Page 8 of Fembot
“What can you make tonight with the ingredients we have on hand?” Winston asked Calvin, who had finished clearing the counters and was now working on unloading the dishwasher.
“I can make chicken and rice with steamed vegetables.”
Lucky grinned at Winston. “It’s better than takeout. Again.”
“Okay,” Winston said. “That sounds nice, Calvin. Thank you.”
Calvin stopped what he was doing and cast a glance over his shoulder at Winston. “You’re welcome.”
Winston’s heart fluttered in his chest. Whoever designed Calvin had given him a devastatingly handsome smile. As far as guilt-induced gifts went, his father had done a lot worse. Maybe having Calvin around wouldn’t be so bad.
CHAPTER FIVE_
FIRST NIGHT
After dinner,Winston sent Calvin up to his room, much to the annoyance of Lucky, who was enamored with the newest bribe from Winston’s father. Truth be told, Winston should be old enough by now to not care about the fact that his father never chose him. He’d gone through it his whole life. There was always something or someone more important than him. He should be used to it, but he’d never been able to grow a thick skin. Each time Winston was chosen last, it chipped another piece of him away.
“We need to bring Cal to trivia night,” Lucky said, earning him a smack upside the back of the head from Novak. “Ow. Hey, what was that for?”
“For being an idiot.” Novak looked over at Winston sitting in the recliner, one ankle resting on the opposite knee. He stared at the glass of wine he’d poured himself but hadn’t drank. “You okay, Winnie?”
The mention of his name pulled Winston out of his thoughts. “Sorry? What? Yeah, I’m fine,” Winston answered as his brain caught up to the conversation. “It’s been a long, weird day.”
He was tired, but he was keenly aware of the robot-android-person-thing that now lived in the corner of his bedroom.Winston hadn’t shared a room in his life. He’d had an overnight guest every now and again, but he’d never let anyone get attached to him. He had his group of friends that he kept close, but Winston was used to being on his own otherwise.
Growing up, he had basically been raised by his father’s staff. Nannies and housekeepers and even the cook had more to do with Winston than his father. Oh, but he always had the latest toy. The most up to date gizmo. The best clothes, and when he got older, the gifts only got more extravagant and expensive.
And because the alternative was to have nothing, Winston let his father buy him. He held no more dreams that one day his dad would wake up and want to actually have a relationship with him. His dad was driven by money and by things and status and not by the need for any sort of meaningful connection with people, certainly not his own son. If Winston’s mother hadn’t died, he liked to believe that she’d have left Winston’s father.
Novak plucked the glass of wine from Winston’s hand and took a sip. “You okay? Talk to me, Win.” Novak offered back the half empty wine glass, but Winston waved it away.
“There’s nothing to say.”
“Win, come on. It’s me. If anyone gets it, I do.”
Novak did. He was the product of a torrid affair that had been made public. It had been ugly between his parents his whole life. He was the child no one wanted. A black mark against his father. Walking proof of his mother’s failed hope that a baby would make a difference. His father had paid for Novak’s education, and he’d never wanted for anything, but in return, Novak was to never reach out to him.
“I know I shouldn’t care.” Winston wiped a hand down his face. “It’s stupid to still care.”
“It’s not stupid to care. It’s stupid to not care. Our dads routinely make shitty choices where we’re concerned. The only difference is that mine doesn’t care if I think he’s a bastard.”
“It would almost be better if he didn’t give me anything. If he just forgot about me. I think I could rationalize that better than him ignoring me until he felt guilty enough to shower me with things. If guilt is such a motivator for him, why does he always act on it after the fact instead of trying to prevent it in the first place?”
“There’s something broken inside him, Win. Something that has nothing to do with you but affects how he interacts with you. He knows he’s wrong, but he’s emotionally stunted and thinks that things can fill the gaps he leaves.”
Winston snorted. “Emotionally stunted is definitely accurate.”
“So don’t follow in his footsteps, Winnie. Talk to me.”
Winston looked at Novak and sighed. “I fucking hate you and your goddamned sad puppy dog eyes. How can I keep being a closed-off bastard if you look at me like that?”
Novak’s mouth twitched like he wanted to smile, but he fought it off until Winston relented with a heavy sigh. “Ugh. Fine. I hate him, okay? Happy now?”
“I hate my dad too. It’s fine. They’ll live.”
“I hate him, and I hate myself for still wanting him to choose me. But instead I get nice cars and VIP tickets to concerts and the latest in artificial intelligence companions. He gives me everything but his time.” Winston took a deep breath and let it out as he tried to shed his lingering disappointment. “And now I have to go upstairs and sleep in the same room as this giant guilt gift.”
“You have a whole house. It can go somewhere else while you sleep.”
