His Human Surrogate (Monsters Love Curvy Girls #2) - Michele Mills Page 0,15

the lid open and I find a fancy new glass tablet inside. The type I could only dream of ever affording.

“A tablet?” Methone asks, obviously disappointed. “Well, that’s boring. Are you certain there isn’t anything else?”

I search around the bottom for something I might’ve missed. “Nope. This is it.” But then I touch the screen and the tablet flares to life and a short note from Bergelmir pops up. I squeal with delight. “Berg left me a message,” I exclaim.

“Ooh.” Both ladies squeeze in behind me to read over my shoulder.

“I can’t see what it says,” Grandma shouts.

“No worries,” I say, and I read Berg’s message out loud for her to hear:

Chloe, this is your new tablet. My gift to you. You can message me using this device. There will be a one diurnal delay, but rest assured that I will always respond.

“Oh good,” Bestla says. “I’m happy he did that. That’s nice of my son.”

Methone nods. “I agree. Bergelmir might be the silent type, but he’s got a heart as big as his sire.”

Bestla tears up. “Yes, he does. And Buri was a good male. I miss my bound every day. And my sons take after him. Especially Bergelmir, they look and act exactly alike.”

“Oh honey.” Methone walks over and gives Bestla a tight hug. “I miss your bound too. You know I tend to think all males are assholes, but your bound was an exception. And I adore your sons.”

“Eh,” Grandma grumbles as she stares at the tablet in my hands. “I guess that’s better than nothing.”

I continue to tap at the screen, secretly thrilled at the idea of communicating directly with Bergelmir. I’m sad that we can’t vid chat like we used to, but this will do. I decide I’ll send him a message tonight when I’m alone and I can take my time to think of exactly what to say.

That evening it finally dawns on me that I’m alone in Bergelmir’s big, creepy domicile. I told Bestla it wouldn’t be a problem. Riley even pinged me to ask if I was okay there by myself. I assured her I was fine. But now that the sun has set and it’s quiet, it does give me the creeps.

I’ve never been in such a huge house. I lived alone on New Earth for the last two months, after Lucy moved out, but that was in the tiny home I’d grown up in. And the neighbors were really close; I could almost reach out and touch the neighboring house through an open window.

All this echoing space and distance between houses is just fantastical to me. And a little intimidating. I’m having to get used to the idea of having so much peace and quiet. All I can hear are birds cawing and the whisper of the wind.

One good thing is that Berg’s old house is sparkly clean now. It’s still desperately in need of a remodel, but at least all the dust, dirt and obvious debris have been removed. The bots did it all in a matter of hours. The only room I didn’t allow them to touch was the attic. I’m afraid they’ll trash something precious. I want that area to stay exactly as is, with all that dusty treasure waiting to be discovered. By me!

The kitchen isn’t a complete disaster, only a partial disaster. It was remodeled fifty years ago. But it’s still in an old style, very small and without a food dispenser.

“Oh gods, why didn’t I notice that before? How are you going to eat?” Bestla gasped before she left. “Don’t worry, we’ll get a new dispenser sent here tomorrow.”

And then she talked me into coming back to her home for dinner. This was no hardship. I went over and happily ate dinner with the same females I’d spent the entire day with. When I left Methone shoved a food pack in my hand, letting me know it was filled with snacks, drinks and breakfast. So sweet.

Then I slowly strolled back to Berg’s house as the sun set.

It was a beautiful walk, watching the glitter on the water as the sun dipped below the horizon. The typical blue sky streaked pink and orange; a slight breeze lifted my long black hair off my bare shoulders. The weather was perfect, and I was wearing one of those tube tops and shorts a perfect length, so they didn’t ride up my thighs when I walked. The breeze against my skin felt terrific. I even liked the new