Between the Lanterns (12 page)

August pounded the rest of the beer in his glass and poured another. Samantha realized that he didn’t need her to talk him down off the ledge right now. What he needed was for her to listen and comfort him, and so she did.
 

Scooting closer, she put August’s head on her chest, and whispered to him, “I’m so sorry this happened, August. It must have been awful.”

He put the freshly poured beer down on the table beside the couch, wrapped his arms around Samantha, and began to cry heavily. Sobs wracked throughout his body. The guilt of what his actions had caused filled August to the brim and spilled out of his eyes.
 

The next day he woke up when his alarm went off. August showered, shaved, and went down to make breakfast for them. The Home.Phone rang as he was frying some bacon on the stove, and had biscuits in the oven.

Samantha walked in with a smile on her face and a hand on her lower back. That lower back pain was beginning to get to her. It was always worse in the mornings. Seeing August on the phone, she kept quiet but kissed him on the cheek and took a piece of bacon from the plate of finished ones.

She watched him speaking, and saw the expression on his face change.

“Uh-huh. Yes, I understand. I can come in and give you an account of what happened,” August said into the Home.Phone. “They did? I see. Ok, no problem. Thank you, sir.”

August disconnected the call and flipped the bacon in the pan.

“Well, sweets, who was it?” Samantha asked.

“Work,” August replied evenly. “I’ve been fired.”

Chapter 12

AIN’T RIGHT

August was in a deep depression. Samantha could see it in his actions and body language. But, no matter what she tried, she just couldn’t seem to cheer him up. It’s not like they were in dire financial straits because he was laid off. With all the Credit they had from the two insurance settlements over the past two years, they were doing just fine. But Credit was the last thing August was worrying about, and Samantha knew it.
 

Filled with guilt over the accident at the factory from a few weeks ago, August still blamed himself for Phillip losing both of his hands, e. Even though August had met with him, had seen his new robotic prostheses, and had been told point-blank that everything was fine.
 

The new hands were working great, and the Credit he was awarded from Worker’s’ Compensation was enough to retire on. Montek may pay their employees peanuts, but at the first sign of trouble they throw buckets of Credit at the problem out of fear of bad press.

None of that mattered, though. August blamed himself for the accident, and there was nothing anyone could say to make him feel better.

“Sweets, I really think that we should get out of the house today,” Samantha said, snuggling up next to her husband. “I’d love to go for a walk. I can make some sandwiches, and we can eat out in Solomon Park. What do you say, August? Will you be my date?”

August did smile when she called him sweets, every time – no matter what. It was the one thing in this world that still made him happy. The love of his beautiful wife, Samantha, was the glue that held his broken pieces together.

“Nothin’ would make me happier, Sam,” he replied. “I’ll go take a shower, and be back in a few minutes.”

August hadn’t showered in three days, and standing under the hot spray of filtered water made his back sting, but in a good way. He stood under the steaming and cleansing rain with his hands pressed against the wall. In his mind’s eye, all August could see was the red stains on the factory floor and the look of horror in Phillip’s eyes. Just like every time he closed his eyes and saw this, August began to shiver uncontrollably, and tears sprang to his eyes.

August quietly uttered his new catchphrase, “It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.”
 

He knew that there was nothing he could do to change what happened, and he knew that blaming himself wouldn’t solve anything. August didn’t want to be depressed. It’s just that every time he tried to be happy, he felt it was unfair to Phillip, whose life was forever ruined, or at least altered, because of one stupid decision August had made.

August felt he could never forgive himself.

“Sweets, you almost ready?” Samantha called out. “I’ve got real chicken salad sandwiches and a thermos full of sweet tea all packed up and ready to go!”

When she saw him step around the corner, she felt maybe things would get better eventually. He had shaved for the first time since the accident, and he smelled wonderful. It was the cologne she loved so much, mixed with the freshly washed scent of his dark skin and beautiful skin. He had a smile on his face like the old days, and he had the lanterns floating beside him as he reached out and to embrace his wife.

