Valerye

by John Gaffield

  “You’ll likely have to sit for most of this, unless you want to try the standing VR option,” she said as he sat in the chair.

  “I’ll start in the chair. Maybe I can stand if things get . . . interesting,” he said.

  “Put your headset on, Tom,” she said as her image moved to the other chair.

  Tom set his AR glasses on a nearby table and then reached for the VR headset. The system turned on once it was on his head. The main menu was before him.

  “Did you want to choose something, or do you trust me to make a choice?” she asked.

  “Well, you have been surprising me so far this evening. So, I might as well let you continue, dear,” he said.

  She giggled, and then said, “get ready, honey.”

  Tom tried to make himself comfortable in the chair before the action started. The screen went dark for a moment and then he could hear ocean sounds. As the images lit up before him, he could see that he was on a tropical beach again. For some reason, it seemed familiar to him. He looked over and could see Sarah relaxing in a lounge chair besides him. A white umbrella above them softly fluttered in the light wind. In the distance, he could see the cruise ship docked to a nearby pier. It hit him, this was a stop on his honeymoon with Sarah. She was even wearing one of the suits she had with her on the trip.

  “I recognize this place, Sarah. This looks just like I remember. Not sure how everything matches my memory so well, but it’s wonderful,” he said.

  “It’s from the photos, trip plans and other items in the system memory, honey,” she said.

  “I guess that makes sense, but it really takes me back,” he said.

  “To a happier time, I hope,” she said.

  “Absolutely, dear,” he said as he smiled warmly at her.

  “Did you just want to relax here for a while?” she asked.

  “You know, that sounds like a great idea. It has been a hectic week and this is calming to me, especially having you here with me again, too,” he said.

  She smiled at him, looked out toward the ocean, then leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. Soon afterwards, Tom did the same thing. With his eyes shut he could hear the ocean waves lightly lapping on the beach in front of him as well as the occasional bird call off in the distance. With the comfortable temperature and the calm atmosphere, Tom was asleep before he knew it.

  A familiar clearing of a woman’s throat awoke Tom.

  “Honey, you do have to work tomorrow,” Sarah told him as his eyes opened.

  He could see the starry night above while the waves lightly lapped against the nearby shore. Becoming more aware, he remembered he still had the VR headset on his head.

  “You know, I probably could just sleep right here,” he said before taking a deep breath.

  “Dear, you need to be better rested to handle work tomorrow. Please go to bed,” she said.

  Somewhat taken aback, he said, “now that’s definitely something Sarah would have told me to do.”

  “So are you going to bed, honey?” she asked.

  “Yes, I guess I am, dear,” he said as he started to get up from the chair.

  He removed the VR headset, but left the gloves on. Before he left, he picked up the AR glasses from the nearby table, but just carried them. Unable to see Sarah, he made his way upstairs. After entering the bedroom, he set the gloves and AR glasses on the dresser as he prepared for bed.

  Changed for bed, Tom looked at the AR glasses and asked, “should I wear the glasses to bed dear?”

  “It’s up to you, honey, but I would not mind being with you,” she said.

  “Okay, I’ll put them on,” he said as he reached for the glasses.

  Once the glasses were on and working, he put on the gloves. He could see Sarah had already changed and was standing near her dresser.

  “I like your nightgown, honey,” he said.

  “You’ll probably even like it more knowing that it didn’t cost me anything,” she said with a smirk on her face.

  “That’s right with it being virtual, I guess. You’re still on me for being cheap, I see,” he said.

  “You’ll never change,” she said.

  “Glad you haven’t either, Sarah,” he said.

  She sighed and smiled at him and said, “are you ready for bed now?”

  “Oh yeah. Still pushing me into the bed,” he said.

  “Well, goodnight, dear,” she said as she started appearing to pull back the sheets.

  “Goodnight to you as well, Sarah,” he said.

  He pulled back the sheets on his side of the bed, too.

  XI

  “Good morning, honey,” Sarah said.

  Tom slowly opened his eyes and saw that she was on her elbow gazing at him. The wall panels were glowing with the morning orange and red colors to simulate a sunrise.

  “It’s about time for you to get up,” she said.

  “You woke me up before the alarm went off?” he asked.

  “Bet you like my voice better than the alarm, though,” she said.

  “You’re right there, dear,” he said as he propped himself up on his elbow.

  He then started to exit the bed.

  “You could work from home today, honey,” she said, still laying in the bed.

  “Let’s see . . .,” he said as he paused to recall his schedule.

  “Yeah, I should be able to manage staying home today. Any special reason you would like me to stay around here?” he asked.

  “It would mostly be for you not having to go all the way into work. We could have lunch together, too,” she said.

  “Well unfortunately, we will have to have lunch here. People may stare if I’m eating with my virtual wife in a restaurant somewhere,” he said.

  “Guess you’ll have to keep me a secret,” she said to him with a smile.

  “Let me change into something casual,” he said as he turned toward the dresser.

  “I’ll change too, dear,” she said.

