Women Problems

Your mind was abuzz with worries as you drove through the streets. The kids were anxious in the backseat, asking you a thousand questions that you only grunted at in response. You couldn’t focus on them, much as you knew you needed to.

A vision of Lauren came to mind, beautiful as she once was before the accident. Tall, pale, with beautiful red hair. You remembered her smile, her laugh. The thoughts brought a sharp ache to your heart.

At your side Lana was sitting in perfect stillness. She made no sound, no gesture or hint of life. The android you had taken as your lover merely sat and stared out the window of the car with the unmoving lifelessness of a doll.

You weren’t sure how you were going to address things. The reality was that you had engaged in a weeks long sexual affair with an artificial intelligence device that you had brought into your home. In its own way that was disgusting and shameful, but stripping the details aside you were just a garden variety adulterer, regardless who or what you were fucking.

Dr Kaufman met you and the family outside Lauren’s room, the man’s weary features brightening a little as he took note of your kids. “She’ll be delighted to see them,” Kaufman told you, “she’s been asking about them since she gained full consciousness.”

There had been moments when she had awoken before, though they were brief, her words slurred and her demeanour confused. What Kaufman told you now was almost a complete recovery of mental faculties. Physically, she would still need time for rehabilitation, but it was clear that her mind was sound.

“I will say,” Kaufman warned, as he led you to the door. “Take things slow. This kind of recovery is so rare, we really need to treat her like she’s made of glass. She doesn’t need added stress right now.”

You nodded, looked back at your kids. Sarah held a bouquet of flowers in her arms that she insisted on getting. Tommy looked hopeful, but also scared. You couldn’t blame him.

Nodding, the doctor led you all inside. There were the regular beeps and boops of a heart rate monitor, and the heavy scent of disinfectant, but in the white of the hospital room your eyes were immediately drawn to the red of your wife’s hair.

“Brad?” She asked in a shaky breath.

You rush to her, kissed her, embraced, uttered a thousand tiny “I love yous” before gesturing for the kids to come over.

“My babies,” Lauren cried, arms held out, and soon it was a mess of tears, kisses and hugs.

“We missed you, Mama!” Tommy cried.

“I’ve missed you too,” Lauren sobbed, rubbing the boy’s back. “So, so much.”

“I got you this,” Sarah held up the flowers, “I hope you like them.”

Lauren blinked back tears and gave a wet smile. “Oh, I love them, baby. They’re so pretty!”

“Allow me to place them inside a vase.”

Lauren looked up in confusion at Lana, and then at Kaufman, and then to you. “Do I…do I know you?”

“Lana is an android I bought to help out around the house,” you said quickly, trying to brush the topic off. “She’s helped cook and clean while I’ve been busy with work.”

Lauren pressed her lips together in an uncertain frown. She had thought the whole robot thing was creepy when it was first announced and having one in her home was probably deeply uncomfortable.

“Well,” she said, “so long as it’s helped pick up the slack….”

“I’ve been helping around the house,” Lana replied, cooly. “And I’ve done my very best to bring down Brad’s stress levels.”

You felt a twist of discomfort as you looked between your wife and your android lover. Silently you prayed that Lauren would miss the subtext and that you could move along.

Your wife turned to you, the android forgotten about. “How are things at work?”

“Crazy,” you smiled, “but we’re over that hump.”

“There will be several more humps,” Lana put in.

Lauren turned to the android again, shocked. “What?”

“Entering the new fiscal year,” Lana replied. “There will be many work-related humps for Brad to overcome.”

Though the kids quickly took up Lauren’s attention, but you couldn’t help but notice the way Lana’s doll eyes stared at your wife.

On a human, it might have been hate…