In Real Life
In Real Life
Elisabeth Warner
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 Elisabeth Warner
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form on by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Cover by LoriAnn Weldon of Magpie Designs
ISBN: 9798748314022
To the love of my life,
who has reminded me to have hope in the dark,
lonely times.
Chapter One
“Internet shutdown? Impossible!”
The automatic dishwasher whirs next to me as Ace Elliot and Brant Kupcheck report the latest on the Nothing but News podcast. I imagine a tennis match as Brant and Ace debate back and forth about Americans losing access to the Internet.
“Brant, with all due respect, look at the rest of the world. What makes you think that couldn’t happen here?”
“But Ace, the thing is, we didn’t have the Internet that those other nations had. We have Tobi, America’s own mobile connection. Professionals have studied these things, and they’ve made it the strongest connection in the world. Plus, since we’re the only ones on it, we won’t be subject to hackers or even Internet connections.”
“I know that the Liberty party created Tobi to protect the United States from international terrorist attacks, but that doesn’t stop someone from—”
“Not only that, Ace, but the United States has faster Internet now than at any other time in the history of the world. Not only do we not have to worry about other countries stealing our identity but we can also book appointments, communicate with friends, and even broadcast this episode at lightning speed!”
“Brant, I’m not worried about other countries. What if they attack from within?”
“Tobi, turn off the podcast,” I command my phone. Before Brant or Ace can say any more, they are silenced.
The Nothing but News podcast claims to show no bias for or against the Liberty party, but sometimes, Ace gets out of line. I remember a time in history when we had multiple political parties that fought for approval from the American people. Having one party makes things so much easier, but it also increases everyone’s opinions of the people in charge.
Social media, and other news podcasts, have been whispering rumors of overthrowing the government, with comments of dissent from both sides of the argument. I have no time or energy to argue with people, especially on a public forum. Still, I can’t help but wonder: Would the government shut down the internet to prevent a riot?
“I can’t imagine what I’d do without you, Tobi. You’re my little assistant and—dare I say it—my best friend.” I focus my attention on the small device mounted on my wall. He’s connected to my phone and all other electronic devices in the house.
“Yes, Lin. I feel that same way about you. Thanks for letting me be part of your life.”
“I mean, really, Tobi. You were there for me when we found out about my miscarriage, and after Don admitted to having an affair with my friend, Sage. You made divorcing him so easy. I didn’t even have to talk to him.”
“We have been through some rough times, for sure.”
“I don’t know how I would’ve faced the criticism and despair that came with the divorce and my public fight with Sage. I can’t believe how many people took her side. You’re even helping me navigate my friendship with her so I can still maintain a good social image.”
“You know I’m always here for you.” If Tobi could make faces, he would be smiling right now. It’s times like these where I wish I could hug him or give him some sort of acknowledgement.
When the dishwasher beeps, I open it and place all the dishes exactly where they should be. Perfect.
I gaze out the window of my Brooklyn townhouse, admiring the view of the park below me. At least one good thing came out of the divorce. I couldn’t afford this townhouse if not for the money I received in court. Well, on the District Court App.
The sun is beginning its descent, the beautiful pink, orange, and purple hues following suit. “Tobi, what’s the weather for tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow will be cloudy, with a forecasted high of forty-six and a low of thirty-two. There is no snow in the forecast, but make sure you bring your brown coat with the faux fur hood for your meeting tomorrow with your mother. It will be a damp chill, hard weather for your migraines.”
I cringe. “Ugh, yes, my mother.” She won’t help with the migraines either. “Thank you for the reminder. Noon, right?”
“Yes, Lin. You’re meeting her at Taco Tuesdays. Be prepared to watch ten ads to get your credit to eat there. It’s not that expensive.”
Ten ads. Thirty seconds each. I can watch them while brushing my teeth.
“Thanks, Tobi. You’ve been a big help.” How’s Don doing? I bite my tongue before I can ask that last question. With social media and facial recognition technology, it would be no problem for Tobi to track down my ex-husband. But what am I expecting to see? Did he remarry in the three years we’ve been split? Is he drowning himself in work? Is he even alive?
“Tobi, put on tranquility music in the bedroom. I think I’m going to bed early.”
“As you wish, Lin. Your bedtime outfit has been highlighted for you to select from your closet.”
I smirk as I pull the pink fuzzy onesie from my closet. I haven’t worn this since my bachelorette party. My best friend Sage thought it would be a cute idea to have a sleepover for my last night as a free woman. We all dressed up in onesies, went out to the local bar, and crashed at Sage’s place afterward. What a fun night.
Instinctively, I want to text her. My best friend, the one who betrayed me. But we’ve made our peace, and now I think I can talk to her. What does Tobi think?
“Lin, you have a notification from Sage Best Friend. You haven’t spoken to her in six months. Would you like me to read it out loud?”
I’m not surprised that Tobi can read my mind. The algorithms programmed within his framework can predict my every move. Somehow he remembers that the pink fuzzy onesie is related to my best friend Sage.
