Brobots Page 12

  ‘Did you like any of these?’ Jared was pointing at the shoes.

  ‘I have no idea. These ones are very shiny.’ He picked up some pointed dress shoes and waved them around to catch the overhead light.

  ‘They are. But they’re not for wearing with jeans. How about we try for some boots?’

  ‘I have boots.’

  ‘You do, but they’re scuffed, dirty and old. They’re also steel caps. Maybe good for someone’s idea for a party, but not most people’s.’

  There were some brown leather boots with patterns on the sides and rounded toecaps. Not quite cowboy boots, not dress boots; somewhere in between. Those would be perfect. Being a big guy, some elements of an outfit to bring out his warm and friendly side would probably help at future social engagements. Cute boots was one in Jared’s mind. Was it so in others? He wasn’t sure.

  They left the store. Jared needed a drink and a bite to eat after the shopping, so they headed through the atrium to a burger bar. Seated in a booth and sucking on milk shakes together like teenagers, Jared made a reflection. ‘I think you’re doing well.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Out in public.’

  ‘I’m used to being around others. That’s not new.’

  ‘No, but coming to a shopping mall is. Buying clothes is.’

  Byron gave a side smile. ‘Hey, I’m a construction worker! Once I know the task I’ll do it with perfection!’

  ‘I should bear that in mind. Cooking. Gardening. House tasks. Could make you so busy!’

  ‘I don’t mind if you do. Your garden is neglected.’

  Jared laughed. ‘It is. You’re right. You wanna start tackling it next week? It hasn’t been touched for years.’

  ‘I’d love to!’

  ‘Only if you’ll enjoy it.’ Jared looked out across the atrium at plastic plants. ‘I’ll show you where all the tools are tomorrow.’

  ‘I would, Jared. I want to make myself useful.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s fine. But… I want you to get used to being un-useful from time to time. You need to work out what you enjoy, what you like doing just for you.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘But it’s not another “task to do”.’

  ‘Maybe I’ll do some modeling!’

  Jared laughed. ‘Where’d you get that idea?’

  ‘The mannequin in the shop looked so wimpy.’

  ‘Oh! That kind of modeling. I thought you were talking about RPG or something. Ha ha! He did. They always go for skinny when modeling.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Good question is that. Thin people are meant to be healthier; more desirable.’

  ‘Some people just ain’t built that way, though.’

  ‘You are so right. But no. An inanimate past-time is not what I had in mind when I said un-useful. Maybe you have an artistic side or something!’

  ‘I can draw.’

  ‘There you go! I bet you’re a sculptor, or a potter, or a painter or something.’

  ‘I’m just a builder, bro’.’

  ‘Nobody is just anything, Byron. Nobody.’

  Byron and Sparrow

  Monday was a sunny day. The air was very fresh and the sky was a pale clear early winter blue. By 3pm Byron had hacked away brambles, thorns, shrubs, trees and weeds leaving a post-apocalyptic wasteland to sort out and a huge pile for burning. Being suburban, it wasn’t a big patch. But it was big enough.

  With the pile set neat at the back of the yard, Byron stopped and leaned on his shovel. Looking around he realized two things. One was that he loved doing stuff with his hands; proper deep down enjoyment and fulfillment. Another was that nobody was watching him. If he wanted to stop, he could. This was a new sensation. It felt amazing; so many new feelings all at once, in fact. He didn’t know what to do with them and hardly knew their names. This one must be ‘happiness’. This one must be ‘wholesomeness’. This one must be ‘elation’. It was like they were programs starting to download and run for the first time; or dials that had only ever been turned down low.

  Feeling the joy of more freedom than he’d ever had before, he decided to lie down on the cleared ground and simply gaze up at the sky. After keeping still for about ten minutes a sparrow fluttered from a neighbor’s tree down to the pyre he’d built. From there it came down to some stones against the garden fence, and from there to Byron’s slow-breathing chest. It was the same sparrow that had landed on Byron when he was dead waste discarded in the building site trash, but nobody would ever know.

  A little more slowly now, the effort taking its toll on the parts of his outer body that could ache, Byron continued to clean and sweep until Jared got home from work. When he heard the front door open he stood at the yard door with a grin on his face.

  ‘Hey, Byron! You look happy! Been working all day in the yard?’

  ‘I have! Come take a look.’

