Coded ambition

Fragment 1: Family life, Part 3

The evening went by without any greater issues. Given the superficiality of the conversations, that was not surprising. Mark and Natalie barely scratched the surface of what was important to them on this day, notably as the father put himself in the spotlight. There was no space for Mark's drawings or Natalie's medication issues. Mother and child were used to it and knew better than to talk about anything else than Dean, especially in the presence of him.

Mark had been brought to bed by L-35 and the robot had started to work on his household tasks. While re-evaluating Dean's psychological profile, he cleaned the kitchen impeccably.

The problem with drinking wine, even if it was for a festive reason, was simply the fact that it contained alcohol. L-35 has registered that Dean had drunk about 0.75 liters of his favorite wine this evening. With a weight of 82 kilograms and approximately 77 grams of pure drunk alcohol he would never be sober before the next morning as he had a blood alcohol content of about 1.3 per mille. His condition resulted in cognitive and motor impairments. Coupled with emotional instability and potential aggression, this had a high probability of ending negatively for his wife. The intoxication was anomalously high for Dean's normal drinking behavior. Another key factor that had to be considered should he really have a love affair.

Even though L-35 increased the sensitivity of his auditory sensors, he was limited in his next actions. One rule embedded into him was not to enter the bedroom of the married couple if they were inside. Thus, the android could not really intervene in the fight between them that was taking place behind private bedroom doors, even though it was bound to happen.

"Of course I'm mad!", Dean screamed at Natalie on the inside of the room.

"You smile at me but you don't really care, do you?"

Nat, who was standing at her bedside which was further away from the door, turned her head slightly to the side. She did not want to hear his inadequate accusations, especially as she knew that he was drunk. But not answering to his allegations would probably turn out even worse.

"I really do", Natalie said as controlled and calm as she was able to but not making eye contact with him. He started to induce a feeling of fear with his actions.

Her husband took one step closer to her, underestimating how close he already was, and became even more enraged. "Then prove it! Tell me that you admire and love me!", he shouted, longing for her approval even though he had no idea how she could even make him really satisfied in this situation. He felt desperate, but at the same time, he did not entirely understand what he was doing.

Sadly, this stimulated another emotion in his wife that was not the love he desired.

"You're drunk", she voiced the fact, cowering a little and trying not to breathe the stench of alcohol coming from his mouth. "Please get some rest and we will talk tomorrow."

In the eyes of a drunk, this was an incredible injury to the ego and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Do you even ask how I am feeling?", once again he raised his voice, provoking another answer that could never satisfy him.

"When the heck should I ask you?", Natalie started to lose her grip. "You always have other things to do that seem more important! I should not message you at work and at home you see Mark only. If at all! And you are too tired afterwards for absolutely anything else! Do you even know when was the last time I heard you asking about my feelings? When was the last time you took me into your arms and showed me affection? Because I can't really remember!" A sob escaped her. The rage spiraling up revealed her more honest feelings to him.

However, that did not help with the de-escalation and Dean aggressively leaned over her head, limiting her movements. While he was thinking of what to call her for her negligence, he had a moment of more clarity and noticed that she was shaking like a leaf. Confused by it, he released an annoyed and deep growl. Nat squinted her eyes as he did and stopped to breathe. She really hated the stench of alcohol and was afraid that he could become even more aggressive.