Overjoyed
He seemed suspiciously excited to see her and ...
OR
Who are you always happy to see and why?
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Overjoyed
He seemed suspiciously excited to see her and because of Reggie the Robot's uncharacteristic animation, she knew the drama of her love life would soon go into yet another encore.
Reggie's principal function in household matters was cleaning. Maggie had considered buying one of the modern versions with their advanced capabilities and their anatomically convincing human-esque qualities. But Reggie met her needs. He kept the house spotless, kept quiet most of the time, and occasionally served as a reasonably capable chess competitor.
Seeing him so happy, dancing like a puppy around her, meant Hazel was sending her a love note. She'd obviously cracked the code to the house alarm, fiddled with Reggie's behavior circuitry, and at this moment was very likely watching the scene unfold through a hidden wireless camera stashed somewhere in the room. This was Hazel's way of apologizing without saying "sorry."
Maggie sighed. Hazel's advanced technical skills turned her complacent robot into a non-stop fountain of hilarity. She didn't find his singing, his jokes, his antics, or his enthusiasm amusing, but she knew Hazel's sense of humor and very likely she was staring into her telephone screen a block or two away laughing in her quiet way with tears dropping off her cheeks.
When the two of them fought the last time, the topic had been just this. Hazel didn't take anything seriously.
Still, this was her way of apologizing. They'd been mad at each other for two weeks, and Hazel broke the silence first. Now it was time to reconsider her strategy. She'd won.
They weren't a very good couple by typical measures. Hazel was brilliant and gregarious. Maggie was dark and brooding. Hazel wanted the latest gadget, and Maggie would have been fine living in a tepee. Hazel drank coffee by the gallon, Maggie spent way too much time in a Chardonnay haze. Most of all, and this was the most confounding part for Maggie, Hazel was gay with a capital G and Maggie didn't much care for intimacy with anyone, least of all another woman.
Still Hazel's charms won her over time and again. The fights, the drama, the tears, the break-ups, and the reunions. And of course, Maggie would admit to her therapist, Hazel might eventually turn her into a more romantic person.
She smiled.
"Bad Reggie!" she said. "Go prepare the chess board." He spun around with glee, sang a short song, and then raced off to the drawing room.
And then with a little more rapacious tone in her voice as she glanced around the room seeking the camera, Maggie said, "And Hazel, I'm thinking I'll play tonight's chess match for fried chicken and Cheetos. Winner's meal will have zero calories."
Then she disappeared into the bedroom to find something deliciously inappropriate to wear and imagined Hazel racing to the grocery for a cooked chicken and a bag of her favorite guilty pleasure.
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