Mrs. and Mr. Parker sat in their living room staring at each other after dinner. Mrs. Parker blew on a steaming cup of camomile tea. Mr. Parker took a sip of his bourbon. The cat stalked in, jumped up on the sofa beside Mr. Parker, tucked itself into a ball, and went to sleep. The clock on the wall ticked oppressively.
They had discussed the mundane details of the day. Mr. Parker had complained about his staff at work and, after a drink with dinner, ranted as usual about politics. The dishes sat in the sink unwashed, the trash still needed to be taken to the curb (for tomorrow was trash day), and a load of clean laundry remained in the basement.
Mrs. Parker knew that after she had enjoyed her tea she would get up and complete these tasks. Mr. Parker would lie down on the sofa to look at his phone and would likely be snoring before Mrs. Parker had completed the dishes.
Mrs. and Mr. Parker continued to stare at each other in silence having run out of conversation long ago. The cat continued to sleep, the clock on the wall continued to tick. Finally, they both picked up their phones.
Mrs. Parker caught up on her ladies group text chat and added an appropriate response about the beautiful cake photo posted there. Then a red badge notification caught her attention: 'Updates Available.' Mrs. Parker rolled her eyes, there seemed to be update notifications nearly every day. They always took a while and she while they were running, she couldn't use her phone. She looked over at the stack of dishes in the sink. Oh, well, she thought. Time to clean up anyhow.
She clicked the update button and began to set her phone down before it struck her. She'd never noticed that particular app before. She picked up her phone and the screen simply read. Husband App Updating.
Mrs. Parker tried to click the icon to open the app but it was no use. The phone was busy doing its thing. She vaguely remembered downloading something during brunch with the ladies last weekend after two (or was it three) mimosas. A sigh escaped her lips.
She stood to rise and so did Mr. Parker, presumably to take his place on the sofa. But to Mrs. Parker's surprise, he put a hand on her shoulder.
"Darling, you cooked such a wonderful meal. Have a rest on the sofa, and I'll clean the dishes tonight," he said.
Mrs. Parker felt too stunned to reply, but Mr. Parker didn't wait for an answer. He turned and walked into the kitchen and began washing dishes.
Instead Mrs. Parker lay down on the sofa like her husband usually did and picked up her phone. But it was still updating. She closed her eyes and was about to drift off to sleep when she heard the back door open.
"Are you going out?" she asked her husband.
"No, I'm just bringing the trash to the curb. Tomorrow is trash day," said Mr. Parker and he walked out.
Mrs. Parker stared at the back door in disbelief after he'd left. She heard him drag the heavy bins to the street, then she heard him open the basement door. He returned with the load of clean folded laundry, didn't say a word, and carried it into the bedroom.
Then it dawned on her. Mrs. Parker picked up her phone. A red badge notification across her screen read, Update Complete.
