Charlie Kerr wondered if departure lounges had changed much over the years. This one seemed to be a copy of the last and the one before that; strip lighting, hard seating and air conditioning too cold for comfort. To make matters worse the space carrier was hours late and there was still no news as to when he and his family might depart.
Charlie was returning from the nearest coffee bar after fetching sandwiches and coffee for his wife and himself. He had even bought some fruit for Lizzie, their daughter but he did not expect her to eat anything. Lizzie had been in full tantrum mode for the last few hours crying and screeching. To begin with the other passengers nearby seemed sympathetic but was soon replaced with accusing stares, as Lizzie powered on with everything her lungs could manage. Trisha had coped well smiling nicely at those around her while Charlie seethed in badly repressed anger. Slowly a ring of empty seats grew around the family; no bad thing as far as Charlie was concerned.
Finally Lizzie had cried herself out and had fallen into an exhausted sleep. Trisha had asked Charlie to get some food and very strong coffee. It had taken longer than expected as there had been a long queue and a badly understaffed counter, no robots for some reason and Charlie was too tired to bother asking why. As he got closer to where his family were he could see Trisha had nodded off and panicked for a moment worried about Lizzie. Lizzie however was just fine, sitting up wide awake beside her mother.
‘Hello Lizzie, daddies back, did you miss me?’
She just stared at Charlie her eyes still red from earlier, looking away almost shyly. This was not the reaction he had expected from his daughter and had him wondering if she was alright; when Trisha started to wake up.
‘Hey hon, it took a while but I have some coffee for you and it’s still hot’.
‘Whaaa, ohhh, yes….thank you Charlie’ mumbled Trisha, she was still dopey and not fully awake.
Charlie smiled and started unloading his tray being careful to keep the hot coffee out of Lizzie’s reach.
‘There you go hon, just here on this side if that’s ok.’
‘What this?’ asked Trisha as she looked suspiciously at the filling between the bread.
‘All that was left, I’d just eat and hope for the best if I were you’ laughed Charlie while Trisha pulled a face. Her blonde hair was sticking out in tufts as she yawned loudly, finally giving Charlie a weak smile.
‘Look what I got for you Lizzie, banana?’
‘Nooo, no nana’.
Lizzie’s bad mood still lurked under the blonde angle like surface; he would have to be careful with her still.
‘No banana then. Where has Nannybot gone?’ asked Charlie, noticing for the first time that their robot was not in sight.
Trisha gave Charlie her grumpy look ‘God, not again’.
‘I’ll get it don’t worry’ said Charlie, as he linked his internal systems to the robot and quickly discovered where it was.
‘Next time we get top of the line and I won’t listen to you. We don’t need the upgrade, it’s a sales gimmick!’ said Trisha in a mocking tone, clearly very angry.
‘I’ll go get it, I won’t be long’ replied Charlie, deciding not to rise to his wife’s remarks. He grabbed his coffee as he left; Trisha was always grumpy after waking up and usually just needed a little time. Or so Charlie hoped, it had been a long day.
NannyBot was not far away and Charlie soon found the small soft pastel yellow robot standing beside one of the few plants in the waiting area. He was not surprised to see a small 3D Ad Flyer hovering near the robots eyes; they had been disruption NannyBot’s programming all day. When he got close enough he waved the small flyer away and it darted off quickly.
‘Hello Charlie, have you been to Star Coffee. Star Coffee serves nothing but fresh brewed coffee and the finest food; just for you’ said NannyBot using her best soothing tones.
‘I don’t think so; I’ve just been there Nanny’.
‘You could always try Murphys. There’s always a friendly welcome in an Irish bar’ replied the robot, in a very poor Irish accent.
‘NannyBot, silent mode’, Charlie had enough for now.
It was then something hanging from the plant that caught Charlie’s attention. It was on the lowest branch and it looked like Lizzie’s tag. This explained why the robot was here but how or why the tag got here really confused Charlie and he stood staring at it, completely baffled for almost a minute.
