never broke eye contact with Brad a she spoke. "And why do you know that, dear?"

"Oh, I'm a golem," D said.