Time Traveler: E213. Three Days of Angst

The three days leading up to Jessica’s birthday were ones of great angst for Robin, having to live with Ann, knowing that time was running out and that the moment to tell her the truth was approaching.

He hadn’t slept with her in weeks, either he went to bed very late at night when she was already asleep, or he slept on the sofa in his study.

Luckily for him, Ann had so far not asked any questions about his behavior, though she might find it strange cause Robin had never avoided her in bed before.

Knowing that the end of his marriage was near, he tried to spend most of his time with his daughters, especially Jessica, with whom he was closest, but also with his beloved twins Wanda and Carrie.

In spite of everything, he loved them, so much so, that he couldn’t help but wonder what would become of them after the divorce, if Ann granted it. What if she took the girls away from him? He loved Rowan and wanted to be with him, but he wanted to be with Jessi, Wanda and Carrie too.

So many times, during those three agonizing days, he tried to talk to Ann, but he could not find the courage, nor the words to put the situation to her. Should he just tell her that it was over and ask for a divorce, or should he tell her the whole story about him and Juliette? Perhaps the latter was more appropriate, but how and where to start? Plus, Ann also looked thoughtful, even tense. Was she suspicious, or did she have some other concern she hadn’t told him about?

To distract himself a bit, Robin focused on building his next plumbot, Prototype 005, a very flashy robot, brightly colored and equipped with the Steel Chef trait chip, ready to help in the kitchen of the most demanding families or of some modern five-star restaurant.

There was no doubt that Prototype 005 would sell quickly, especially now that Rob had become a big seller due to his new ‘powers’. Thanks to them, his sales had increased significantly, improving his financial situation, which allowed him to produce even more sophisticated plumbots.

Another thing he did in those days was to restart his experiment with the Forbidden Fruit, which so far had not given him good results, but he kept trying, for Juliette, and for the whole team.

He took the time as well to build new trait chips for Prototype. The more traits he had, the higher its price would be in the market. Although, being unable to travel to Oasis Landing, it would be difficult to get nanites for high-end trait chips. So, for this time he had to settle for simpler ones like Friendly Function and Competent Cleaner.

Meanwhile, he discovered another of his recently acquired ‘skills’: the ability to ‘consume’ space rocks to increase his brain power, a new motive that replaced the normal energy one. If he kept that up, he would function better during the day, and some nights he didn’t even have to sleep, just ‘restore’ this brain power.

Of course, he kept this new skill a secret, as he considered it a bit frightening. He himself was afraid of it, let alone if Ann, Juliette, or anyone else could see him reducing huge space rocks down to small stones, and then to pure energy to ‘feed’ his brain.

He had caused enough chaos around him without scaring his loved ones with such an oddity. He wished he knew what the heck was going on with him… Well, actually, he had a slight idea of what it could be, he just didn’t want to accept it.

“Good heavens, not that, please… If I’m an alien, I’ll never be allowed in Oasis Landing again.”