It was then Charlie heard someone laughing close by and angry, Charlie turned and stared.
There was a dark man of Indian origin sitting in one of the nearest seats and he said something in a language Charlie did not understand. His internal systems soon had a translation, ‘I’m sorry, I really am but you just looked so funny’ the man had said, speaking in Punjab.
‘What’s so funny’ asked Charlie in halting Punjab; He was still very angry and the man raised his hands trying to calm Charlie.
‘I was trying to mind my own business, I promise I really was. Please let me explain’.
Nodding, Charlie waited to hear what he had to say.
‘A few minutes ago, a little girl ran over here just beside the plant. I was just beginning to wonder if she was lost when the robot turned up so I thought everything was fine. The next time I looked up, it was just the robot standing there. Then you came along. When I saw you with the tag and that look on your face, well, I thought that the little girl is you’re first child, is she?’ asked the man.
‘Yes she is’ replied Charlie, still a little confused.
‘I have a little more experience if you don’t mind me saying so’ said the man pointing toward what were clearly his family asleep on the seats beside him. ‘You’ll discover that, ahhh, well…..their not always as cute as they seem’.
Charlie understood and laughed, ‘I see’.
‘Sorry, but it was funny’.
‘Ya, I guess it was. Listen, I apologise, I’m Charlie by the way’ said Charlie, switching his coffee to his other hand so he could shake hands with the stranger.
‘I’m Mastveer, it’s good to meet you’, shaking hands.
‘Are you starting a new life, you and all your family?’ asked Charlie.
‘Oh yes, a new life, it’s a big change. But not all my family, my little one, she will follow later’ said Mastveer, ‘she is with my sister until she joins us later’.
It took a second for Charlie to realise what Mastveer was saying. He had left his daughter behind and it would be years before she would be old enough to travel and join her family again. Suspended animation was not for young children; their brains were not fully developed. The minimum age was eight years old.
After this he chats a little bit more, then Lizzie starts up again. Charlie goes back to his family and decides not to mention the tag issue to his already tired and stressed wife.
So, better?
Charlie was returning from the nearest coffee bar after fetching sandwiches and coffee for his wife and himself. He had even bought some fruit for Lizzie, their daughter but he did not expect her to eat anything. Lizzie had been in full tantrum mode for the last few hours crying and screeching. To begin with the other passengers nearby seemed sympathetic but was soon replaced with accusing stares, as Lizzie powered on with everything her lungs could manage. Trisha had coped well smiling nicely at those around her while Charlie seethed in badly repressed anger. Slowly a ring of empty seats grew around the family; no bad thing as far as Charlie was concerned.
Finally Lizzie had cried herself out and had fallen into an exhausted sleep. Trisha had asked Charlie to get some food and very strong coffee. It had taken longer than expected as there had been a long queue and a badly understaffed counter, no robots for some reason and Charlie was too tired to bother asking why. As he got closer to where his family were he could see Trisha had nodded off and panicked for a moment worried about Lizzie. Lizzie however was just fine, sitting up wide awake beside her mother.
‘Hello Lizzie, daddies back, did you miss me?’
She just stared at Charlie her eyes still red from earlier, looking away almost shyly. This was not the reaction he had expected from his daughter and had him wondering if she was alright; when Trisha started to wake up.
‘Hey hon, it took a while but I have some coffee for you and it’s still hot’.
‘Whaaa, ohhh, yes….thank you Charlie’ mumbled Trisha, she was still dopey and not fully awake.
Charlie smiled and started unloading his tray being careful to keep the hot coffee out of Lizzie’s reach.
‘There you go hon, just here on this side if that’s ok.’
‘What this?’ asked Trisha as she looked suspiciously at the filling between the bread.
‘All that was left, I’d just eat and hope for the best if I were you’ laughed Charlie while Trisha pulled a face. Her blonde hair was sticking out in tufts as she yawned loudly, finally giving Charlie a weak smile.
