Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
I squeezed my eyes shut tight and fought the urge to cry.
“I do get it. I’m still sorry. Do you want my help?”
“No need, I’ve got it. But, thanks, baby.” He kissed me on the lips and then he was gone.
***
Zane’s father’s house was only two stories and was much smaller and cozier than Zane’s house. It had a cottage feel to it and the furniture seemed older, maybe antique, but well cared for. I liked the homey feel of the place.
I sipped the tea and it didn’t taste like tea to me, more like warm fruit juice, but I liked it. I didn’t feel social, at all, so drank the beverage fairly quickly and then asked if I could go to sleep.
“Don’t feel bad about the animal making a mess, Tanya. Did Zane act cross with you?” Zane’s father asked.
“No, just ready for sleep. Thanks, Mr. Ze---Pops.”
He smiled warmly. “I’ll show you to your room. If you need anything at all, you let me know. My room is just next to yours.”
“This is a nice house,” I said as we climbed stairs to the second floor.
“It suits me nicely. After we lost all the girls, this one was put up for sale. I grabbed it. Zane had only lived next door since after he first got married, but I liked the neighborhood and wanted to be close to my family without crowding them.”
“It’s lovely.”
“Here we are.” He gestured to a door in a long hallway and then opened it. He jerked his thumb sideways. “Ollie’s at the end of the hall there.” He led me through the doorway and inside was a lovely and spacious bedroom with a big, round bed covered with fluffy white bedding and emerald green cushions. Above the bed was a domed ceiling done in yellow and pink crackled glass. Ollie Sr. gestured to a panel on the wall beside the bed. A black cabinet sat below.
“Food or drinks. There’s now an icon on there with a pink face that you’ll recognize. I’ve just added it to program the troublemaker’s food in.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Goodnight, my dear. When you wake, come downstairs and make yourself at home. We’re early risers, my grandson and me. I’m sure Ollie and I will be up very early, but if you’re up first by some possibility, please don’t be shy. We’ll likely be down there playing cards before you’re awake.”
“Thank you for your hospitality,” I said.
“I enjoy the company. Bathroom is right there.” He pointed at a door.
“Goodnight.”
He left, smiling at me, closing the door.
My plan was ruined for tonight. So, I’d have to go to sleep and let more hours go to waste taking me that much closer to my scheduled demise. I looked at my wristwatch.
Seventeen hours to go. I would have to give up the idea of trying to seduce him. Clearly, it wasn’t working. I’d have to just tell him the truth.
I got ready for bed, getting into pink flannel pajamas that I’d had in my suitcase from home. And they were very inferior to those bronze silky ones Zane had given me.
I brushed my teeth in the very nice bathroom attached to my room and then I got under the soft blankets and stared up at the dome. I hadn’t asked how to make it open. I wasn’t going to worry about it.
I had Chili on a table beside the bed in the hopes that if he woke, I’d hear him clicking for food. If he broke out again, I hoped he’d come to me and not rip Mr. Zenith’s house apart.
He was there in his fuzzy pink stuffing inside the cage, his body moving up and down just slightly with the steady breathing of being asleep, his face buried in his own belly, tail wrapped around himself. Ears periodically twitching. And I couldn’t blame him for trying to find his way to us. He found himself in a room by himself with only robots for company after a day of being with me, Zane, Ollie, Ollie Sr., Marko, Daylin, and Zorald. No wonder he wanted to try to find us. He was either lonely and scared, worried he was missing out on some fun, or he was worrying about us.
And I’d had an amazing day. An amazing day of getting to know Zane’s son a little. Of playing dancing video games and reading with him, watching him draw pictures. I got to introduce these people to Earth food and watch them devour it enthusiastically. I met the neighbors and they were really nice people, even if that teenaged boy couldn’t keep his eyes off me.
I got kissed and touched by Zane repeatedly and went swimming in a place very much like a waterpark that Zane had added onto his home for his son and the neighbors to enjoy. I flew down a three storey waterslide. Repeatedly. And loved every second.