by V R Tapscott
“Apparently someone knew - and took advantage of it.”
I nodded, for all the good it did in the darkened van. “Yes, that’s certain. And I’m sure it’s an interesting story.”
We rode on in companionable silence, discussing bits of ideas. He mentioned how much nicer the Amtrak ride was than our memories of the Beijing to Lhasa train trips. We both agreed on that.
Driving past the dark and silent lake, we took the turn and made our way up into the hills where my house lies. We pulled in the barn and made our way down the path to the house. I’d made sure to ask Olive about checking on the lights between the barn and the house, and as per usual she’d outdone herself and the path was perfect, bathed in a soft yellowish glow that came from the lamps spaced along the way. I was sure that the path would never have snow on it, and that dirt would somehow magically disappear. But I tried not to think about that and hoped my mother wasn’t watching that sort of thing that closely. I wouldn’t put it past her, though.
We arrived at the house. Alexa (or perhaps Olive) greeted us with the same warm glow in the house as we came inside. I kicked on the main lights in the kitchen area, my favorite part of the house. Cai apparently agreed, as he looked around the room appreciatively.
“Stainless Steel is certainly the most desired kitchen appliance finish, isn’t it? Do you suppose that in twenty-five years Americans reality show hosts will be looking at the hopelessly dated steel fixtures and black granite counters and muttering to their television audience ‘what were they thinking’, or do some things transcend time?”
I stared at my beautiful kitchen and said, “Well, I’m not sure about that, truthfully. But I’d bet that the people who put in the avocado oven and fridge with the white Formica tile counter thought they were the epitome of fashion in the 60’s. And I can’t see that not being the same idea in 20 years. After all, the vicious circle has to continue - the snake has to eat his tail to keep the whole carousel in motion, right?” I smiled. “Pink and black appliances and counters were all the rage in the 1950’s, maybe that will come back in 2040.”
Cai shuddered. “Perhaps. However, I do not expect to be here to see it.”
We shuffled back outside to gather luggage and after rolling it down the path, delivered it to Cai’s room. I pointed out the bathroom, towels and other appurtenances and then, yawning even though it was fairly early, I bid him good night and slid into my own bed. I did not so much as dream the rest of the night, or if I did, they were stealthy dreams that stayed inside my head.
I woke early, but it sounded like there were people out in the kitchen area. I stumbled out there in my uncaffeinated state and looked around, a little befuddled. Olive was sitting munching on some kind of breakfast burrito, Bailey had a sausage bacon biscuit of some kind and Cai was chowing down on pancakes with syrup - and a sausage patty on the side. Laney was scarfing scrambled eggs. I looked in the bag and grabbed an egg muffin, it seemed the most logical. I also started the Keurig to making me some wake-up juice.
“What is this? Time to scare Jane out of her mind? All these people around!”
Somewhat indistinctly though her biscuit, Bailey said, “I have no idea, they just followed me here. We were just all ...” Here she paused to swallow, “hungry and thought we’d like to meet Cai, so, here we are.”
She stage-whispered to me, “He’s cute!”
Cai laughed. “Thank you, Miss Bailey. At my age we take all the disingenuous comments we can. We don’t get any others.”
She smirked. “It was actually the truth, but you won’t believe that.”
“Sad fact of life, is it not?”
“What, that we never believe good things about ourselves?”
“Yes, Miss Bailey, we never do. We believe the bad things in a heartbeat, but the good things never really reach inside.”
We all sighed at the wisdom of this statement, and silently munched our various breakfast items.
After a bit, Cai said, “I seem to have put a damper on this conversation. I beg your pardon for being the ... er ... wet blanket, I believe is the term.”
I waved my hands around in the air, saying, “No, it’s just morning. Morning is rough for most of us, in fact I think Laney is the only one of us that really seems to like it in the morning.”