“Thank you for being patient with me,” he cooed into her hair. “I know it’s been hard seein’ me mope around, havin’ a pity party. I promise you that it’s over. I won’t let this one accident ruin our lives. We have a family to plan for, after all.”

August placed his hands on her five-month pregnant belly and kissed her gently on the lips. Samantha dropped the basket she was holding that contained their picnic lunch. She pulled him closer and turned his gentle kisses into a deep and passionate one. They began to remove each other’s clothes as hastily as possible. It had been weeks since they made love last, and their bodies ached for each other in the best possible way.

Samantha could tell he was holding back, probably because of her impregnated state. She was not having any of it.
 

“Don’t treat me like some fragile thing,” she said, squeezing his biceps as hard as she could. “I won’t break. Give me all you got, sweets.”

August didn’t need telling twice. He let loose and picked her up with both arms, placing her on the kitchen table. Samantha threw her legs open and pushed his head between them. Her moans of ecstasy filled the house as she climaxed between the lanterns.

Later, they lay on the couch holding each other and eating the chicken salad sandwiches and swigging on sweet tea to quench their thirsts.

“Well, well, well. Sweets, that was the most mind-blowing sex I’ve ever had in my entire life. I can barely move. You outdid yourself today, August.”

She reached over and stroked his face while grinning, madly in love with the gorgeous man.

“I can’t take the credit, Sam. You’re amazin’. How on Earth did you do that one thing? You weren’t even lookin’ and…wow. I can’t even explain it.”

“Sweets, I attribute all my sexual prowess to my ancient Chinese heritage,” Samantha said proudly. “They had an exceptional talent with sex long ago, and it must have been passed genetically to me. Or maybe… just maybe… I was aided by the ghosts of my ancestors.”

“Gross,” August whined with disgust. “Please don’t tell me I just made love to your great -great -great -great -grandma’s ghost. That would be super -nasty.”

“Oh it wasn’t my grandma’s ghost, sweets,” Samantha said reassuringly. “It was my great -great -great -great -grandpa you were fucking.”

August pursed his lips, and said, “Well, that’s ok, then.”

They both laughed deeply and thoroughly, holding hands all the while. Everything seemed to be drifting back into place for them. Going back to normal, or as normal as it ever got in today’s odd modern world.

Then the doorbell rang.

-

“I don’t understand, sir,” August said, utterly confused. “Why would Montek be suing us?”

“Theft and copyright infringement,” the man coldly replied. “You see, recently a Montek.Law employee was in your home. Mr. Lee Parr? He reported that you had used Montek.Automaton copyrighted designs to build an automaton right here in your home. Not only that, but when your diner burnt down, you were paid for the loss of a Montek.Automaton and the BrainSave inside the unit. Mr. Parr noticed a BrainSave here in your home that looked to be… fire -damaged. Upon investigation, we discovered that the recovered automaton from the fire was missing its BrainSave. You took it and received payment for its loss, which is illegal, Mr. Lurie.”

“Ok, now hold on a damn minute,” August shouted, “I didn’t steal designs. I created that particular model of Montek.Automaton and my wife sculpted this little guy right here out of wood, as a gift to me. Just for fun, I later automated him. It ain’t hurtin’ nobody.”

“It makes no matter, Mr. Lurie. When you worked for the company, any creations you made or designs you came up with were and always will be the property of Montek,” the well-dressed man explained. “It’s in the contract agreement you signed when hired. That makes this little… thing... illegally built. We’ll be seizing it immediately. You have a court date one week from today. Good day to you.”

The bitter man in the fancy suit grabbed Woodrow and tossed him into a bag.
 

 
Woodrow tried to get out and said, “DON’T. SWEET.”
 

The pitiful sounds of his muffled voice from within the bag seemed like begging, but that was impossible. He didn’t have the emotion chip that August had been designing. Woodrow was just wood and string. Even still, it broke Samantha’s heart.

“You can’t take him,” she declared suddenly. “I made it as a gift for my husband. He then upgraded it for me. He is ours, and a part of our family. This ain’t right, can’t you see that?”

