Full Refund

Full Refund

Push me, just don’t be surprised when I fall…

The smell of coffee was the smell of morning and Barden found, yet again, that it was certainly a comfort. He could hear the shower running out in the bathroom and he could see the light coming in underneath the bedroom door. She must have already opened the kitchen blinds 

Barden kicked off his pyjama bottoms and climbed into his jocks and socks. He raised his hand toward the bedroom screen and brought to life an expanse of early morning ocean. The virtual waves crashed rhythmically onto the virtual sand. Perfect, he thought to himself. 

He sweetened the coffee and added a dash of almond milk. Things were missing — bacon, eggs, bagel etc. Barden frowned to himself and listened closely. The shower was still running. 

In the bathroom he found his clothes laid out amidst the steam but behind the curtain, nothing. On the sink: his toothbrush with paste already on it and his beard trimmer charged and set to blade one, just how he liked it. Where was she? 

On instinct he almost called out her name. No. Don’t be silly. Old habits die hard as it were.

Suit, vest, tie. 

Cufflinks, shoelaces, scent. 

Barden felt clunky; out of practice. He felt embarrassed that he didn’t know where she was. He felt absently angry that she hadn’t come when he needed her. The cufflinks alone had cost him five minutes. 

Back in the bedroom he raised his hand and the ocean disappeared. The bed was unmade and the paraphernalia from the night before littered the floor. Barden felt his ears twitch with distaste. The room should not be left like this. They did not operate this way.

Watch, ring, badge. 

Shirt tucked and buttons done. 

Where was she?

He turned on his heel and stalked back out to the bathroom. The steam persisted. Barden peered around the glass to find nothing and then turned the shower off. 

Fine. She was sulking somewhere, working on an overdue task, or updating, or in shutdown because of some error or whatnot. It wasn’t the thing itself that upset him, it was the inconvenience of it. Fine. Whatever. 

Out the front door and down the steps. It was strange to do it without her, but Barden finally felt the real sun on his face and he couldn’t help the smile spread across his face. He started walking towards his Macchius 2300 when he noticed something slumped on the front lawn — something that was ruining his manicured couch grass. 

Misha

He said her name before he could help himself. 

The bullet had entered under her chin and the entire top of her head was mince meat. The gun from his secret cabinet was only barely in her hand.

Misha

Gary from next door was walking down his front path.

“Woah, Bard. You got one of those corrupted units?”

Barden looked up, and then down again at Misha’s blown out head and the mess of circuits that littered his lawn. The coffee didn’t feel so good in his belly anymore.

“Dude,” Gary continued, “don’t worry. Just call SureCorp, they’ll replace that shit immediately. You’ll get a full refund.”