Laney shrugged, her eyes on Olive. She seemed fascinated by Olive’s eating of her breakfast. It made we wonder if I’d better talk with Olive about keeping her nature more under wraps. Olive looked perfectly normal, but anytime she was in a social gathering there was also the stress of making sure she didn’t wind up interacting with anyone that would expect her to actually exist.
Laney remarked, “I love how morning smells - how all the heat from the day before bakes the earth, and overnight it renews, the dews come down and it just activates all that perfume normally locked inside a plant. Morning on the desert is the best thing in the world.”
I must admit I was taken aback a bit by Laney’s most poetic viewpoint. “I agree, in fact, I’d much rather be up early during the summer - you feel like you’re missing so much otherwise. In the winter, I could really not care less. In fact, what I’d most care about is staying in bed and considering my options for breakfast.”
As we chomped through our repast, we discussed weather, time, tennis and world peace. We didn’t get far in solving any problems but admitting there is a problem might be the best beginning to a solution.
“Bailey, can I borrow your car?”
“Sure, I’m sticking around here today anyhow. Laney is putting the finishing touches on some of the computer stuff and I want to watch it all come up. I’ll also be checking some of the software - so knock yourself out. And of course, we have Threepio if we need a car.”
“Thanks, sweetie. I thought Cai might like an opportunity to see the area and your car is perfect for that.”
“My car is perfect for everything. Except maybe hauling large bags of mulch back from WalMart. Threepio is perfect for that.”
“I should consider a Jeep. I’ve always wanted a Jeep.”
“Why not another BMW?”
I considered a moment, then, “I love your Z3, but I’ve always wanted a Jeep, from very early. I think it’s because it has all the things your Z has, but the Jeep has four-wheel drive.
“Good point. My BMW tends to like the mud a lot less than even Threepio.”
“Anyhow, I thought we’d head over to Fielding Hills, maybe do a little tasting, then probably do lunch at Karma. I’ll have to leave the tasting to Cai though, since I’ll be driving!”
Bailey wiggled her eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes at her. So eloquent.
Since it was a Saturday morning, I decided we’d go visit some yard sales. Early bird and the worm and all that. I’ve never been partial to worms, but it’s certainly a reality when visiting yard sales!
There are few if any yard sales in China, so Cai was unfamiliar with the browsing through other people’s crap at their houses. I figured it was also a great way to introduce him to our culture, so called at least. So, to that end, we spent the next couple hours driving around in Bailey’s little car, gathering a few very small treasures for him to take back with him. For my part, I found a very odd little evil looking duck - like a rubber ducky, but with a scowl and fangs. I thought it was hilarious, having an evil rubber ducky.
The wine cellars and tours start to come to life late morning, usually almost noon. We tasted wine at a couple places, had lunch at Karma - always a treat - and then wandered around the area finding small out of the way places. Finally, we wound our way down to the lake, where we sat and watched people for an hour or so. I was astounded how much in stride Cai took all of this, although I don’t know why. So much of what I know about China and Tibet comes from bits of inaccurate information gathered online or in sitcoms. Why should I expect that to come anywhere close to reality when everything you see on TV is so far from it? At any rate, Cai seemed to have fun and really enjoy himself. We finalized our day w
ith a burger by the Lake, and while we were munching our fries, Cai asked what Olive was.
I paused with my mouth open, a fry hanging out, then came back to life a second later and managed to continue to eat, but suddenly the fry became tasteless and weird.
“What do you mean, Cai? Olive is ... Olive. Just a woman we have working here with us.”
He chewed ruminatively on a fry and finally said, “No, she is not. I am not sure what she is, but it is not human. It is a very perfect simulation, but from the very first this morning, I could tell something was off. For instance, I know how many items of food there were in the bag, but even though Olive was eating one of them, nothing appeared to have been taken from the bag. I thought it might be my imagination. However, I saw her discard the wrapper in the trash, but there was nothing there when I looked a bit later. No, she is not real. She is amazing, but she is not real.”
