Page 58 of Fembot
Henry nodded. “As soon as he’s ready, you can begin.”
Yarek looked at Calvin.
Calvin nodded, then closed his eyes. “I’m ready.”
Yarek took a deep breath.
And began.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR_
SILVER LINING
The day startedoff weird with a phone call from administration demanding Lucky’s immediate presence at the dean’s office. Leaving Winston was the hard part. Winston was a ghost of himself. A shell. The abrupt loss of Calvin had blown a hole in the their hearts. Winston would get back on his feet; it would just take time.
Lucky told him where he was going, and Winston looked up at him with pain in his eyes even as he offered to go along for moral support.
Lucky pushed the hair off Winston’s forehead. “I’ll be fine, but maybe you could shower while I’m gone.”
Winston wrinkled his nose. “Are you saying I smell?”
“I would never tell you that you smell, honey. But I would remind you that it’s been a few days since you showered and let you draw your own conclusions.”
Winston let out a sigh that sounded like it was tearing him in half. “Okay.”
Lucky leaned forward and stole a kiss, stale breath be damned. Winston could have crawled out of a literal dumpster, and Lucky would still love him. Want him. Kiss him. Need him.
“We’re going to be okay, Winnie,” Lucky promised. Nothing could make Lucky ever give Winston up. Not again. Even though Calvin had been an integral part of their relationship and surviving without him would be a challenge, Lucky was determined to hold on to Winnie with both hands. “I have to go. I’ll be back soon.”
Lucky stole one more kiss before prying himself away from Winston and heading downstairs. He stopped in his room and slipped into a fresh set of clothes. Downstairs, he passed by Novak on the couch with his books spread out around him. At least someone here was going to pass finals.
“I have to head out for a bit. Can you keep an eye on him?” Lucky asked.
Novak had been a good friend through all the insanity. He’d never questioned the fact that Lucky and Winston had started a relationship with a robot or that they were devastated when Calvin was taken away.
Novak looked at Lucky and rolled his eyes. “As if I haven’t been checking on both of you for days. Who do you think made the sandwiches that appeared by your bed last night?”
Lucky gave in to the sudden urge to hug Novak and crossed the room. He dropped to his knees in front of him and wrapped his arms around Novak and squeezed. Novak draped an arm around him in return and patted his shoulder.
“There, there. You’ll be okay. Now please stop hugging me.”
Lucky couldn’t help but laugh at Novak’s barely contained annoyance.
“Sorry. Anyway, I have to run. I’ll be back.”
“I’ll check on Winston in a bit. Make sure he at least rotates so he doesn’t get bed sores.”
Lucky frowned at Novak’s very on the nose assessment of Winston’s wellbeing.
When Lucky got back home, he was going to have to talk to Winston about his coping mechanisms because clearly he wasn’t using any of them. Winston was full-on wallowing, and while wallowing in the short term was to be expected, he couldn’t go on like this forever.
Lucky made the quick trip to campus in Winston’s car. He found a parking space a short walk away from the administration building and tried to settle the feeling of impending doom that churned in his stomach as he approached the dour-looking brick facade.
He’d never been to the dean’s office, but it wasn’t hard to find, though Lucky wished he could get lost and maybe not have to deal with whatever was going to happen to him when he made it to the other side of that thick wooden door.
An equally dour-looking secretary greeted Lucky with a tight version of something trying to be a smile. How very reassuring.
“Lucien Townsend,” he introduced himself. “I was told to come straight to the office.”