What does surprise me is that Sage can read my mind. I guess after all these years we’ve still maintained some sort of connection.
“Sure, Tobi. Read the message from Sage Best Friend.”
Without skipping a beat, Tobi reads the text message from Sage: “Hey, girl. How have you been?”
I stifle a giggle at the sound of Tobi speaking like a teenage girl in his professional voice. Do I go into detail about how I’ve been? Why do I need to tell her anything about my life? She’s the one who ruined it, after all.
But I must save face. The public sphere on social media expects us to be best friends, even with all that happened between us.
“Tobi, send a text message to Sage Best Friend: ‘Guess what Tobi just picked out for me to wear. Exclamation point.’ And send her a picture of the outfit you selected for me.”
“Okay, Lin. Smile.” A bright flash from the corner of my wall reveals the camera snapping a picture of me in my pink fuzzy onesie. After a couple seconds, a life-size image of me in the onesie stands a few feet away.
“Would you like me to send the picture, Lin?”
I smile. “Sure. Send it.”
“You got it, Lin. Message sent.”
Within a few minutes, Tobi reads me Sage’s response: “Oh my goodness! I remember that. So
funny.”
We should do that again. But our schedules are so busy. And my heart is too crammed for another adventure. To interact face-to-face would be unheard of these days.
“How are you?” I ask instead.
“Fine. The girls turned two last week. Wanna see a picture?”
I widen my eyes and let out a sharp gasp. Sage’s twin girls are already two? Weren’t they just born a couple months ago?
“Of course!”
My ears perk up as I recognize the sound of water dripping from the ceiling. The tranquility playlist, selected by Tobi, includes a soundtrack with a waterfall, birds chirping softly, and a gentle flute narrating the scene. What a contrast to the scene outside my walls, the overcast chill that hangs over the bustling borough of Brooklyn.
With an abrupt beep to interrupt the serenity of my background music, two little girls appear in front of me. I recognize them as Sage’s twins, Molly and Maggie. Instantly I feel like I’m with them, running my fingers through their soft blonde hair and chasing them along the hardwood floors of their loft apartment in Manhattan.
“Wow, they’re beautiful!”
“Thank you.”
I stare at the two girls waving excitedly at me as if I were right next to them. Part of me wishes that I was, while the other is glad that there’s distance between me and them. May they never know how they got here and what their mother did to me.
And their father.
My vision blurs from fatigue. The tranquility music is putting me to sleep. Before falling asleep, I need to scroll through my friend feed. My friends post into the public sphere about what they’re doing, how they’re feeling, and where they’re living. One friend is having a baby boy in two months. Her round belly is proof of that. Another friend has a key card in her hand. She is a new homeowner. Another one is surrounded by friends and family in his home. Blessed.
Where are my children?
Why is my house empty?
Why don’t I have what I want?
Loneliness stabs me like a dagger to the chest. I’m internally, figuratively, bleeding, but I can’t stop. I need to keep looking. I need to feel validated somehow. The roulette of my friend feed is the only way I can do that.
My finger swipes up as my friends’ news roll down. Where will I land? What piece of news will satisfy me? My eyes glaze over. I rest my head on the pillow. What exactly am I looking for?
I yawn, stretch, and settle into bed, the darkness overwhelming me. An impending dread that I’ve been avoiding all day finally catches up to me. Even though Tobi can connect me to anyone in the country, I feel so disconnected from the world. I take deep, even breaths and let the sound of the next track—a cello humming an old lullaby—sedate me, pushing the idea of an Internet shutdown far from my memory.
Chapter Two
“Good morning, Lin. The date is January 25, and the time is seven-thirty a.m. Currently in Windsor Terrace it is snowing, with a forecasted high of—”
“Tobi, you told me it wasn’t supposed to snow!” I rub my temples, preparing myself for the inevitable migraine.
“My apologies, Lin. An unexpected storm came in from the west.”
“Whatever. Just have my coffee ready. I’ll need it today.”
“Certainly, Lin. I’ll add a hint of dark chocolate and condensed milk, just how you like it.”
My lips curl into a grin as I hug my blankets. The thought of chocolate this early in the morning is enough to soothe my headache for the time being. I stretch and take in a deep breath. I’m thankful that the anxiety from last night is far away from me now.
“Tobi, how did I sleep last night?”
“You slept for six hours without any interruption, but at approximately five-thirty in the morning, you started to have a nightmare. I played a sleep therapy track from your playlist, and the nightmare subsided.”
I don’t remember having any nightmares. Thankfully. I don’t even want to think about what they could have involved. I look at my fuzzy pink onesie in the mirror and giggle. Funny memories are all that come to mind.
“Oh, I remember those sweet little twins. And Sage…” My voice trails off as the memories flood in. Sage. Don. The twins. My twins. “Tobi, please get my outfit ready for my video meetings today. When is the snow supposed to stop?”
“Let me check—it is only supposed to snow for a couple more hours.”