I admit my hackles rose a little at that, and I said, “She’s every bit as real as you or I, Cai. She’s amazing and we all love her. I’m not sure what you mean by her not being real, but I assure you it’s not true.”
He raised his hands in mock surrender and said, “I understand more than you might think. And yes, I see that she is a real person. But she is not inhabiting a real body. Is that more of an accurate representation of the facts?”
I hid behind the fries for a while, eating them with a lot more concentration than they really deserved. Finally, though, I had to say something. “Should we take dessert back with us?”
“I believe we should. What sort of dessert do your friends desire?”
“Generally speaking, things with alcohol in them.”
“Perhaps we should find the makings for some sort of punch drink and take that with us, along with a few bottles of a variety of liquor?”
“I think that’s an excellent idea. This seems like it would be a great night to get totally wasted.”
He shrugged. “It was just an idle question - we can let it drop if you wish.”
I sighed. “No, it will have to be answered, I suppose. In fact, I had the intention of talking with you about it later. After all, you were instrumental in ... well, more about that later.”
“As you wish, Jane.”
“Thank you, Cai.”
We made a stop at Safeway and gathered the means for a feast, including my favorite snack foods and accessories. We also got a boatload, almost literally, of drinkables and mixers and managed to get it all in the Z3’s tiny trunk. We hauled our booty home, and pulled up in the drive, still at least an hour before sunset. It sounded like the party had started already, music could be heard through the open doors, and I could hear voices at various volumes.
Cai and I gathered some of the food and took it inside, meeting Bailey at the door. I sent her out to grab the leftovers and bring them in. The remains of a pizza and from the looks of it, a very large sub sandwich, lay on the dining room table. Laney and Olive were standing with drinks in their hands, talking in low tones, and they reacted to our arrival with much joyful noise. They had apparently been sampling what we had already in stock, for Laney seemed more at ease than usual. In fact, she seemed to have thawed several degrees. As we stood there, Bailey came in the door with the rest of the goodies and we spread everything out in a smorgasbord display. Everyone began chatting and eating, but it didn’t miss my notice how much of Cai’s time was spent on watching Olive. Interesting that the same curiosity seemed to envelope Laney, as she was talking and laughing with Olive, but there was a distinct look of waiting for something. Or at least watching for something.
We worked our way through what was left of the sub sandwich and made a slew of alcoholic drinks - plenty of daiquiris and icy drinks, and even some drinks without any additives. I was sitting on the couch, looking off at the sunset when Laney sat down beside me. She looked a little sad.
“What’s the matter, hon? Are you all right?”
She nodded. “I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
“Mmhm. That’s the line I use when I don’t want to tell someone the truth.”
“It’s the truth!”
“Is it, sweetie?”
She sighed a long sigh. “No, of course not. I’ll be leaving for Las Vegas soon, my time here is almost up.”
“You’ll miss Chelan that much? I thought you spent most of your time working on the computers - did you even get to the beach?”
She smiled. “No, I never got to the beach.”
“Well, then, what’s the deal? I kind of thought you were looking forward to being gone. After all, you’re just here for the money, right?”
She looked sideways at me for a moment. “Yeah. I guess so.”
“Uh huh. Sounds like “just a little tired” to me.”
“I’ll miss Olive.”
“Huh?”
She gave a kind of sorry laugh. “I’ll miss Olive. I’ve spent so much time with her over the past few weeks, getting computer equipment ready and setting things up. She’s so smart and so much fun to be around. It’s like I gained a best friend, but I’ll never see her again.”
I blinked. “Oh.”
“Uh huh. She so vivacious, she’s more alive than anyone I’ve ever met. She knows so many things, she can talk on so many levels. And I feel sorry for her.”
“Sorry for her? Why??”
“Well, honestly, I’m not sure. But I know she has some sort of muscular disease.”
I sputtered, “Muscular disease?”