“Madam, I can see that it was wrong of you to steal and copy Montek’s hard work,” the bastard replied.

He then swung the bag onto the concrete walkway, breaking Woodrow into splintered pieces, just to see the devastation on August and Sam’s faces. It also had the added benefit of stopping the struggling from within, which made it easier for the bastard to carry.

The man’s AutoCar pulled away, and the Luries could only stare as it faded from their sight into the distance.

“Sam, are we cursed or somethin’?” August said. “Everythin’ bad that can happen has happened to us. Nothin’ seems to go right. I can’t keep takin’ hits like this, babe. What are we gonna do?”

Samantha was distraught over the loss of Woodrow, and couldn’t believe that Montek, the biggest corporation the world had ever known, was wasting its time by suing them. Yes, she was sad, but Samantha was not broken. Not in the least. Sam had lost real people before, people she had loved.

“Sweets, we are blessed, not cursed,” she told him, staring into his deep, caring eyes. “In this big, vast, uncaring world we found each other; two kindred spirits with a love for real life and kindness. We may have had some hurdles to jump over, and we will most likely have a lot more. But no matter what they throw at us, we will always have each other. As long as I have you… and you have me… they will never, ever break us.”

August’s heart felt the pain of another loss, but hearing Samantha’s words helped it begin to mend. She was right, after all. Montek could take everything from them in this lawsuit, and it wouldn’t matter. August and Samantha would be happy, no matter what, as long as they had each other. He put his arm around Samantha’s shoulders and guided her back inside, then closed the door.

-

August, Samantha, and one of Montek’s lawyers sat in a spotless and sterile room. No decorations and nothing meant to feel welcoming. Just plain white walls, a long, black table, and hard chairs that were mildly uncomfortable.

“Before we begin, would either of you like some water, Mr. and Mrs. Lurie?” the lawyer asked.

“No thank you, sir. My husband and I are just fine. We do appreciate the offer, though,” Samantha replied cordially.

“Oh, it’s mandatory that I ask you that,” the hog-faced man said rudely. “Don’t thank me. I’d rather not offer either of you a single thing.”
 

The man had a turned -up, almost piggish nose, and the palest skin either of the Lurie’s had ever seen. He wore his hair in a peculiar spiky fashion, and he sweat profusely despite the heavily air-conditioned state of the room.

“Mr. Tepid, there is no need for that kind of rudeness,” August cut in. “We’re here under pretty difficult circumstances, you know? Have a heart, buddy.”

Alex Tepid looked down his pig nose at the dark-skinned man sitting in front of him. He had heard of all the wonderful improvements this man was supposed to have added to the Montek.Automaton division and didn’t believe a word of it.
 

Mr. Tepid was from a long line of Montek.Law representatives. Both of his parents had been lawyers with the division, as had his grandparents. His lineage was Southern all the way back to the Civil War in America, which was a very, very long time ago. Somehow, despite the world now being under one government, and all nations being separate but together, his family held onto the stereotypical racism of the old South. Seeing a black man and an Asian woman married made him feel ill. Not to mention that people said this man was a genius and had made the company insane amounts of Credit through his innovations with automatons.
 

Alex was jealous. That was the bottom line.

“I have a heart, Mr. Lurie. I just see no reason to lie to either of you,” Mr. Tepid said. “We are here because you broke the law. Twice. We demand compensation for this. Montek is willing not to press charges and to send you both to jail, under two conditions:; sign back over the most recent settlement you received for the loss of your diner and employee, and Mr. Lurie must consult on a pro bono basis with the Montek.Automaton division for one year. If you agree to both of these stipulations, then all charges will be dropped.”

Samantha and August looked at one another, discussing the deal with only their eyes. Samantha knew August never wanted to see that factory again after what happened there. Never mind that the company was screwing them over royally, so he wouldn’t really want to help them in any way, shape, or form. But the loss of that settlement was the worst. They had been making plans for that Credit.
 

Samantha had finally convinced August to take some time off and go see the world a little before the baby arrived. If they left next month, Sam and August could travel for at least six weeks before they would need to be back and get ready for the baby.