  Tom sat at his desk in his home office. He was focused on the virtual screen in front of him when a video call notification popped up. It was from Pam. He used his fingertip to accept the call.

  “Good morning, Pam,” he said as 3D image appeared in front of him.

  “Hi, Tom. Are you feeling okay today?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Oh, you’re thinking that since I’m working from home that I’m sick. Well, thankfully, I’m not,” he said.

  “Mind if I ask why you are at home today?” she asked.

  “I guess just to save the trip into work and the schedule worked out for it too,” he said.

  “Well, I do miss seeing you around here, Tom,” she said.

  “Dear, have you decided what you would like to order for lunch?” Sarah asked.

  Pam had a puzzled look on her face as she asked, “who’s that? Your assistant calls you dear?”

  “Well, I’ve told her it’s okay to do that,” he said.

  “I see her behind you now. Wait, she looks like . . . Sarah. Is that right, Tom?” Pam asked.

  “Yes, this is Sarah, Pam,” Sarah said.

  “Is she real, Tom?” Pam asked with some distress in her voice.

  Tom sighed and said, “just virtual, Pam. She’s only virtual.”

  “He’s thinking about an AI, though,” Sarah said.

  “Really, Tom? Is that what you want?” Pam asked.

  “I’m just thinking about it, Pam. I’ve got a lot of things to sort out first, though,” he said.

  Pam took a deep breath and then sighed.

  “This is complicated for me. Tell you what, I did have some items to go over with you, but I’ll just send you a summary later. I need to go,” Pam said as she reached her finger into the air.

  Her image disappeared. Tom stared at the space where Pam had appeared.

  “Any ideas for lunch, honey,” Sarah asked.

  “Can you give me a few minutes to decide?” he asked, still staring where Pam was.

  “Sure, I�
��ll ask you a little later, dear,” she said.

  “Why did you ask me about this when I was talking to someone?” he asked.

  Sarah did not respond for a few seconds, but then said, “I thought it would be okay to just ask you something quick, dear.”

  “Well, in the future please try to avoid doing that, okay?” he asked.

  “I understand, honey. I’ll wait until you’re free in the future,” she said.

  “Thanks,” he replied as he turned to his virtual screen again.

  Later that day, after finishing his work, Tom headed for the kitchen to check on the meal he had set in the prep device for dinner about an hour earlier.

  “Is the chicken and rice meal ready, Sarah?” he asked as he entered the kitchen.

  “Yes, honey. It’s in the Meal-Sys unit in a warming stage,” she replied.

  “Okay, thanks,” he said as he approached the counter.

  “Would you like to join me for dinner with the AR glasses tonight?” she asked.

  Tom paused for a moment and then responded, “not right now. Maybe later.”

  “Are you still mad at me for interrupting your discussion with Pam?” she asked.

  “I suppose, yes,” he said.

  “Again, I am sorry for doing that, Honey,” she said.

  “Well, I’m just not sure if I can repair things with Pam. She did seem quite upset. Other than a quick work note, I didn’t hear from her the rest of the day,” he said.

  “Maybe just give her some time, honey,” she said.

  “I don’t know. I’m just going to eat my dinner now, okay?” he said.

  “I understand, dear,” she said.

  He then reached for the door to the Meal-Sys unit to retrieve his delivered dinner.

  Tom finished up his third glass of scotch after dinner and then made his way to the bedroom.

  As he entered the bedroom, Sarah asked, “have you reconsidered using the AR glasses tonight?”

  He thought about the question as he approached the dresser.

  “I guess I’m tired and feeling the scotch. So probably not tonight,” he said.

  “Did you really need to drink that much tonight, honey?” she asked.

  “Not like you didn’t drink on occasion too,” he replied.

  There was a pause before Sarah said, “well now I can be more of who you want me to be.”

  “I’m not sure what I want,” he said.

  “You can let me know once you decide, honey,” she said.

  “Hmm . . . I’m going to get ready for bed. Goodnight,” he said.

  “Okay, goodnight, honey,” she said.

  He pulled out a dresser drawer and started to change into his night clothes. Before removing his shirt, he looked back toward the empty bed and stared for a moment. He then continued to remove his shirt.

  XII

  Tom walked through the hallway at work and he could see that Pam was approaching from the opposite direction. As he looked towards her, she diverted her eyes away from his.

  When she was within a few feet, he said, “Hello, Pam. Could you give me a quick update on the cover project?”

  She looked at him nervously and said, “sure, Tom. It’s going well and we have the supplier working on an cost estimate now.”

  “Hey, that sounds great, Pam. Were there design changes since we first discussed this?” he said.

  “Yes, there are a few. I’ll just send you a summary note with more details on the updates. I need to get to a meeting now, Tom,” she said as she started to step away from him.

  “Okay, that’ll help. Thank you, Pam,” he said.

  “I need to send my boss a summary too, so I need to send it out anyway,” she said as she turned away from him.

  He continued to watch her walk down the hallway until she was out of sight. After looking at the floor for a moment he raised his head and continued walking toward the meeting room in a different part of the building.