  ‘Oh. My. God. Byron? This is amazing. You did all this in a day?’

  ‘Sure did!’

  ‘I’m speechless.’

  ‘Is that good?’

  ‘Yeah. That’s totally a good thing. Wow.’ He patted Byron on one of his big round shoulders. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I enjoyed it, Jared. It was funny but…I felt happy.’

  ‘That’s even better to hear.’

  ‘I ripped my old work pants though.’

  Jared looked down. There was a rip of about five centimeters where sharp woody debris had snagged the fabric. If this had been Jared, he’d have been howling with splinters and requiring antiseptic. ‘Is that all it is? Or…can I check?’ Jared crouched down to look at the skin beneath the fabric tear. The skin was also torn. Some wires were poking out, and some of those were also torn.

  ‘You tore yourself too, brother.’ Jared stood.

  ‘I can’t sense it.’

  ‘Look.’

  ‘It ain’t bad.’

  ‘No, but it needs fixing. The light’s fading. Let me take Artie out and when I get back we’ll grab celebration comfort food – maybe pizza. After that we can get you patched up, okay?’

  ‘Okay. But… I can probably do it. Except…’

  ‘Except?’

  ‘No repair kit.’

  ‘Brobotics didn’t send one either. But no worries. I have heaps of supplies. We can steal some things from some old junk; work something out. I did get skin gel.’

  --

  Artie was sometimes taken to resting under the dining table if Jared was eating in there. Whilst Jared and Byron chowed down on the Diavolo pizzas and some light beers, Artie became mesmerized by the cables poking out of Byron’s lower leg. They moved as he moved, and she was curious.

  Without either of them noticing, she stood and shifted herself around so that she was at an angle to Byron’s leg. From there she could get a better look. At first she licked, which tasted funny. Then she pulled with her tongue and teeth. This only revealed more cable, and the cable was stubborn to move. She pulled again. This time a whole chunk came clear giving her tongue a brief electric shock and causing Byron’s leg to involuntarily kick. His kick landed squarely on Jared’s shin, upon which Jared whelped. The shock and the noise sent Artie dashing for upstairs.

  ‘Ouch Byron! That really hurt!’

  ‘I… don’t know what happened. I think my leg…’ – he went to stand. With one leg completely useless now, Byron effectively swooned sideways onto the floor; his movement pushing his chair backwards and tipping it away.

  ‘Oh shit.’ Jared jolted around the table grimacing as he did so with sharp pain. He crouched down at Byron’s side.

  ‘Are you still here?’

  ‘Still here! Just… no left leg.’

  Jared looked down. What had been a five centimeter tear was now a ten centimeter hole. What had been a few small wires was now a small heap of cables – many of which were broken in two. Without thinking, Jared put his hands on the damaged leg; a level of physical closeness that would have been new to them both had it not been for a need
of first aid.

  ‘I should have got you fixed first, Byron. I’m so sorry. The pet hazard aspect totally passed my mind.’

  ‘It’s only minor.’

  Jared stood. ‘True. But it’s less minor than it was. Damn. This is probably gonna take all night to fix.’

  Ten minutes later, Byron was sitting in a tub chair and Jared had all manner of tiny tools, cables, wires, testing gear and other items from his stash littered around on the floor. An angle poise lamp was focused on the damage, and Jared had reading glasses perched on the end of his nose.

  ‘I can do this myself you know.’

  ‘Maybe I like it.’

  ‘Maybe you’re weird.’

  ‘I make friends with robots. It goes with the territory.’

  ‘Are you callin’ me a robot?’

  ‘Aren’t you? Is it a fact or an insult?’

  ‘You’re tone is not insulting, so it’s not an insult. The intent makes the difference.’

  ‘Oh! Philosopher now.’

  ‘Nnngh!’

  ‘Sorry. Got somethin’ crossed here. Does it hurt?’

  ‘Tickles.’

  ‘Want me to do it again?’

  ‘No thank you. Don’t want somethun to short.’

  ‘Kinda weird, don’t you think?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You’re all braun. Built big. Survive that long fall. No damage. Then underneath that armor plating you’re more vulnerable than me. A million parts that could go wrong with no self repair. Strong and fragile all at the same time.’

  ‘It’s called replacement parts and eternal life in download heaven, so suck on that.’

