My thanks to MormonJack for edits and crits.
Chapter 6
The young woman who answered the door was new to me. "Hi! Welcome! It's so good to finally meet you." She wore a robe and sandals. Her hair was cut in a bob, very light brown, almost blonde.
"You must be Girl," I replied, shaking her hand. "Let me introduce Avery."
The two young women embraced.
Avery oohed at the art photographs on the wall as Girl led us back.
"Cindy Sherman!" Avery exclaimed. "I love Cindy. Those are, like, real?"
"Mistress Greta insists on originals," Girl answered. She took Avery by the hand. "But first you need to meet your hostess. And see the greenhouse."
"Oh my God, so cool," Avery exclaimed when Girl slid the glass door open and we stepped inside. I saw that they'd done some rearranging. Greta's glass desk was in a corner and a space had been opened among the plants, with a soft carpet in the middle and comfortable looking couches and divans surrounding it. At one side was a long table holding dishes and bowls at which Boy was working. He came over when he saw us, in his usual whitey-tighties and nothing else. Avery looked him up and down.
"You must be Avery," he said. "I've been so wanting to meet you." They hugged like old friends. "Please call me Boy."
"She's really cute, isn't she?" added Girl, and to Avery: "I love your look."
Avery looked down at herself as if she'd forgotten what she'd put on, which was her usual when she visited me, this time multi-colored shorts and a bikini topβ the top covering, I figured, because she didn't know what was going to happen at this party. At the same time she took in Girl, who nonchalantly took off her robe to reveal pink panties and a bra that at first looked pre-teen, but was larger to hold her adult breasts, a bit more than a handful. It had to be a bespoke parody of pre-teen. Avery spent a few seconds comparing looks, then replied, "This is what I wear for Smith."
Greta's invitation had arrived by dead-tree mail, a single card in an envelope that said only,
We would love to have both of you join us to celebrate our new family member,
with a date and time.
"Greta is a long-time professional colleague," I'd told Avery when it arrived. "She helped me find you. And get my start in the field. I helped her in return, as you'll see."
"To find her own soulmate?"
I hadn't thought of Avery in those terms. Not that I was against it, just that I thought in different particulars. But I was pleased and flattered that Avery felt that way. I hugged her. Which surprised her. For her it was just a statement of fact. It occurred to me then that perhaps she was smarter than me in ways other than technical.
"Can I take your pack?" Boy asked. When he hefted it he said, "Oh my, what have you got in this thing?"
"I, um, make toys. Smith said you might enjoy seeing some of them."
"Toys?" Girl asked. "We love toys. Would you show them to us later?"
"They're really not that . . ." She turned to me. I let her work through the awkwardness. "Of course. They're still a work in progress, most of them. And they're, um, sex toys."
"We'd love to see them," Boy replied. "Let me put the pack over here." He placed it at the end of a nearby couch. "I've been cooking. Can I get you something to drink?"
Greta chose that moment to enter the area. I only knew a small part of her house, what I'd been admitted to. She might have been in a connected room or up two floors or in the adjoining Victorian, which she'd turned into an addition. "Cuervo Gold," she said. She put her hand out to Avery. "I'm Greta. And you must be the fabled Avery. Welcome to our home. I'm so happy to meet you."
"Your place is awesome already and I've only seen, maybe, 8% of it."
Greta laughed. "You really have met your match, haven't you?" she said to me. Then to Avery, "Let me give you a tour of the place later. Not everything. Would 85% satisfy you?"
Avery laughed along with everybody. "I'm sorry, I'm just . . ." she made a circular motion at her temple, the crazy gesture.
"And that's why we all love you instantly," Greta replied.
She led us to the central area. Boy served Avery a flight of shots. I got what Greta got, another red. "Same estate, different vintner, but still Super Tuscan." Girl and Boy had cocktails. Boy put small bites out for us to munch on.
"Our project is going well," Greta began as she took a vegetable mini-tart. "How is Corp. C doing? I assume, by the way, that you've told Avery about it? Or should we move on?"
"There's no way I could hide something like that, or anything at all, from her."
"My friend," Avery added, "worked at C. She's really happy now, up in BC or somewhere. Running IT for a park."
"I'm glad to hear that," Greta replied.
"And you . . ." I waved toward Girl.
Greta pulled Girl to her and kissed her cheek. "We love Girl."
Boy moved to the other side of Girl. "She's the best." He kissed her other cheek.
There was a bit more business to discuss. A small percentage of Corp. C targets were reporting emotional problems, some because their new relationships, though intense, hadn't worked out. Some because the engine had not been able to find a quality match and they were left behind at a Corp. C even more depressing and dysfunctional than before, holding options now underwater.
"We should run another generative model," Greta said. "I hate to see those loose ends. Too sad. I can allocate a certain amount of cluster nodes that I think should be adequate. You agree?" I nodded. Then she stretched her limbs. "Avery, would you mind if we indulged in some fun? I know Smith won't mind. But this is your first visit."
I hadn't told Avery very much about Greta and her household. But I had warned her that they were unconventional, especially in sexual matters. And I didn't know what would happen with the addition of Girl. "Sure," was Avery's immediate reply, with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Boy," Greta said, "Position 3 on my left."