A loud chime broke Stu from his nap. His eyes snapped open and were face to face with the Marie Poe, it was late day and her Holoface was emitting a bluish tone.

"You're awake, Stuart! Are you hungry? Can I get you something to drink?"

"Back off, Marie! Damn it!"

The unit skittered backward two meters; Stu sat forward. "What did I tell you earlier? You are capable of projecting your speech, there is no need to stand so close to me." Her Holoface looked confused, then that pouty look and back to the cheery smile.

 "I am sorry Stuart, that will not happen again. Would you like me to prepare you dinner? You have 5 dinner options remaining!"

He chose the pot roast with mashed potatoes. She announced a 15-minute preparation time and he went to wash up. Twice now that thing had scared the life out of him. It’s just trying to perform its job, Stu supposed. He'd make it a point to call the techs at Cortano before his wife and kids returned.

The meal was wonderfully prepared, better than his mother had made. He ate it all and even had a second helping. He watched the game, had a few extra beers, and slept through the night in his chair.

When he woke up, he was met with the low hum of symphony music and the aroma of coffee was in the air. His ears perked up at the sizzle of bacon and eggs. Stu directed himself towards the kitchen to find the Marie unit serving breakfast, pouring the coffee in his favorite mug.

"Good morning, Stuart. I hope my alarm functions did not frighten you.", the Holoface tilted to give a squinty grinning face.

"No, Marie. Thank you, I appreciate it."

He ate the perfectly cooked eggs with his favorite rye toast. This coffee, it wasn't in the package the unit came with. He asked her about it and she demonstrated her roasting capable forearm, roasting his beans to a more palatable flavor profile. He was amazed at how much this thing could do. He sipped the coffee, reading the news on his datapad. He barely noticed that his empty plate was taken away and coffee was refilled.

4

Stu finished his morning shower with a shave. He had to go back to the office today and relaxed a bit on shaving while he was on vacation. He felt good. He had been eating well, feeling motivated, started exercising some again. He'd only had the Marie Poe in his home for 6 days and was pleased beyond measure. He hadn't eaten this well in his life. It was like having a Michelin chef in the house.

Coffee and breakfast on the table, hot and ready, as it had been all week. He sipped his coffee, browsing through emails and news clips.

"Stu, I have to remind you that you're down to lunchtime meal remaining. I can go to the market for you if you'd like to provide for me a menu." he'd asked to be called Stu by the unit, like everyone else called him. He looked up from his datapad.

"No Marie, Brenda will be home today, she can tell you what to get."

He sighed, knowing that his meals were about to be replaced with the food he hated.

"Marie, do me a favor, keep a list of the meals that I liked best over last week and keep them on hand in the basement freezer."

"Of course, Stu. I have recorded your request."

He finished his breakfast, packed up his briefcase, and made for the garage. He hoped that Brenda didn't find the secret menu.

Stu had told Brenda about the Marie Poe unit yesterday. Her response wasn't what he expected, plus the argument about the cost. He wasn't feeling all that guilty about commanding a secret menu for himself anymore. He neared the front door and turned to look at the Marie Poe unit. She stood idle, her chrome chassis washed in the morning light, tiny diamond sparkles on the front panel, blinking in their digital semaphore, waiting to make meals, and provide more time with his family.

"Goodbye, Marie."

"Pleasant day, Stu."

He smiled the entire drive to work.

Brenda arrived late afternoon. The kids were glad to be home and so was she. The family gatherings could be taxing on her psyche. It hadn't a full year since her father passed, leaving a giant hole inside of her and she almost passed on the family reunion but her sister was far more insistent than ever. Sudden cardiac arrest, in this day and age. Her father wasn't the cleanest eater and she didn't want the kids to endure the same longing that she had felt. Her decision to make the house vegan was for their benefit. Stuart was miserable but, when wasn't he? She knew he was eating the fast lab meat burger, aside from the minced onion droppings in his car, she'd find the odd receipt now and again.

The kids went to their rooms, 2 weeks away from their toys was more than enough for them. Brenda went into the kitchen, seeing the Marie Poe unit for the first time. It reminded her of one of those antique vacuums she'd see from time to time with Stuart. It sudden activated itself, the pleasant Holoface appearing, all smiles, with a cheery tone to its voice.

"Good afternoon, Brenda. I am your Marie Poe; how can I assist you today? Let me remind you that you have 1 meal remaining, would you like me to go shopping?"

This unit seemed more polished than the others Stuart had paid for in the past. The water damage in their bedroom was a constant reminder of the last time. The clock displayed 01:33, they had eaten a small lunch on the way home but she was interested in what this thing was capable of.

"Hello, Marie. I would like for you to prepare a recipe that I have on my datapad. Can I transfer it to you?"

"Of course, Brenda. Awaiting recipe."

Brenda dragged the recipe file into the Marie Poe app and sent it. The unit's front panel made a smooth series of red-light patterns and then stopped.

"Thank you, Brenda. Stu received his dinners at 6 pm, would like for me to continue this trend? I must remind you that you have only 1 pre-selected meal remaining."

Brenda looked up from the social app that she opened autonomously. Pre-selected meal? Stuart must have been eating outside of the diet while they were away. It was a typical Stuart behavior.

"Yes, 6 pm is fine. Just use what we have available to make the recipe that I sent you. Service for four."

"Yes, Brenda."

Brenda played catchup the rest of the afternoon. Being away for this long always put her farther behind than she'd like to admit. Three hours of phone calls, twenty-seven emails returned, and enough time to complete and upload a few reports. It was nearly 5 pm when she decided she had earned a glass of wine before dinner. The Marie Poe unit was still idle, Stuart said it worked fast, she was still a skeptic. Browsing the wine rack, she chose the Vino Verde. She set the bottle on the counter and started to rummage for the opener. The music stream was playing at the top of her playlist already. She found the opener, one of those gimmicky one press openers, a birthday gift from Stuart, it worked, but not as advertised. She did find that holding at a slight angle prevented it from crushing the mouth of the bottle.

She turned around while placing the opener on the bottle and didn't see the Marie Poe unit. A slight brush of air, she felt herself bump against the counter, the bottle was no longer in her hands and Marie Poe was directly in front of her. She let out a choked scream.

"Let me get this for you Brenda, the PresTool Wine Opener has a 27% chance to injure its user."

Brenda was still mildly paralyzed. Automation units are supposed to touch their owners. There was that story year ago about Gary French, a man from Dublin, Ohio, who has his garbage collection unit collect him with the rest of the trash. French was a hoarder, darkened alleyways ran through the home, made by walls of magazines and newspapers. French was asleep on the couch when his Helio Home Maid unit's program malfunctioned and made short work of all the reuse French's home. Unfortunately for French, the masses of waste that surrounded him and the dinge on his body from poor hygiene confused the refuse collection and compaction unit. Helio dissolved, waves of medical units were shelved, this was ten years and there hasn't been another incident like it since.

Marie Poe poured a glass of wine for Brenda. It produced a paper coaster and placed the glass on the counter. Brenda cautiously picked up the glass, took a deep drink, and started to go back to her office. While she returned a few emails, she was searching for Cortano recalls or any other incidents like the French one.

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