“That sounds great, Milo. I trust you.”
Milo smiled even brighter at the compliment. “So, tell me then, how bad were things at work today? Were there repercussions for the director learning about me?”
Right. Rowan had nearly forgotten about what had plagued him literally the entire day. “Actually, this might turn out to be a good thing. I hope. Let’s sit down.”
They did, with Milo still in his apron, something Rowan had no intention of correcting until Milo wanted to remove it, and Rowan explained how his day had gone and how Andrew had reacted.
“So Raina also knows now and grilled me with about a million questions when I returned to my workstation, but no one else can find out. The director was very firm about that. He did seem honestly excited though.”
Milo looked shell-shocked, gaze distant with eye gears shifting as he processed all of the information. When he was finished and met Rowan’s stare, he lit up like Christmas to match the smells in the kitchen. “This is wonderful, Rowan! He’s not mad, he wants to meet me, he wants to recreate what happened. It’s everything I was hoping for. I was so…sadworking on Anabelle because she wasn’t like me. I couldn’t talk to her, not really, and it made me wish she could awaken like I did and experience all the wonderful things I have so far. Plus, the rigidity of programming can be highly annoying.”
Rowan laughed.
A few mild whirring noises alerted them to the entrance of Spot, who was likely full from vacuuming and mopping and would need to deposit her contents. Milo had set that up for the tiny bot in a hidden alcove beside the pantry, where Spot was clearly headed.
“I know not all bots are built enough like me for singularity, like Spot there, but for those who could…” The fluid in Milo’s eyes appeared to be increasing, but at least this time it wasn’t from sadness. Happy tears were a thing too, so very human, and Milo was experiencing them. “We would be a new species being born, yes?”
“Yes…” Rowan reached across the tabletop to take Milo’s hands. “And if we get that far, there is going to be so much more to weather with this, Milo. It’s good, I hope, that we have Andrew on our side, but…” He hated to ruin Milo’s excitement by being pessimistic. Cautiously optimistic, he could do. “Let’s take this one day at a time, okay? But I will be with you every step of the way.”
Milo’s chest swelled, not with any intake of unnecessary breath but as if his non-existent heart had grown three sizes. “Thank you. And soon, I will learn to make you the perfect apple pie in gratitude!”
Rowan laughed again—and then noticed that the music he'd mostly forgotten was playing had made a jarring genre change. “Did that just switch from Aretha Franklin to Weird Al?”
“I am trying to be eclectic in learning my tastes!” Milo declared.
Rowan held back yet another laugh, but there was no denying what he already knew.
Milo was amazing.
Notes:
So, to be perfectly honest, I don’t like apple pie. I know, what kind of American am I? XD I prefer blueberry. So here is my recipe for the perfect blueberry pie:
CRUST
(you can use Pillsbury, no judgment, but if you have the time, homemade does amp it up)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 lb COLD unsalted butter, (2 sticks) diced into 1/4″ pieces
7 Tbsp ice water, (7 to 8 Tbsp)
Place flour, sugar, and salt into food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add cold diced butter and pulse mixture until coarse crumbs form. Add 7 Tbsp ice water and pulse until moist clumps or small balls form. Knead dough just enough for it to hold together. Divide dough in half and flatten to form 2 disks. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour before using.
FILLING:
2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and well drained, (16 oz)
1 21 oz can blueberry pie filling (combining fresh and canned makes for best taste and consistency)
1 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp lemon juice
