Chapter 168

“Now dry your tears.”
Penelope quickly rubbed her eyes.
“And get the sleep out of your eyes.”
Is there any? she wondered, but did as he said.
“And your nose is running.”
”
35
Seeing the teasing glint in his eyes, she realized he was messing with her.
With a frustrated cry, she lunged forward and bit his chin.
As they were wrestling playfully, a strange noise echoed from downstairs.
“Wipe… thunk… bzzt-bzzt
What was that sound?
Theodore got up first to investigate. Penelope followed, grabbing a vase for protection. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on
“Welcome
The disembodied voice stopped them both halfway down the stairs.
What the hell was that?
Penelope grabbed Theodore’s arm in fear. Looking down, she saw two glowing green lights hovering in the darkness like a pair of ghostly eyes.
“Wel-wel-welcome… guest-guest
The voice was inhuman-hollow, flat, and lifeless.
Just as her limbs were turning to jelly, Theodore started walking down the stairs again.
“Don’t leave me!”
In a panic, she threw her arms around him from behind.
“How am I supposed to walk like this?”
“I’m scared!”
Theodore sighed, probably rolling his eyes, then crouched down and hoisted her onto his back. He carried her the rest of the way and flipped on the lights.
A trashcan-shaped robot stood in, the middle of the room. Its green eyes flickered erratically as it
repeated in a mechanic et
“Welcome… come… come.
Penelope blinked. So the ghostly voice belonged to the robot?
She cleared her throat and slid off Theodore’s back.
He didn’t tease her, instead focusing his attention on the robot. He circled it once,
tapped a few commands into its screen, and then forced a shutdown.
“Where did you get this?”
“It’s my brother’s,” she said.
Theodore had her fetch a toolbox.
He removed the robot’s head casing and, after a careful inspection, confirmed that the motherboard was too old and fried to be of any use.
“Can you fix it?” she asked.
“There’s really no point.”
“I want you to fix it.”
He turned to look at her and saw the earnest expression on her face.
“If you want one, I can get you our company’s latest model.”
“I want this one.”
Theodore frowned. “That’s actually going to be quite difficult.”
Difficult, but not impossible. The thought made Penelope throw her arms around him and plant a series of kisses on his cheek.
“Honey, please? Please fix it for me?”
He snorted. “You take advantage of me and then expect me to do you favors?”
Penelope simply wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him like a limpet. “I don’t care. You have to fix it!”
The embers of passion from earlier, never fully extinguished, began to glow again. As they pressed close, their breaths mingling, the doorbell rang.
Who could it be at this hour?
Penelope grumbled in frustration, reluctantly untangling herself from Theodore. She went to the door and checked the security monitor, her eyes widening in surprise. It was Zebulon.
After a few unanswered rings, he took out a key.
Penelope’s mind went blank. She scrambled back, grabbed Theodore, and
shoved him behind the living room curtains in a blind panic.
“Shh! My husband’s here! Don’t let him see you!”