Valerye

by John Gaffield

  “Got it,” she said as she headed to the spot.

  After finding the plates and bowls, Tom opened the delivery compartment to remove the prepared dinner.

  “Oh that smells good, Tom,” she commented.

  “I thought you might appreciate this,” he said as he opened the package.

  As she ate her dinner, Pam paused for a moment and whispered, “does Valerye frequently interrupt you for various things?”

  Tom quietly responded, “I suppose there are times that she does it. So far it isn’t too big of a deal at least.”

  “She does seem to try to get my attention more often now than in the past,” he said continuing the low voice.

  “So, you think she is changing?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Have you noticed anything with you assistant? It’s Kevin, right?” he asked.

  “I suppose there have been some changes too, but I know these systems are designed to learn and adjust to what’s needed,” she said before taking another bite of food.

  “I know they learn, but it still seems a bit weird to me,” he said as he took his last bite.

  “Well, I’m almost done. What did you want to do after this?” she asked.

  “How about relaxing on a beach somewhere?” he asked.

  “Oh, that sounds nice. Are we actually traveling or using VR?” she asked.

  “Well, for now it’ll have to be VR, since we are supposed to be at work tomorrow,” he said.

  “Okay, where do you have your VR stuff?” she asked.

  “I have an area set up downstairs for it. I’ll take the dishes into the kitchen and we can head down afterwards,” he said as he stood up from the table.

  “I’ll grab my dishes, too,” she said as she collected her dishes while rising from her chair.

  They went into the kitchen and deposited the dishes near the sink.

  “The basement is through this door over here,” Tom said as he motioned his hand toward a door off of the kitchen. The both headed toward the door.

  “How dark is your basement?” she asked with a smile.

  “Oh it’s finished and well lit. So, it shouldn’t be too scary,” he said.

  “Okay, if that’s true, I’ll even go first,” she said as she grabbed ahold of the knob and opened the doorway.

  “Tom, if you set the dishes in the dishwasher, I can start the cleaning cycle,” Valerye said.

  “I’ll take care of them later, Valerye. Thanks,” he said as he continued following Pam down the basement steps.

  “She does seem to try to get you to do things around the house, Tom,” Pam said as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

  “Yeah well, I do not have an android that can do the household tasks. So, she will keep reminding me about these tasks instead,” he said reaching the basement.

  “An android would be very nice to have around, though,” she said.

  “Are you thinking about getting one?” he asked.

  “Maybe, there may be some units I could actually afford. Having someone around the house would be helpful and nice, too,” she said.

  “You would see the android as someone? I’m not quite to that point yet.” Tom said.

  “Well, I know talking to Kevin is very close to actually talking to a person. Sometimes it’s hard to tell,” she said.

  “Yeah, I guess I know what you mean. Valerye does seem to have her own personality,” he said.

  As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Pam was looking around the basement.

  “Is that your VR area over there?” she said, pointing to an area to their right.

  “Yep, that’s where it is,” he said as he watched her lead the way across the basement.

  Upon approaching the two chairs that were parallel to each other, they each picked which one to take. The headsets were resting on the seats. Tom was the first to retrieve the headset and place it upon his head. Pam soon followed with the one for her. Both of the sets automatically turned on. They each took their seats in the matching lounge style chairs.

  “Okay, this brand is different than mine. So you probably should take the control,” Pam said as she slowly moved her head around to figure out the system.

  “Sure, Pam. Any preference on a beach location?” he asked as he waved his fingers in the air to get the preferences set up prior to making the location choice.

  “Hmm . . . not that I’ve been there yet, but how about a beach in the Bahamas?” she suggested.

  “Sounds, great! Let me sync these units together and find the Bahamas set-up in here and then we can relax,” he said as he continued to swipe in the air to make the final selections.

  “You’ll need to make a few selections before the beach appears, like your swimsuit and that kind of thing,” he said.

  “Sure. I’ll be wearing a one-piece this time at least,” she said as she started to select things with her finger.

  The sound of gentle waves preceded the visual of the sun-drenched white sand beach. Perfect blue sky appeared above them.

  “Wow, this is nice, Tom! I haven’t tried this place on my VR system yet,” she said.

  “It sure does seem quite relaxing,” he said.

  “It’s starting to feel warmer too. Do you have a temperature control for this system?” she asked.

  “Yes, it’s not the best, but it works fairly well. Part of the problem is that it’s not a closed off area,” he said.

  “Well, it does add to the feeling of being there,” she said.

  “Do you know how a virtual margarita would taste?” she asked jokingly.

  “There’s no good simulation for that yet. Would you like a real one?” he asked, looking at her.

  “Yes, I would like an original margarita, if you don’t mind. Be sure to get one for yourself, too,” she said.

  “Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said as he removed the headset and got up from the chair.

