Even now, in this very moment, all I want to do is hold her. Thoughts of making love to her.
Of sitting down and massaging her like she often asks me to. She does the same; returns the favor. We give each other scalp massages.
But I'll just think about doing the most innocent things with her. We've gone out several times. To go see the seagulls.
This time, Morris, who has gotten much, much bigger, ventures off leash. She's got the cat so trained that he doesn't even need the harness on him anymore.
Of course she keeps it on. But half the time she doesn't need the leash. He follows her around.
Like a little puppy. You'd swear he was a dog in another life. That is officially her cat now.
At work, my cat strolls around the department like he owns every square inch of it. As if this place is his second home.
Honestly, he’s probably just thrilled to have more territory to explore. AnywhereGabbyis, Morris is happy to be.
The CEO claps his hands once with a commanding air, pulling everyone together for a meeting.
"Alright, team," the CEO says, clapping his hands again to get our attention. "First off, you're all doing a great job. Seriously, the energy in here has been electric, and it's paying off. We're getting ready to do shipments in just a few weeks, so everybody be ready for that. We've got the pre-orders stacking up, and by May 5th, these babies are hitting the field. Let's keep crushing it. No slacking now."
A wave of cheers rises across the department. People immediately start murmuring, imagining what it’ll be like when those first units land in real homes, when actual users start relying on Auralis.
We go down the list of things we’ll have to monitor:
Tasks a robot might misread.
Unusual household layouts.
Owners who will undoubtedly push the unit past intended parameters.
Even outside the customer’s oversight, we’ll be paired with the robots remotely. If a task stalls, if something jams, if a unit freezes, we’re the ones who step in.
So far, Auralis has been gliding through testing. A few minor bugs, but nothing catastrophic. By the deadline, everything should be ironed out.
It’s April 2nd now. And by May 5th, they ship.
Hopefully it will be a success and everyone's pretty nervous. Now with things ramping down a bit, the CEO is not on everyone's ass as much. There’s a little breathing room for once.
A short gap opens up in the schedule. Since I’d asked to start two hours earlier; at 7 a.m. so I could come in with Sarah, I can usually leave a little sooner unless something urgent comes up. Most days that means I’m home by 5 p.m., and the other techs cover whatever remains.
Of course when needed I can also monitor things from home if absolutely necessary. Sarah isn't exactly happy with this. But the thing is I have found that I don't really care that much about making Sarah happy anymore.
Except if it pertains to work. She's still a great work partner. And what we're doing here is amazing.
The boss has already started outlining the next round of upgrades for Auralis. Even though there's a bit of thrill at the idea, right now, all I want is to get home and settle in with Gabby to watch one of our favorite shows.
She already went home for the afternoon. She usually hugs me goodbye but I didn't see her.
My fingers begin typing out a text.
Me:Hey you left and you never hugged me goodbye. I'll see you when I get home.
No response. Is she okay?
The surveillance camera for the outside never pings, which tells me she never got home. I'm worried.
Then my phone vibrates, a single thumbs-up emoji, nothing more.
That's literally all she gives me.