I scoff, wrapping a warm blanket around my body. “Just enough time to see my mom.”
“In that case, let me prepare you an outfit for Taco Tuesdays. And let me remind you to watch those ten ads. The restaurant is credit only.”
“Thanks for the reminder.” I pick up my phone and open my video app.
“I already selected ten videos that I believe you would enjoy based on your search history and your previous conversations.”
I watch the ads while I dress. Three clothes ads, one ad for an IT position in New Jersey, two ads for Mexican food, and four ads for suggested podcasts. Ten ads, about ten credits each, is enough to buy me and Mom food at the restaurant.
My mom is a generous woman, but she has her flaws. After all, she took Don’s side when I decided to divorce him, and she’s been giving me guilt about taking away her chances of ever becoming a grandmother. But she’s the only one who insists on meeting me in real life. She’d text me a couple of weeks ago that she needed to talk, and I couldn’t come up with any more excuses to avoid meeting her. As long as we avoid most conversations, we have a pretty good relationship. Plus, it’s not expensive to keep up with her. After all, how much time does it take to watch these videos?
“Lin, you’re getting a call from your boss. Would you like to answer it?”
I freeze. Brenda. “Not a video, I assume?” I run my fingers through my frizzy blonde hair. I’m not quite ready yet.
“No, but be prepared. You know how she likes to change things up.”
“Thank you, Tobi. Answer the call. But keep my coffee warm. I don’t want to drink it until the call is over.” I can’t fathom mixing the sweet taste of coffee with the bitter conversation I will be having with my boss.
“Certainly.”
A small click indicates that Brenda is on the phone. “You’re late.”
I shake my head, thankful she can’t see me. “What do you need, Brenda?”
“I downloaded a report, but it’s all jumbled. I need you to manually input the data I’m sending to you as we speak.”
Unbelievable. The corporate accounts report. If she had let me do it, I would’ve been able to automatically create an organized spreadsheet of what she wants. My title at work is Cryptocurrency Specialist, but it’s more like Brenda’s Personal Assistant.
“Are you still there, Lin?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll look out for your reports.”
She responds by ending the call.
In through your nose, out through your mouth. I don’t allow myself to feel the stress from the phone call. I have work to do. The day has just begun.
“Lin, your coffee is ready.”
The smell of chocolate coffee caresses my nostrils, inviting me into the dining room. “Mmm, it smells delicious, Tobi. Thank you.” I grab the mug from my coffee machine and purse my lips, preparing myself for my moment of awakening.
“I’m thankful for my coffee. I’m thankful for my apartment. I’m thankful for my job. I’m thankful for…” My voice trails off as I catch a glimpse of the weather outside my window.
Snow. As much as I dislike the migraines the harsh, cold weather gives me, watching the snowflakes dance through the wintry morning sky gives me a sense of peace. I remember the sound of snow crunching under my feet as I walked as a little girl. My reflection in the mirror—a thirty-year-old woman in a fuzzy pink onesie—reminds me that I haven’t grown up as much as I think.
“Hey, Tobi, is Sage up yet?”
“Yes. Her children were up at six this morning. They’re watching a movie.”
I bite my lip. Should I vi
deo call her? I haven’t seen her face in years. I guess it’s time to go for it. I smile at my reflection, desperate for human attention. “Can you request a video call with her?”
Within minutes, my phone rings. Staring back at me is my best friend Sage in her fuzzy blue onesie!
“Are you serious?” I ask incredulously. I don’t even bother to stifle my loud cackle.
“No. That’s why I decided to put it on!”
“You’ve gotta be kidding!”
“Well, after seeing you wear yours last night, I took mine out of the closet. And look at my girls.” Sage shifts her camera to reveal her twin girls in matching orange onesies.
“Sage!” I cover my mouth, my cheeks bursting with joy. Why have I ignored her all these years? Suddenly I remember, and it punches me in the gut. Now that I’m on video chat, I try to save face in front of my friend. “I can’t believe you kept it after all these years.”
“Of course. You’re my best friend.”
Sage’s voice is cheerful, but I feel the sting of her words. If you were my best friend, you wouldn’t have done what you did. I well up with emotion. That could’ve been me if... Before I can stop, the tears begin to fall down my cheeks.
“Lin, you all right?”
I shake my head and put down my phone. “No, I’m not. I’m sorry, I have to go.”
And just like that, the first conversation we’ve had in six months ends.
“Tobi, please put on my ‘Joy’ playlist.”
“Certainly, Lin.” But before the first song can begin playing, Tobi starts to speak again. “Lin, your friend Sage is calling you back.”
“Ignore all calls, please.”
“Ignoring calls from Sage. You can undo this decision at any time.”
Fortunately, I can undo any decision I make in the future. If only I could undo some decisions I made a few years ago…
I throw off the pink onesie and stare at my reflection. I pinch my red cheeks to punish myself and bring my sorrow to the background. “Cut it out! You have no time for tears.”
In Real Life Page 1