  Tom made his way back upstairs to the living room bar. Pam remained in her chair enjoying the beach. She closed her eyes for a moment and just listened to the waves. The sound of a bird chirping nearby caused her to open her eyes. A man was walking out of the water in front of her. She had not noticed him before. He seemed tall and muscular as he pushed his hands through his dark hair to keep it out of his face. His eyes then met with Pam’s. She intended to look away, but found herself attracted to him as he started walking up from the water’s edge toward her. She continued to watch him as he came up near her chair and sat down on the sand to her left. They both smiled at each other. She wasn’t sure whether to say something or not. She remembered that Tom likely would hear her if she were to say something aloud and if he was back in the room. There were footsteps behind her and she realized it was Tom coming back down the steps with the drinks. She turned around and it appeared as if Tom was approaching her from a cabana bar near the beach with the two margaritas in his hands. She turned her head back toward the man who was sitting next to her. He was getting up to leave. The man smiled at her, then turned to walk away. Without thinking, she watched him walk away.

  “What are you watching there?” he asked as he set her glass on a table next to her.

  “Oh there were some people walking by,” she said as she turned toward him.

  She noticed the margarita next to her.

  “Thank you for making the drink, Tom! It looks great!” she said as she reached for the glass.

  “Well, I made my own, too,” he said as he sat back down in the chair and reached for the VR headset again.

  After taking a sip, she said, “nice job on the margarita, Tom!” she said.

  “Well, the machine I have did most of the work, but thank you,” he replied as his finished placing the headset on his head.

  He looked around the beach. He could see Pam next to him, but did not see anyone else.

  “Were the people you saw running? I don’t see anyone around now,” he said.

  “They were walking, but maybe they ran
away when you came back. This is pretend, remember?” she said, as she took a quick glance back towards the direction where the man had left.

  She was able to still see him about 40 to 50 feet away. She decided not to mention it to Tom, however.

  He picked up the glass and held out it toward her and said, “okay never mind that. Well here’s to you!”

  She brought her glass to his and said, “To you as well, Tom.”

  Their glasses clinked together and they each took another sip.

  “This is very relaxing, Tom. I’m enjoying this very much,” she said.

  “Well, thank you for being here with me, Too, Pam,” he said.

  She turned back to look toward the beach and he soon followed. The sights and sounds surrounded their senses.

  With his eyes about half closed, Tom was aware of a shadow somewhere in front of him. Upon opening his eyes, he realized it was a woman that was standing about ten feet in front of him. Surprised, he looked toward Pam, who was just staring toward the beach to her left, away from him. Returning his gaze to the woman, he could see she was wearing white bikini as she slowly came closer to him. He found the woman to be very attractive as she stared directly into his eyes. When she was standing right in front of him, she slowly bent down so that her face was very close to his. Her long hair dangled on both sides of his face and seemed to block out some of the surrounding light. He found himself looking downward toward her breasts. Realizing what he was doing, he turned his attention back toward Pam. Through the woman’s hair he could see that Pam was still focused on something in the other direction, but he also noticed that she appeared to be smiling. He could not see anything in the area she was looking, however. Puzzled, he turned his attention back to the woman. The woman then blew a slow kiss towards him and then started to slowly stand back up again. She walked backwards a few steps, then slowly sat on the sand about six feet in front of him. She was still facing him and her eyes were still gazing deeply into his eyes. She also had alluring smirk on her face. Though he found himself attracted to the woman sitting before him, he did not want to alert Pam as to what was happening.

  “Hey, Pam, did you want to try another location or some different type of activity?” he suggested.

  Still looking away from him, she replied, “sure, I guess so. What did you have in mind to try next?”

  “How about nighttime ocean cruise? He asked.

  “Keep in the tropics and warm and I’m ready,” she said.

  “Definitely! I’ll get things set up,” he said as he started making selecting hand gestures.

  Soon the two of them were transported from the beach to being on the deck of a large ocean liner. It was now night with the sky filled with brilliant stars all the way to the horizon. No land was visible. The sound of the boat moving through the light waves could be heard. The temperature lowered slightly, but was still comfortable.

  “Hey, this is even more relaxing than the beach, Tom,” she said.

  “Yeah, the stars are beautiful, too,” he said.

  “Did you want to change your outfit?” he asked.

  “Oh, you mean in the system? No, this is fine. Hopefully you don’t mind either,” she said smiling at him.

  “No complaints here, but I thought I would check,” he said.

  “You can’t change either, okay?” she said.

  “Got it, Pam!” he said with a smile.

  The two of them relaxed for around twenty minutes.

  “Do you want to see if this place has a dance club, Tom?” she asked.

  “Enough relaxing, huh? Sure, I’ll get this set up in the system. We’ll just have to step away from the chairs, so we don’t bump into them,” he said.

  “Sounds good, Tom,” she said as she started to stand.

  Tom began swiping in the air again to reset the location. As the location transitioned, he started to stand up too. Various colored lights flashed brightly to the loud thumping beat surrounding them. The took a few additional steps away from the chairs that were visible as lounges in the discotheque.

  “Okay, I do need to change for this,” she said as she began making selections with her finger.