  ‘Bitchy now too, huh?’

  Byron sniggered. ‘Sorry. This is how I sometimes used to.. nnghhh! Haha! Ugh… talk with Tasley, Chuck and Ned. I’ll stop.’

  ‘No, don’t do that. I like bitchy.’

  ‘Nnngh! Okay that one just hurt.’

  Jared soldered one final piece together, wrapped it with a quick drying rubber resin and tucked it all back in. A tube of synthetic skin sealant was something he had had the foresight to purchase, so that was the last thing to do. While the resin was setting Byron was hypnotized with calm and something deep within him stirred. Much to his surprise, and for the first time outside of a charging pod, he was getting aroused.

  ‘There. You’re done. Wanna try it out?’

  Now he wants me to stand. This is awkward. Byron stood up remaining at a slight angle so as not to show, and walked around. Everything checked out fine. ‘Neat job.’

  ‘Y’see!’

  ‘Yep. Real good.’ Byron sat down again before Jared noticed anything about Byron’s crotch area; or indeed his awkward stoop.

  ‘Leave your cargo pants in the kitchen tomorrow. I’ll stitch them up sometime. I’ve got some old track pants of Steven’s around the house somewhere. I think they’ll fit you. You can wear those in the garden the rest of the week. Not your new outfits. Okay?’

  Pants. This isn’t helping. What’s going on here? Why am I twitching there? ‘Who’s Steven?’

  ‘He’s a former boyfriend.’

  Byron thought about that in the hope that it would focus his attention away from his own body. It didn’t. There was a lot about feelings he still didn’t know. In fact he felt dumb on the subject and wished he understood more. But he knew enough from Jared’s help and company to know that Jared might be sad. Sad for Steven? Sad for something else? He didn’t know.

  ‘You shouldn’t lend them to me if it’s gonna be all weird for you.’

  ‘They’re just pants.’

  ‘And you’re just Jared.’

  Great. Someone else in my life with that line to give. ‘It was long enough ago’, Jared offered, looking into Byron’s eyes and taking off the glasses.

  ‘You sure you’re not trying to bring him back?’

  ‘I’m not trying to raise gossip by having a semi-naked gardener is all. Will you get outta my head?’

  ‘I’m not… Oh, right.’ Byron looked down at his knees and slashed cargo pants.

  ‘Maybe you’re right. I think you hit a nerve. But… it is a sensible solution so I don’t see a problem.’

  ‘Then thanks. Jared…?’ Byron looked up at him. His head was swimming with sensations that had no name. It was a semantic web dancing with too many orphan nodes. Parts of sentences formed in his mind: ‘I like you’, ‘I love you’, ‘I need you’, ‘you’re amazing’, ‘can we hold each other’, ‘I like looking at you’, ‘my dick is big for you’.

  ‘What’s up?’

  ‘Nothing. I’ll… see you tomorrow.’

  Jason

  Could a Thursday night count as a weekend night? Jason was sure that this week it could. His project codename “Altitude” had gone live, and that warranted a small celebration of some kind.

  He flicked through messages on his wrist and considered messaging Jared. But he wasn’t sure he wanted to spend time with him. Jared had come to his recent house party, but hadn’t talked to him all evening. Then there were the softball invitations turned down, and the fact that he’d been down a bit recently. But Jason wasn’t a fair weather friend and considered that out of all the people he knew, he was close enough to Jared to give a shit about his mood too.

  Thinking of which, Jared had perked up this last week or so. What was up with that? Was there a story there? Jason closed down his apps and unhooked from the cloud. He gathered up his belongings and headed to Jared’s booth. Jared was doing the same.

  ‘Hey.’

  ‘Oh, hey! Congrats on the launch!’

  ‘Thank you. Wanna help me celebrate?’

  ‘What do you have in mind?’

  ‘Nothing too big. Maybe upstairs at the Palm Tree for a quiet drink?’

  Maybe Byron is ready. ‘That sounds nice. Is it okay to bring a friend?’

  ‘You have friends? I never knew. He or she?’

  ‘He.’

  ‘He be a date?’ Jason raised an eyebrow.

  ‘He be no date.’

  ‘He be gay single friend?’

  ‘Single, yes. Gay, no. Code monkey need cookie now?’ Jared fed Jason an unwrapped cookie as they headed out the building. Through a full mouth and crumbs firing all directions Jason said, ‘code monkey cookie happy.’

