Page 66 of Chaos Theory
Thought you might like to see this! News travels fast around here.
‘Did you get this too?’ I ask Shane.
‘Think so.’
‘My battery’s almost dead. Can we open it on your phone?’
I go to him, stand close beside him. The top of my head just about reaches to his shoulder. In some ways, we fit together perfectly.
Shane holds his phone out in front of the two of us, opens the messaging app. Before he taps the first message, from Matthew, I catch a glimpse of the next message on the list. The sender is Sandra Smith. The message appears to consist of three emojis:
My stomach drops.That could mean anything,I tell myself quickly. And anyway, I don’t care. I’m not even surprised.A carousel of responses spins in my mind as Shane clicks the link from Matthew. It brings us to what looks like a local news website. A headline reads,‘Robot Saves Child in Dramatic Cliff Incident’. I read the subhead and skim the first few paragraphs as Shane scrolls.
Local girl Lizzie Farmer (5) was today saved from harm by a humanoid robot in a dramatic incident at the Cliffs of Moher… near-fatal… last-minute dash… robot on wheels… local family… relief and joy… unprecedented scenes…
A video is embedded in the story. Shane clicks on it. Ninety seconds of footage from the car park at the cliffs. It looks like it was filmed on a dashboard camera; there’s no sound. It shows the SUV reversing and the moment of the collision with Kobi in the chair. Then a crowd gathering while I kneel beside Kobi on the ground.
‘Oh no,’ I say. ‘Josh is going to kill me. He specifically asked me to keep a low profile for Kobi while we were here.’
Shane scrolls back to the top of the page.
‘Ah, it’ll be grand. While I’m sureThe Clare Peoplehas its fans, it’s not exactlyThe New York Timesnow, is it?’
THIRTY-EIGHT
Thursday, 7:30pm
I follow a crisp-clad waiter through Gino’s Restaurant to our table. Josh should be here soon. This place looks nice – rustic chic. I start composing an ad in my head.Authentic Italian with a contemporary twist. Romantic but modern.Josh chose this place. I wonder if he picked just anywhere or put in the research.
We’re both attending the AI conference in Athlone tomorrow – me, on account of my own interest and a handy discount for those who completed all the MIT course modules; Josh, because Ron Tron was recently added to the line-up. So we’ve arranged to stay in the conference hotel tonight and to go for dinner somewhere local to catch up. I’ve only spoken to Josh briefly since his return to Ireland on Tuesday, and he hasn’t seen Kobi yet. All he knows is that Kobi is back at work at Go Ireland after a short trip to County Clare. I thought it’d be better to tell him the details in person.
Since the trip to Clare, the past few days have been mercifully uneventful. In the car back to Dublin on Saturday, Shane was fairly quiet. We stopped off at the Clare Arms Hotel to reimburse them for the wheelchair we’d borrowed and broken; then we spenthalf an hour in the car gently debating whether we could put the cost through as an expense claim when we got back. I think we were both relieved that, in the end, we didn’t have to deal with the issue of the honeymoon suite in Lisdoonvarna, a town famous for its annual matchmaking festival.
I haven’t seen Shane much since, apart from our presentation on Monday morning, which we winged our way through. I was busy all week setting Kobi up with his new job, recording oral histories for callers with a connection to Ireland. As well as stories of life in old Ireland, Kobi’s going to record the tales of Irish emigrants who settled in other countries, hear how their new lives took shape.
As I look around the restaurant, I’m glad of the low lighting, the soft fabrics that hush the other diners’ chatter. I’m not sure how Josh will react to the events of my road trip to County Clare. And I haven’t yet told him the details of the Science Museum incident. Luckily, JP seems to have smoothed things over and no legal action is pending.
I’m suddenly nervous. I order a bottle of wine from a passing waiter, who returns promptly with it and a basket of salted bread. The last Italian meal I had was at the Farmers’ house. I smile at the memory.
Josh appears through the gloom, bringing my focus back to the present. He looks tanned and relaxed. I’d forgotten how classically handsome he is. With the clearest blue eyes. I stand to greet him and we do a kind of awkward half hug, but enough for me to inhale a clean, manly scent.
I decide I want to tell him all about the Clare trip quickly – rip off the Band-Aid. He’ll find out as soon as he sees Kobi’s TIL files anyway.
As soon as he’s settled at the table and I’ve enquired after his general health and well-being, and told him I definitely want to hear more about the Singapore conference later, I say, ‘So, can I tell you about my trip to Clare?’
‘Of course.’ He smiles at me. I meet his eyes and exhale.
I tell him everything up to the cliff visit, choosing a light tone to paint a picture of three merry friends on an amusing adventure. He listens without interruption but with a serious face, nodding along and taking regular sips of wine.
‘So,’ I say, tearing off a piece of salted bread and slowing down the story. ‘Then we get to the Friday. There’s good news and there’s bad news. Or, maybe, good news and bad news and more bad news. Actually, I’m not even sure if you’ll find the good news very good.’
‘Maeve.’ He refills my glass, which I didn’t notice was empty. ‘Just tell me what happened.’
‘Okay.’ I take a deep breath. ‘First of all, I’ll just reassure you that Kobi is fine. He’s still highly functional.’
‘I notice you said highly, not fully,’ he says, but I can’t quite read his expression.
‘Well, Josh – you, my friend, arehighlyobservant. See, highly is good.’ I tear off more bread, shred it into smaller pieces. ‘Is it even legal to put this much salt in bread?’
