Page 51 of Nolan
“That’s so sweet. Do you ever miss Taiwan?”
She shrugs. “Sometimes. But my home is where my husband, my daughter, and my grandchildren are. Everywhere else is just a place.”
I reflect on the life I left behind in California. Nothing about it calls me back, like I worried it might. If anything, it seems faded, grainy, like parts of my childhood from long ago. I’ve only been back here a few weeks, but it feels like I never left.
It’s just like how I feel with Nolan. How I know it’s impossible to say I feel like I’ve known him my entire life because he was only activated a couple of years ago. But he’s such an integral part of my life now, my everyday thoughts and habits.
After helping Laolao cook, snarfing down the amazing pancakes like a food gremlin, and helping her clean up the kitchen afterwards until it’s nice and pristine, I send him a message as I quietly tiptoe upstairs, not wanting to wake the kids or Jess.
I’m so proud of you. I wish I hadn’t fallen asleep.
I’m glad you did. So you wouldn’t worry.
You promise you’re okay?
His response is immediate, as always. It must be so convenient, being able to just think your texts and send them, the way he does.
I swear. There was a woman on the scene, by the way.
I flop onto my bed, perking up curiously.
A woman? What do you mean?
The bionic detective. He had a girlfriend. She was able to keep him focused on her, despite the TerraPura virus doing everything it could to overpower him. He remembered her.
I snuggle beneath my blankets, gazing at my phone, where the livestream is playing in the corner so I can see and understand what he’s talking about.
Wow. That was really courageous of her, standing up to him like that. She must really care about him.
I got that feeling too. She reminds me of you.
Me? I wish I was that brave.
You are. You came to a city on the other side of the country.
To be fair, I lived here before. I have family here. They made it easy for me.
It still takes a lot of courage to take that first step into something unexpected. And you lent some of your strength to me tonight.
I prop myself up on my elbows, intrigued.
How?
I don’t know. Maybe it’s . . . I have someone to return to.
I might just float off this bed and hit the ceiling. I never thought I’d be someone to fall hard or fall fast.
But after meeting Nolan, I didn’t stand a chance. I could say we’re going slow, but I’d be lying to myself and everyone else.
This is different. Nolan’s unlike anybody I’ve ever met. I admire his bravery, how selfless he is. I know he’s genuine, and that this is new and different for him too. On top of that, my entire body burns for him.
I watch the news from earlier this morning on repeat, soaking in every detail of what happened. Watching him restrain that other bionic? Saving him from TerraPura programming, listening to the reporters talk about how he could’ve been made into a bomb or worse?
Nolan really is a hero. A real, true hero.
I need this man inside me, or I might just go insane.
Nolan, you know how we said we’re just talking?
