Tommy Gotcha
“Well, when you’re an adult, you can make all the decisions,” Jason said.
Caroline stopped the swing, and ran away sneering.
Jason slumped. Say yes as often as you can. It was good parenting advice, if easier said than done.
“Dad! Look!” Caroline waved, crouching in the ballfield.
Jason sauntered over. Caroline held a filthy plastic egg on a keychain.
Jason smiled. “A TamaDigi!” The display flickered, and rendered a snake carcass over ten pixels. “You feed it with these buttons, and try to keep it happy. It’s surprisingly hard. This thing must be 25 years old.”
“Can I keep it?”
Jason would relish even ten minutes respite as Caroline’s playmate. One child was always the plan. Separating from her mother was not.
“...Yes. We should reset it th-- Ow!” His finger sizzled, and he dropped the egg. “That’s not normal,” he said, nursing his finger. Be careful, honey. We’re leaving it here if it does anything weird.”
“He won’t! He’s perfect. See? His happiness is already up!”
His Happiness. Hah. Not far off.
Caroline showed “Tommy” the entire playground. She fed him, played with him, cleaned him. She beamed when Tommy’s happiness hit an unlikely 101%.
Should that be possible?
“Caroline, let me see Thomas for a minute.” A status check showed 100s across the board.
“Is he still sleeping?” Caroline grinned, hands clasped.
“I like you,” Tommy flashed. Then he smashed his reptilian rictus against the inside of the display, displacing a tooth.
Unflinching, Jason nodded. “Tommy needs to rest.” He laid Tommy next to him on the bench.
Jason’s checkmate would be ruthless: ice cream, with the caveat that they leave Tommy behind. Caroline deliberated -- even attempted a tantrum -- but ultimately accepted Jason’s terms, like a retiring public defender.
“Goodbye, Tommy. Daddy, say goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Thomas.”
They stood to leave.
<< Beep >>
Father and daughter looked at each other.
“Did you--”
<< Beep >>
Caroline picked up the egg and stared at its face. Then, nodding slowly, “Daddy, I think I’ll skip ice cream tonight.”
“What? Why?” Jason shivered. “Did that thing just talk to you?”
“I don’t want to make him sad, Daddy.”
“It’s not a him, honey. It’s a thing, and it’s not good for us. Drop it. Please.” Other parents were watching. He tried to calm himself.
“I can’t, Daddy,” she sobbed.
“Put-it. Down.”
“I--” Her tiny fist balled around the egg, shaking.
Jason cursed his inattention to detail. “It’s okay, baby!” he yelled, uncertain. He fished his wallet from a coat pocket, and yanked out a credit card. Steadying Caroline’s arm at the elbow with one hand, he shimmied the card between her palm and the device, desperate to disrupt the current.
Suddenly, Caroline’s sweaty hand popped open, and Tommy flopped sparking onto the ground.
Jason hugged his daughter, refusing to let go first. Eventually, her tension withered. “That was scary, huh?”
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Can we still get ice cream?”
Jason laughed. “You bet.” Something about Caroline’s smile unnerved him.
“I like you,” she said.