  “Good idea,” Tom said as he also picked out a different outfit.

  Pam was now in a green dress and Tom was in a casual pair of slacks and shirt.

  “Okay, now we just need to attempt to keep these things on our head,” she said.

  “Plan on getting wild, huh?” he said.

  “Try to keep up, Tom,” she said as she started raising her hands up and moving her hips to the beat.

  “I’ll try. I’m just not sure if this system will make me look more polished than I actually am at dancing,” he said as he also started to sway to the beat. There were a few others on the dance floor with them.

  Pam just laughed as she spun around. They continued to dance for at least twenty minutes.

  A few times while dancing, Tom noticed an attractive woman dancing by herself who was occasionally looking at him. He did not focus on her much, but it did occur to him that the woman did appear similar to the one he had seen on the beach.

  “Had enough there, Tom?” she asked staring deeply into his eyes.

  “Yeah, you can wear me down very well, Pam,” he replied as he gradually stopped dancing at the end of the song.

  “I’m ready to take this thing off,” she said as she removed her headset.

  “That’s for sure. I’ll need to clean the sweat off of this later. This was great though, Pam,” he said as he pulled the headset off too.

  The wall lighting panels changed to a nighttime scene, which included stars. The overhead lighting simulated a few chains of lanterns, like those found on some beaches at night.

  “I’m going to finish my drink. Care to join me?” she asked as she started to sit in the chair again.

  “I’m thirsty now, so I can definitely use the drink, too,” he said as he joined her in sitting on his chair.

  Wiping a small bead of sweat from her brow, she took a drink. Tom soon followed suit.

  “Oh, this hits the spot!” she said as she held the glass.

  “I agree. Still nice and cold,” he said.

  “With the alcohol, I’m glad I’ll be using the automated car again for sure,” she said after taking another sip.

  “Well, this has been great, Pam,” he said just before he took another drink.

  “Yeah, we didn’t even leave your house, but still visited faraway places,” she said.

  “Yeah, this VR system can be fun,” he said.

  “Well, let me finish this up and we can head back upstairs,” she said before swallowing the remaining margarita in her glass.

  Tom set his empty glass down on the table near him. After placing her glass on the table, she stood up from the chair and stretched. He arose from the chair right after her.

  Valerye asked, “hello, Pam, will you be needing a vehicle to provide transportation to your home now?”

  “Yes, Valerye. Please request a car,” Pam said.

  “There will be a vehicle waiting outside in about 2 minutes, Pam. It will be set up to your profile once it syncs with your phone signal,” Valerye said.

  “Thank you, Valerye,” Pam said.

  “Let’s head upstairs, Pam,” he said motioning his hand toward the stairway.

  “Alright, Tom,” Pam said as she started walking by him toward the stairs.

  The two of them walked through the front door toward the awaiting car parked in his driveway. She stopped alongside the car and turned toward Tom. She reached her hand and lightly touched his shoulder.

  “Tom, I hope that you had as much fun as I did tonight,” she said.

  “Absolutely, Pam! I can’t wait to do something with you again,” he said.

  “I’d like that. We’ll talk again at work,” she said as she positioned her face closer and started to close her eyes.

  Taking the queue, he leaned in embraced her before planting the kiss on her waiting lips.
He could feel her mouth opening slightly and then her tongue touched his lower lip. He followed with his own tongue as the passion deepened. After a few more seconds, she slowly pulled away and smiled warmly at him.

  “See you tomorrow, Tom!” she said as she turned toward the car.

  The car door opened and a voice said, “Welcome, Pam. Please step carefully into the vehicle and secure yourself.”

  She then settled into the seat.

  Bending to get a clearer view into the car, Tom said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Pam. Take care!”

  “You too, Tom,” she said as the door started to close.

  Tom stepped back as the car started up and slowly began moving out of the driveway into the street.

  He waved toward Pam as the car started getting up to speed and faded from his sight. Turning back toward the house, he made his way back to the open front door.

  As he stepped into the hallway, Valerye asked, “did you enjoy your evening with Pam, Tom?”

  “Yes, very much, Valerye. We plan on seeing each other soon,” he said as the front door shut behind him.

  She did not respond right away. Somewhat puzzled, he paused.

  “You were quiet tonight when Pam and I were using the VR system,” he said.

  “Yes, Tom. I did not want to disturb you,” she said.

  Tom paused a few more seconds, then asked, “do you know anything about the woman who was on the beach?”

  “I assume you are referring to when you and Pam were using the VR system. I know that Pam was next to you on the beach. Is that who you are inquiring about?” Valerye asked.

  “No, the other woman who sat in front of me,” he said.

  “Do you want to know her name?” she asked.

  “Well, being a virtual person, that probably doesn’t matter, but do you know why she was there?” he asked

  “I guess you may call it added scenery, Tom. Did you find her attractive?” she asked.

  “Attractive yes, but she was kind of distracting me from paying attention to Pam,” he said.

  “Thank you for finding me attractive, Tom,” she said.