  ‘I’ll…uh…walk Artie, pick up Byron and meet you there at 7?’

  ‘Cookie monkey meet Byron at seven. Feed more.’

  Jared handed him one more and then walked to catch his bus.

  --

  6.30pm. Artie was walked, fed and happy. Time to see how Byron was. In fact – where was he? ‘Byron?’

  ‘I’m up here.’

  Jared walked upstairs and entered Byron’s room. He was led down on his bed reading news from a tablet computer. He’d clearly been working the yard again. He was still dressed in Steven’s black track pants (now slightly mucky) and one of his own tees. Jared could have swooned right then and there. His knees tended to agree and actually gave way a bit.

  ‘Come in Jared. Take a seat if you want.’

  Jared sat down on the side of the bed. ‘Did you enjoy gardening again?’

  ‘I did! I’m excited to show you in the morning when it gets light. Half the roots are all gone now. It’s just bare earth waiting to be planted. Almost. I’ll need to learn about plants soon and stuff. It’s so cool.’

  ‘You know you’re talking about your emotions more? Saying what you think is cool?’

  ‘Is that OK?’

  ‘That’s… also exciting. To me at least. It’s like you’re waking up or something.’

  Byron put down the tablet and rolled on his side resting his head on one arm. ‘All thanks to you, bro’.’

  That grin. Holy mackerel. Jared felt awkward. ‘Hey, listen. How would you like to come out with me tonight? My work friend Jason wants to meet me at the Palm Tree Club. It’s a favorite place of mine. You seem to be ready for it, and you’ve been mooching around here since Saturday.’


  ‘Yes! Should I wear something different?’

  Jared felt wicked for a moment. Byron in old fashioned polyester track pants was so hot he didn’t want him to ever take them off. But then he did a reality check. Male friend staying as welcome guest. Not gay. Pull it together.

  ‘How about the chinos?’

  ‘And the knit?’

  ‘Yeah, or just your tee and black jacket. The jacket makes you look like a boss. I don’t know. Up to you. Just maybe not the trackies.’

  ‘Are we going soon?’

  ‘Soon as you’re ready. I’ll order a pod.’

  Byron swung over so that he was sitting on the bed next to Jared. He moved his large hands down his thighs, which tugged on the fabric a little and revealed his bulge. Jared let out an involuntary whimper.

  ‘Do you like me in these?’ Byron winked.

  Is that a come on? Please don’t tease me, Byron. I can’t take it. ‘I… uh…’ Jared looked away.

  ‘They’re no good for clubs so get your ass in gear and I’ll see you downstairs.’ Jared went to stand up, but Byron placed a hand on his upper thigh.

  ‘I’m… Thank you for everything you’re doing. You know I appreciate it?’

  ‘I do. I feel like… we’re close friends already and it’s not even been two weeks yet. I love it having you here.’

  ‘I love it too.’ Byron stood up and stretched. He clearly didn’t need to do so for animal reasons. But as a display of male confidence and delight it was highly authentic. Jared couldn’t help but notice, however. Byron’s downward packet was throbbing. Fuck. Don’t misinterpret. Men get random hards all the time. This probably has nothing to do with your moment of intimacy you gay weirdo. Leave the room now and all will be well.

  ‘Can you help me make sure I dress up right? I don’t wanna get nuthin wrong.’ Byron rubbed a knuckle on his chest, breathing out.

  Please don’t do this. You’re teasing. You must be. I can’t take this.

  One thing about Jared, as Alma and Yana had alluded to, was his weakness for men in need. For Alma and Yana this had a direct correlation to when he was little and had to care for his father. Helping his man, whoever that was at the time, was his addiction. Helping anyone but himself, in fact. Rather than let men and relationships simply be what they were naturally, his chosen role was one of protection, care, fixing, sorting, fretting, mithering and geeking. It was a perfect admixture of seemingly ‘straight’ and ‘gay’ traits, or ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ drives. What were those labels, anyway? Jared wasn’t confused about his gender. He was very much a man; muscular, in fact. It was simply that his way of adoring men had been flavored by his experiences swapping parental roles with his father before he had even reached high school. That urge, coupled with another kind of urge getting stronger every minute, rooted Jared to the spot. ‘Sure!’