  As Tom walked into the kitchen from the garage, he said, “hello, Valerye. When will the dinner arrive from Alfonso’s?”

  “Did you mean Sarah, dear?” Sarah’s disembodied voice asked.

  “No, I did some thinking and I would like to keep Valerye as the household assistant around here,” he replied.

  “You don’t want me around anymore?” Sarah said.

  “Having Sarah around is fine. I just want to keep the household tasks with Valerye. That way you can be more of yourself,” he said.

  “Okay, Tom. I understand and the chores will be handled by me,” Valerye responded.

  “Thank you, Valerye,” Tom said.

  “Your dinner is scheduled to arrive in about 16 minutes. That should give you time to change if you would like to do so before it arrives,” she said.

  “That sounds good, Valerye. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said as he started to make his way to the bedroom to change.

  As Tom finished up changing in the bedroom, he looked toward the cabinet with the AR glasses.

  “Would you like me to join you for dinner, honey?” Sarah asked.

  “Sure, dear. I was just thinking about putting on the AR glasses and probably the gloves, too,” he said as he started toward the cabinet.

  “Perfect, honey. I’ll join you in the dining room,” she said.

  “Sounds good, dear. I’ll see you in a little while,” he said as he put on the glasses.

  He then put on the gloves and made his way to the kitchen.

  After putting his dinner on his plate and pouring a glass of wine, he walked into the dining room. As he sat down at the table, he could here someone approaching from the kitchen. It was Sarah. As she got closer, he sensed something was different. She was dressed in a tight fitting one piece dark red dress. Continuing to stare as she approached the table, he started to noticed subtle things about her. Her skin had no blemishes, which was different than he remembered. Her face was perfectly symmetric. Looking at the rest of her body, her chest was fuller and her waist was thinner. She appeared to be taller, which made her legs appear longer. While unsure about what was happening, he found her to be very attractive.

  “I see that you’ve changed your appearance, dear,” he said as she set her plate and wine glass on the table.

  “Well, I thought I would just change a few things. You know, things I’ve always wanted to change about my appearance,” she said as she sat in the chair that he had pulled out for her.

  “You actually wanted to change . . . wait a minute. You’re not really her and you are changing how you look? This is getting confusing,” he said.

  “Don’t you find me attractive now, honey?” she asked, now sitting in front of him.

  “Sarah, I have always found you very attractive, even before this change,” he said.

  “Thank you for saying that, honey, but these are things I wanted to change myself,” she said reaching for the glass of wine.

  “How would you really know what Sarah wanted though?” he asked.

  “Sarah would say things to herself when you were not around,” Valerye said from around him.

  Sarah looked at him and nodded in agreement while taking a sip of wine.

  “I guess that would make some sense. This new look may take a little getting used to though,” he said as he reached for his glass of wine, too.

  “So how was your day at work, honey?” she asked.

  “Well, the one project we have been working on is finally making some good progress. It seemed to be stalled for a while,” he said just before taking a sip of wine.

  “Is that the one that Pam was working on with you?” she asked.

  Tom had to think for a moment before responding with, “yes, she has been leading much of the technical portion of the project.”

  “Has she forgiven you for what happened a few days ago?” she asked.

  “Sure doesn’t appear to have forgiven me yet for that one,” he said before letting out subtle sigh.

  “Again, I’m sorry for messin
g that up, Tom. I know to be more careful in the future,” she said.

  “I still have you around. Even though you are different now,” he said.

  “You still want to bug me about that, huh?” she said smiling at him.

  “I don’t want to dwell on it, but as I said, it’ll just take me some time to get used to it,” he said.

  “You’ll like it, honey,” she said with another smile.

  “I’ve got to start eating before this gets cold,” he said as he picked up his fork.

  “Thought you’d never ask,” she said as she retrieved her fork, as well.

  XIII

  About three weeks later, Tom was walking down the hallway at work. He could see Pam approaching from the other direction. Neither said a word, but Pam briefly smiled at him as he passed by. As he continued back to his desk, he started to think about his situation and what he really wanted to do about it. Sitting at his desk, he stared away from the virtual screen for more than a minute. After taking a deep breath, he returned to look at the screen again and started analyzing the new report he had received.

  Other than stating that he wanted to return home after work, Tom was quiet during the car ride home. The car door opened in the garage and he exited the vehicle and made his way to the back door. The door opened as he approached and he walked into the back hallway.

  “Good evening, Tom. Since you have chosen to have a Readi-Serv dinner selection tonight, please make your choice from the refrigerator and place it in the Meal-Sys unit before changing tonight,” Valerye said.

  “Thank you, Valerye. I’ll pick something out before I change,” he said.

  “Understood, Tom,” she said.

  “I’ll join you for dinner, honey, so remember your glasses,” Sarah said.

  “I’ll bring them,” he said in low voice.

  After changing and putting on the AR glasses, Tom returned to the kitchen. As he entered the room, he could see Sarah standing near the refrigerator. He did not say anything as he approached the Meal-Sys unit.