The Robo Taxi lowered his suitcase onto the driveway and silently drove off. The case followed him to the door keeping a constant four feet behind him, its solid plastic wheels making a rhythmic sound on the brickwork.
He let himself in through the front door and flipped off his loafers. The case wheeled itself in and parked itself by his shoes, "When will they invent a case that unpacks itself," Sebastian thought, leaving it where it was.
It was late, everyone would be asleep by now. He walked into the kitchen and took off his jacket. There was enough light from the cabinets and the full length wine fridge to see. He picked a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a wine glass and then continued into the adjacent snug area of the open plan room. He put the glass on the coffee table and poured a large measure.
It had felt like a long four days touring European cities shopping the idea of Vortex Capital being a great acquisition target. Some of the meetings had gone well and Yohan hadn't played on his nerves as much as he'd thought he would. He now lay on the coach just absorbing being back home, slowly sipping his wine. All he needed was just a few minutes of peace to decompress before he went to bed.
He heard footsteps. Bare feet padding into the kitchen and going to the fridge. It was probably one of the kids getting a snack or something. Samuel was going through a growth spurt and was constantly hungry. Whoever it was, was now opening cupboards. He closed his eyes, if it was Anna she'd leave him alone if he pretended to be asleep. Now louder clanking, then a smash. A shrill quiet voice let out a yelp. It was Catherine. Sebastian put his glass on the coffee table and was back into Dad mode.
"Catty, it's Dad," he pronounced not wanting to scare her, "What's happened?" Catherine was scrabbling around on the floor trying to pick up loose cereal. Dad grabbed the dust pan and brush from under the sink, "Here leave it to me, just get the loose bits from over there," Sebastian started brushing, Catherine spun around to collect the outliers that had deflected across the room.
"I'm so sorry," she said, manically scrabbling around.
It took a second or two but Sebastian realised that, that wasn't Catherine's voice, nor was it Anna's. Crouched down mid scoop he watched the back of the stranger collecting stray fragments of Crunchie Nut Cronflakes off his kitchen floor. He froze in place as his primeval nervous system took over, keeping him still and quiet so as not to draw a predator. Suddenly the woman spun around and poured a handful of crumbs into his dustpan and then looked up at him. Susan?
She looked so deep into his eyes, Sebastian felt that for a second she touched his soul. Then the shock hit him. His monkey survival brain kicked in. He leapt backward, his socked feet slipping on the stone floor. He lost his balance entirely. The dustpan flew from his hands, cornflakes erupting into the air and raining down on him. "What the fuck?" he spluttered, scrambling backward on his palms, his legs thrashing against the smooth stone as he tried to push himself away from this abomination. She stood up, looming over him as he flailed.
"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice steady and measured. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Heidi." Sebastian stared at her, waiting for her to disappear, to melt away like a hallucination might. But she didn't. She just stood there. Very real. Very there.
"I'm Nigel's relationship surrogate," she continued, extending a hand to help him up. He pulled his arm away and scrabbled to his feet on his own, still staring at her agog.
"Susan?" He gasped, his voice barely a whisper.
She tilted her head slightly, a gesture so familiar it made his stomach turn. But then she blinked, that too, long blink he'd noticed before, something in her expression remained perfectly neutral.
"No," she said, her English accent clipping the word short. "Heidi."
Sebastian's breath came in shallow gasps. He stepped backward, his cereal dusted socks crunching against the stone. The resemblance was uncanny, maddening. Same face. Same body. But the eyes, they weren't quite right. They didn't have that depth, that knowing quality he'd come to crave.
"Heidi," she repeated, enunciating as if speaking to someone hard of hearing. She tapped her chest with one mechanical finger, a gesture so mechanical it shattered any remaining doubt. "I am a Model-19, designation Heidi. I'm here to help Nigel reconnect with himself following the traumatic end of his relationship a few months ago. He's staying in the guest room, and I'm assisting with his daily needs."
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Sebastian asked. She straightened herself up.
Sebastian was standing now, fully upright still covered in cereal, working through what he had just learnt. She looked like Susan, but so did every other Model-19. She didn't sound like her, she spoke with an English accent, she also seemed far more robotic and unnatural. She didn't blink so much and when she did it seemed to be for a split second too long.
"You're here for Nigel?" He finally said, his voice dangerously quiet. Then it cracked. "You're here for Nigel? My wife hired you? Without telling me?"
His hands were shaking. He pressed them flat against the counter to stop them.
"I need answers. Right now. Not in the morning. Now. How long have you been in this house? How did Anna even know about." He caught himself, but it was too late. The implication hung there, toxic and obvious.
Heidi's head tilted with that mechanical precision. "I arrived two days ago. Your wife arranged..."
"I don't care what she arranged," Sebastian snapped, his voice rising despite his effort to control it. "I want to know why. Why you. Why now. Why didn't she tell me?"
He turned away, gripping the edge of the counter, his knuckles white. His breath came in short, sharp bursts. For a moment he looked like he might sweep the entire counter clean... glasses, water, everything. His jaw clenched. He forced himself to breathe.
When he turned back, his voice was low and lethal. "You need to leave. Get Nigel his water and then get out of my sight. Now."
He watched her collect the glass and fill it with ice and water.
"Good night Sebastian," she said, and he nodded his farewell without looking at her, watching her leave while still trying to comprehend what he'd just experienced. Was she a ghost come back to torture him, or was it worse? He surveyed the debris all over the floor, was this his mess he was standing in? Was he going to have to pay a price to clean it up?