Toys

Chapter 78

I got out of bed, pulled on some clothes, and went to the kitchen to make myself a cup of high-protein coffee. My mind was still fuzzy, but that was understandable after lying unconscious for days. All in all, I was satisfied that I felt as good as I did. I’m thankful that I heal as fast as I do. All Elites do, but I seem particularly fortunate in that respect.

A few minutes later, I heard the front door open, and I rushed to meet my daughters, throwing open my arms, missing them even more than I thought I had.

“Chloe, April!” I cried. “Now… which one of you is which?”

But instead of laughing and hurling themselves into my arms as I’d hoped, they stayed where they were, their little faces subdued. Metallico, the sassiest robot on the planet, stood behind them, as rigid as a tree.

I was absolutely stunned into silence. Something was very wrong here.

“What? No big hug for Daddy?” I finally managed a few words.

That brought Chloe and April to me-reluctantly-for a quick embrace. But then they pulled away. It was as if they barely knew me.

“We missed you,” said April.

“Missed you,” echoed Chloe.

Then the two of them shared a look and hurried off to their room and all their books and toys.

I turned to Metallico. “What’s going on?” I said. “What am I missing here?”

“Going on, sir?” he replied with the formality of a butler in a palace, someone else’s palace. “I don’t know what you mean. No idea. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have duties to attend to.” The huffy robot marched stiffly past me toward the kitchen.

Sir? Metallico had never called me that before. He’d always treated me like an equal-at best.

So I followed Chloe and April to their room. I found them playing with Jessica and Jacob dolls. Lizbeth must have given in and bought them while I was gone. I just hoped they weren’t the adult versions. Even these dolls looked at me funnily.

“Are you mad at Daddy?” I asked. “Did I do something I’m not aware of?”

They shook their heads, but neither girl spoke a word to me. Nor did the thoroughly creepy dolls.

“So what’s the matter with you two gremlins? You don’t seem glad to see me.”

Chloe, my four-year-old, squirmed uncomfortably. “Mommy said something really bad happened to you. She said-”

“She said we’re not supposed to talk about it,” her older sister-age six-interrupted. “We’re just glad you’re all right, Daddy. We feel nothing but love and admiration for you. You’re a hero.”

“You’re a hero!” mimicked Jessica and Jacob.

Lizbeth had probably been worked up when she explained things to our daughters, and they’d sensed her tension more than they’d heard what she actually said. Now they were just afraid. Temporarily, I hoped.

Or maybe all this strange behavior was just in my own mind-part of the anesthesia hangover.

“Something bad did happen to me. An accident,” I told the girls. “But it’s all over, and I’m fine. What do you want to do now? How about if I whip us up some”-I paused, frowning-“banana splits.” What I’d started to say was no-cal banana splits. Where had that odd thought come from? Of course the treats would be no-cal. All Elite food was. Only human food was…

“Then we could play 3-D Monopoly,” I said. “Or whatever you want. We can even play with your dolls.” Creepy critters that they are.

“I’d like to play with Daddy,” said Jessica with a leer. “Play with me, Daddy?”

Then Metallico came into the room with a silent, gliding walk that I’d never seen before. It was downright eerie, actually.

“The girls have had a busy day,” he said. “My instructions from Lizbeth are to see to it that they have their baths, then their homework, and some much needed rest.”

I didn’t like any of this, but I accepted that my judgment was probably shaky. I decided to let it go. “All right then-brush and flush!” I said to the girls.

“But first, one more hug. For good luck, for good measure, and just for fun!”

Slowly, Chloe and April came to me and granted their dad a hug. But then April said, “Good luck, Daddy,” and it sounded like she really meant it, like she knew I needed some luck.

“Good luck, Daddy!” chimed in Jacob and Jessica.

I wandered around the apartment after I left the girls, trying to get interested in the adult simulators and other toys of my own. But I was restless, I guess. I’d been cooped up inside long enough, hadn’t I? Maybe that was the problem.

A good, hard run would be just what I needed to get back to normal, to be Hays Baker once again.