Parcel for You - Part 60

 

‘Okay Spencer,’ Vanessa said, her voice breaking a little, ‘I’ll call her later and see where she’s at with Stu.’

 

Spencer gazed at his wife for a few seconds. He noticed how tired and deflated she appeared. ‘Vanessa?’

 

‘What?’

 

‘Are you alright? I detect weakness and also some sadness..’

 

‘Yes, yes I’m fine. I didn’t sleep that well in Annie’s room, it’s just because I’m missing her so much. I’m going to go on a walk and have a long phone call with her in a minute, a heart to heart.’

 

‘Can I come?’

 

‘No,’ she held onto her husband’s hand, ‘not now Spencer. I need you to keep an eye on Cedric for me, he’s out of control as you know. I don’t want him breaking the law again.’

 

‘Oh…okay but there’s not much I can do if he decides to, you know, go rogue.’ Spencer broke off to go and see what the other cyborg was up to.

 

Cedric had finished his cleaning routine and was stationed in the kitchen, whisking up a pancake mix, his wrist moving at lightning speed. There was a satisfaction in knowing that his game was up although Spencer wasn’t sure yet how exactly that was going to pan out. He hoped that Annie would bring some wisdom to the situation and provide a workable solution to removing him permanently from their home.

 

He was hopeful that this morning Cedric would be mute again, at least for a while. Concentrating hard, Cedric piled the pancakes onto a plate on the kitchen table, together with a choice of jams and honey. He looked up, cocking his ear, listening for sounds in the house and then went into the hall to search for Vanessa.

 

‘I doubt she’ll be eating that mate, she’s heading straight out for a walk so she can speak to her daughter.’

 

Cedric’s head appeared to rise up a few more inches from his shoulders and he suddenly became very animated. ‘Daughter?’

 

‘She’s away,’ Spencer said, waving his hand as if to cancel out what he had just revealed, ‘far away in another country.’

 

Vanessa had already forwarded the email from Cybermates Worldwide onto Annie. There was nobody else she could talk to about it. Her colleagues wouldn’t understand, her mother would shriek at a previously uncharted pitch which would only bring in more drama, Pat would trivialise the situation and Carol would simply become very bossy and superior.

 

‘It’s obvious what you have to do Mum,’ said Annie.

 

‘What?’

 

‘You get Cedric’s serial number and you go online, follow the link they gave you and then you send him away instead of Spencer.’

 

‘But it says that the serial number of your cybermate is matched to your account and all your other details,’

 

‘It says that but it might not be true. The company has been expanding so quickly their systems are probably quite chaotic, especially if they’re already having safety issues serious enough to trigger a recall.’

 

‘But what if I put Cedric’s serial number in and it triggers some sort of emergency response because technically he’s a missing cyborg? He went missing from Hunstanton Aquarium several months ago.’

 

Annie laughed. ‘An emergency response from who? Cybermates Worldwide is a business, it’s not the police. Anyway you're doing the police a favour because Cedric is a wanted man now.’

 

‘And what about Spencer? They’ll know I haven’t sent him back!’

 

‘How? You’ll be sending a robot back. One in one out. And Spencer can continue to live with us, he’ll just be in hiding.’

 

‘But they’ll know at the headquarters, they’ll know that he’s still active here.’

 

‘That’s possible I suppose but remember, they couldn’t tell you where he was when he absconded so whatever systems they have are not quite as slick as they would have us believe.’

 

‘Okay,’ Vanessa sat down on a bench in the park and took a deep breath. ‘I don’t even know how to find Cedric’s serial number. I suppose it’s on his back like Spencer’s, together with his control box.’

 

‘Didn’t you say he was an early model, designed for sexual function?’

 

‘Apparently yes,’ Vanessa laughed, ‘although I’m still flummoxed about how all that stuff works.’

 

There was a long pause while Annie carried out some searches at her end. ‘It’s on his groin Mum, it says here, the left side of the groin.’

 

‘Oh no. I don’t think I can…’

 

‘You have to! Get that number, follow the link and send him away. Spencer can simply be told that his friend has been returned to the factory for repairs.’

 

‘Okay. I’m scared because the email says I must send back my cyber spouse and what if Carol finds out that I’m hiding Spencer?’

 

‘She won’t find out though. You have no choice here Mum, there’s literally no alternative to what I’m suggesting you do.’

 

Vanessa agreed and took some time to re-center, just sitting in the park, planning what action she must take and convincing herself that this was not a time for dithering or feeling frightened. She returned home and told Spencer to go outside and sweep the leaves for an hour or so because she needed to speak to Cedric urgently.

 

It was easy to convince him that Annie, in her youthful wisdom, had formulated a very clever plan and as long as everyone did as they were told, Cedric would be banished from their lives forever. He was pleased to learn that there was a way to return Cedric to Cybermates so that his wayward behaviour and cross-eyes could be fixed and he would be reconditioned and sent to another home where he would be loved and looked after.

 

‘I didn’t know you could do this, Vanessa.’

 

‘Well it’s a new service that they offer for cyborgs that have become dysfunctional.’

 

He looked at her with suspicion. ‘You wouldn’t do that to me though would you?’

 

‘Of course not! You’re not dysfunctional are you!’

 

‘No,’ Spencer shook his head, ‘no I’m not. I’ll sweep away every single leaf and put them into the green bin for you, Vanessa. You know, for the last few days I haven’t been allowed to function in the way that you’re used to but with him out of the way, I’ll be able to show you just how functional I am. I’ll get back to cooking and cleaning, Charlie will return and things can get back to normal.’

 

Vanessa smiled. ‘I know, we can get back to being husband and wife. Now remember, don’t come back into the house until I tell you!’

 

The pancakes were still laid out on the kitchen table, stone cold. Cedric rushed to warm them up as Vanessa entered the room. It was important not to spook him. He was a bit of an unknown quantity so Vanessa went along with her usual routine of eating breakfast and complimenting him on his cooking skills.

 

‘I’ve sent Spencer outside for a bit,’ she said, ‘I’ve been thinking about what you said last night in my bedroom, you know, about sleeping in my bed. I thought it would be good for you and I to have some time alone together. You see, Spencer doesn’t really meet my requirements, not all of them..’

 

Cedric was standing at the sink, washing the frying pan with his back to her. The splashing of water stopped suddenly and he turned around very slowly and then proceeded to untie the strings of his apron before folding it and placing it in a drawer. 

 

Vanessa put down her knife and fork. She took hold of Cedric’s hand. It was quite unlike Spencer’s and felt hard and cold but also strong which frightened her a little. ‘We need to go upstairs for this,’ she said.

 

Cedric gave her a look, like the one he’d given a few times before, when he trapped her in the hallway, not allowing her to pass as he looked her up and down. After worrying about spooking him, it was now Vanessa who was spooked. She felt terrified but not really knowing how good Cedric was at deciphering emotions, she tried to mask her fear as excitement, anticipation at what was to come.