“Yes. I’m sure it’s something like that - she never picks anything up. I can tell she wants to, but she’s just not able. Small things like papers or cups, that sort of thing seems to be fine, but anything of any weight, she’s just not able to handle it. And she works so hard to hide it. It must be so frustrating to her.”
“I ... well ... you ... seem to have it all figured out.”
She nodded. “I’ll come back, of course. Do you know what it is that causes it, Jane?”
“Yes. She’s confided in me. And I can’t tell you, but I will say that she’s working on it and we’re hoping someday she might be able to ... better manipulate the world than she can right now.”
At that moment Olive came over. “Hey, what you two talkin about so serious-like over here?”
Laney looked at the floor. “I was just feeling sorry that I’ll be leaving soon, and I’ve gotten used to you all, I’ll miss you. All.”
Olive nodded. “Aye, I bet. Well, I’m gonna miss you too, Laney.” And then she reached over and smoothed Laney’s hair, brushed her cheek with her hand and then bent and placed a kiss on her forehead. “It’s not quite time to leave yet, we have quite a bit of polishing to do. So, let’s concentrate on that and not worry too much about the future.”
Olive strode off, moving back into the kitchen area and leaving all of us behind, spread out on the couch. I looked after her in disbelief, not able to understand what I’d just seen. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cai sitting back in his chair, completely nonplussed at what he’d just seen.
I swallowed. “She’s pretty amazing, all right. I feel lucky to have her here.”
Laney nodded. “I’ve never met anyone like her - so completely sunk in talk about computers and servers at one second and down rolling in the mud talking about boyfriends and sex the next.”
I laughed. “Yeah, boyfriends and sex. She seems to know a lot about that, too.”
“Mmhmm. She’s certainly given me some food for thought about all that. And about everything, Jane. She’s brilliant.”
Laney got up, kissed ME on the forehead and headed back to the table where she grabbed the makings of another drink. She walked over to the couch where Cai was sitting and said “Dance, mister Shun?”
He smiled and said, “I thought you would never ask.”
And with that, they got up and started doing an impromptu dance in the tiny area left by people and food. Bailey came over and collapsed on the couch next to me. She looked at the two of them dancing, th
en at me.
“What the hell, Jane? Hands? Lips?”
“I have no idea, Bailey. I’ve seen her cry, though.”
“Well, there’s definitely something going on.”
“Just in time too - Cai was asking some pointed questions about her earlier today and I saw Laney gazing at her while we were eating. Little did I know that she’s just found a BFF, maybe for the first time. Or maybe it’s hero worship. At least it wasn’t what I thought it was.”
“Yea. I figured we’d have to talk to her about Olive sooner or later, but maybe not, now.
“Laney aside, what about Cai?”
“After that display, I don’t think he’s got as much to wonder about?”
“I guess. And we have more to wonder about.”
“Yeah. Quite a lot.”
The party went on for another hour or so. Cai Shun went to his room at that point and the rest of us kind of wound down together. Obviously, no one was driving home, so we split up among the various rooms. Laney and Bailey wound up in the guest room, Olive opted for the couch, all cocooned in a blanket she brought out from somewhere. It was a warm night, and everyone was a bit more than a bit tipsy. Sleep came on almost immediately.
Later that night, I felt a presence and the small pink light that Olive had affected before she really began to wear her “body” all the time, tinkled at the door, then flickered in my room.
“Hello, Olive.”
“Hi, Jane. I’m really sorry about that. I never intended for anything to go that far.”
“Go ... how far, dear?”
“To get so connected to a human. Laney and I seem to just click and it’s hard to keep that separation. I hope you’re not too angry at me for the hands and the kiss.”
I smiled at her. “No, not at all. In fact, it worked out perfect. I think you convinced Cai that you’re a real person. And, of course, I think that Laney has about half fallen in love with you.”
“Yeah. Half or more. It’s kind of agonizing, Jane. I never expected ... “