Coded ambition

Fragment 2: Trigger, Part 4

The next morning Natalie was in a great mood. She was happy to be able to leave out all the fancy fabrics she usually wore, at least for this excursion.

L-35 had hung out the outdoor clothes for each family member late last night, so all they had to do was put them on.

Since the weather was as good as the forecast had promised and she did not feel as sick as she had been yesterday, nothing stood in the way of today's outing.

Dean noticed that his wife was in good spirits and smiled calmly. That's how it should be everyday, he thought. He noticed again that he really craved this type of normality.

Even before breakfast, Natalie's sister called to ask how she was faring that day. Nat took a seat on the couch and accepted the call via her holo-watch after plugging in some in-ear-headphones.

"Hi Bea. Yeah, I'm a lot better today", Natalie affirmed to her, trying to eliminate all of her worries that she knew she had caused yesterday when Beatrice was visiting.

"I haven't slept that well for a while and we have nice plans for today. Dean and I are going to drive to the nature reserve to get a change of pace."

"Aaah", Beatrice stretched the word, then turned silent without direct answer. Natalie was slightly confused but awaited her response patiently.

"To be honest, Nat", Bea started to tell her. "I really think Dean is behaving strangely. I'm sure he's close to your back so please don't comment on that. Just listen to me, please."

Nat checked whether her sister was right and found Dean casually passing the floor close to the living room. It was a common place to be when you were preparing to go out, she told herself and got slightly annoyed at her sister. She made it sound like Dean had started to observe her constantly.

"I talked to him yesterday and he seems somehow obsessed with resolving Mark's neglect over the past years and fixing the relationship with you. As this sounds great and all, it smelled really fishy to me. It seems as though he had committed to something bad and regrets it now. I didn't have the chance to tell you yesterday, so I'm doing this now."

Natalie was listening calmly, but somehow irritated. Dean was very rule-consistent. Even when he was blind to problems sometimes, this did not sound like him at all. Though she discarded the thought automatically, Nat also felt her good mood dissolving into nothingness.

"Thank you for your concern. I'll keep it in mind", she told Beatrice composedly over the phone. Bea was right, it was better not to comment on that while her husband was in her presence. Not that Natalie herself had the same opinion as her sister but she did not want to entice situations that would burden her relationship with Dean further, especially as they worked so hard on gifting each other a happy day.

"I really am just worried about you, Nat", her sister defended herself. "But I hope everything works out and you have a great day. Is the robot coming with you?"

"No", Natalie told her and Beatrice's mood got better all of a sudden.

"That's great. Just enjoy the day with Mark and Dean then!"

"How should I do this now with you sowing suspicion in my heart", Nat thought cynically to herself.

"What plans do you have for today?", she asked her politely instead. Her sister was very busy and outgoing, so she had plans basically for every day. And Natalie did not want to hear another word about her own life from her sister.

Beatrice was smiling, Nat could hear it in her voice.

"Lyss and I want to go out for dinner and have some romantic couple time afterwards." Bea giggled. "Maybe we can talk about the topic of having children again. He seems less occupied in the past few weeks."