‘Look what I got for you Lizzie, banana?’
‘Nooo, no nana’.
Lizzie’s bad mood still lurked under the blonde angle like surface; he would have to be careful with her still.
‘No banana then. Where has Nannybot gone?’ asked Charlie, noticing for the first time that their robot was not in sight.
Trisha gave Charlie her grumpy look ‘God, not again’.
‘I’ll get it don’t worry’ said Charlie, as he linked his internal systems to the robot and quickly discovered where it was.
‘Next time we get top of the line and I won’t listen to you. We don’t need the upgrade, it’s a sales gimmick!’ said Trisha in a mocking tone, clearly very angry.
‘I’ll go get it, I won’t be long’ replied Charlie, deciding not to rise to his wife’s remarks. He grabbed his coffee as he left; Trisha was always grumpy after waking up and usually just needed a little time. Or so Charlie hoped, it had been a long day.
NannyBot was not far away and Charlie soon found the small soft pastel yellow robot standing beside one of the few plants in the waiting area. He was not surprised to see a small 3D Ad Flyer hovering near the robots eyes; they had been disruption NannyBot’s programming all day. When he got close enough he waved the small flyer away and it darted off quickly.
‘Hello Charlie, have you been to Star Coffee. Star Coffee serves nothing but fresh brewed coffee and the finest food; just for you’ said NannyBot using her best soothing tones.
‘I don’t think so; I’ve just been there Nanny’.
‘You could always try Murphys. There’s always a friendly welcome in an Irish bar’ replied the robot, in a very poor Irish accent.
‘NannyBot, silent mode’, Charlie had enough for now.
It was then something hanging from the plant that caught Charlie’s attention. It was on the lowest branch and it looked like Lizzie’s tag. This explained why the robot was here but how or why the tag got here really confused Charlie and he stood staring at it, completely baffled for almost a minute.
It was then Charlie heard someone laughing close by and angry, Charlie turned and stared.
There was a dark man of Indian origin sitting in one of the nearest seats and he said something in a language Charlie did not understand. His internal systems soon had a translation, ‘I’m sorry, I really am but you just looked so funny’ the man had said, speaking in Punjab.
‘What’s so funny’ asked Charlie in halting Punjab; He was still very angry and the man raised his hands trying to calm Charlie.
‘I was trying to mind my own business, I promise I really was. Please let me explain’.
Nodding, Charlie waited to hear what he had to say.
‘A few minutes ago, a little girl ran over here just beside the plant. I was just beginning to wonder if she was lost when the robot turned up so I thought everything was fine. The next time I looked up, it was just the robot standing there. Then you came along. When I saw you with the tag and that look on your face, well, I thought that the little girl is you’re first child, is she?’ asked the man.
‘Yes she is’ replied Charlie, still a little confused.
‘I have a little more experience if you don’t mind me saying so’ said the man pointing toward what were clearly his family asleep on the seats beside him. ‘You’ll discover that, ahhh, well…..their not always as cute as they seem’.
Charlie understood and laughed, ‘I see’.
‘Sorry, but it was funny’.
‘Ya, I guess it was. Listen, I apologise, I’m Charlie by the way’ said Charlie, switching his coffee to his other hand so he could shake hands with the stranger.
‘I’m Mastveer, it’s good to meet you’, shaking hands.
‘Are you starting a new life, you and all your family?’ asked Charlie.
‘Oh yes, a new life, it’s a big change. But not all my family, my little one, she will follow later’ said Mastveer, ‘she is with my sister until she joins us later’.
It took a second for Charlie to realise what Mastveer was saying. He had left his daughter behind and it would be years before she would be old enough to travel and join her family again. Suspended animation was not for young children; their brains were not fully developed. The minimum age was eight years old.
After this he chats a little bit more, then Lizzie starts up again. Charlie goes back to his family and decides not to mention the tag issue to his already tired and stressed wife.
So, better?
