“Smells great.” Jacob checked the time on the stove. It was almost two. “Where are the boys?”
“Where do you think?” Lindsey asked, as if it were obvious.
“I’ll go get them,” Rebecca said, sliding off her barstool.
“I’ll go,” Jacob said. “Enjoy your tea.”
Rebecca kissed him on the lips and said, “Thank you, honey.”
“Get a room,” Lindsey said with a smirk.
Jacob took the stairs to the walkout basement. The finished basement was nearly three thousand square feet and housed an extra bedroom, kitchen, living room, workout room, theater, and two VR rooms. Jacob opened a VR room. The boys were in the padded room, headsets over their eyes. Ethan lay on the rubber sensory floor, his hands held out in front of him, as if blocking an attack. David stood over his little brother, making a chopping motion with his hand, and yelling, “Die. Die. Die, stupid fucker!”
“That’s enough!” Jacob said.
The boys removed their headsets and looked to their father.
“He keeps killing me,” Ethan said, his eyes wet with tears.
“Go on upstairs, Ethan,” Jacob said. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
Ethan sniffled and nodded at Jacob. He hung his headset on the wall and went upstairs.
Jacob turned his attention to David. “What did I tell you about that kind of language?”
Six-year-old David hung his head and said, “You told me not to say it.”
“And why do you keep picking on Ethan? You know he’s sensitive.”
David looked up with a suppressed grin. “It’s not my fault he’s bad at Death Duel.”
“I don’t want you playing that game anymore.”
“Aww, Dad. Why not?”
“Because it’s too violent and I think it’s making you act cruel toward your brother.”
David crossed his little arms over his chest. “That’s not fair.”
“It is fair. I should shut off VR completely.”
“Whatever.”
“Go wash up for dinner. And be nice to your brother.”
“Fine.” David stomped upstairs.
The Roths sat around the dining room table, with Jeeves serving steaming plates of rosemary roasted turkey with white-wine pan gravy, fried Brussel sprouts with bacon, dates, and halloumi, and butternut squash stuffing. On the side, Jeeves served pumpkin dinner rolls and a baby greens salad with cranberries and candied walnuts. To drink, he poured an excellent pinot noir for the adults and homemade pear and apple soda for the kids, as well as water for all.
“This is unbelievable,” Rebecca said, taking a bite of the Brussel sprouts.
“Outstanding,” Jacob said, taking a bite of the turkey.
It took approximately eight hours for Jeeves to prepare and cook the meal but only twenty minutes for the Roths to eat it. Then another five minutes to devour the sweet potato pie with maple whipped cream. As they reveled in their satisfaction, Jeeves began to clear the table.
“Can we go play now?” David asked.
“Not yet,” Rebecca replied. “It’s Thanksgiving. We should talk about what we’re thankful for.”
“I think you’re supposed to do that before you destroy the meal, like conquering Vikings,” Lindsey said.
“I don’t think it matters. I’ll start. I’m thankful for my lovely husband and my three beautiful children.” She leaned over and kissed Jacob on the cheek.
Jacob squeezed Rebecca’s hand, then said, “I’m thankful to be here with my family.”
“I’m thankful that we have food to eat and a house to live in. Not everyone has that,” Ethan said.
“That’s true,” Rebecca said, smiling at her youngest.
There was an awkward silence. Lindsey and David avoided eye contact, not wanting to share.
“Lindsey?” Rebecca prodded.
Lindsey shrugged. “I’m thankful Jeeves does all the shit—I mean—stuff we don’t wanna do.”
“I suppose that’s true too.” Rebecca addressed David. “What are you thankful for, sweetheart?”
David shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Come on. You must be thankful for something or someone? Your little brother? Your big sister?”
David tilted his head, thinking for a moment. “I know. I’m thankful that I’m the smartest and best person in the world.”
Jacob chuckled.
“And the most arrogant,” Lindsey added, scowling.
“You are very bright,” Rebecca said, “but wouldn’t it be better to be humble, like Gandhi?”
“Did you know that Gandhi was a racist? He slept naked with his niece too,” David said with a goofy grin.
Rebecca twisted her face in disbelief. “That’s not true. Where did you hear that?”
“It is true. I looked it up.”
“Why on earth would you look up Gandhi?”
“My gifted teacher has these Gandhi quotes on the wall. He’s like her hero. I know more about her stupid hero than she does. She was so mad when I told her.” David tittered to himself. “But I didn’t get in trouble because it was true. It was so funny.”
“You should be nicer to your teacher.”
“He’s right,” Lindsey said, her eyes on her tablet. “This article says Gandhi was a racist who forced young girls to sleep in bed with him.”
“Told you,” David said, beaming.
Rebecca sighed and looked at Jacob. Despite her forlorn expression, she really was perfect: high cheekbones, symmetrical face, thin nose with plump lips, and not a single wrinkle, despite being on the wrong side of thirty.
“Can we go play now?” David asked.
“No more VR for today,” Jacob replied.
David scrunched his face, his cheeks turning red with rage. He smacked his little fists on the table.
“You want to make it two days?”
David took a deep breath and smiled, his dark eyes motionless, like black holes. “I won’t pick on Ethan anymore. I promise. I just wanna play a racing game. I won’t play Death Duel.”
Jacob narrowed his eyes at David. “Okay. No Death Duel.”
“Thank you, Dad. I think you’re right about that game. It’s too violent.”
“That’s very mature, David,” Rebecca said.
“Can I play in your VR room?” Ethan asked Lindsey. “I wanna go to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. In your National Geographic game, you can go there and scuba dive, and it’s like from before, when the reef was alive.”
“You can use mine for a little while,” Lindsey said. “I am going to a party later though.”
“Sharks like little boys,” David said, baring his teeth.
Jacob raised his eyebrows. “Don’t make me regret my decision.”
David stuck his tongue out at Jacob, hopped from his seat, and ran to the VR room. Ethan followed, thanking his parents and Jeeves for the food before he left.
Jacob shook his head. “They grow up so fast.”
“Too fast. They know too much for their age,” Rebecca replied.
“This is normal for enhanced children. Mayer and Eric’s kids are the same way.”
“I think they’re in VR too much.”
“They’ve been staying up until like one in the morning,” Lindsey interjected.
“How do you know that?” Rebecca asked Lindsey.
“They wake me up when they come up to bed.”
“And then they’re up at six.” Rebecca turned to Jacob. “I really regret that reduced sleep gene we opted for.”
“Imagine what you could accomplish with three extra hours every day,” Jacob said.
31
Summer and the Thanksgiving Chicken
They sat in the back of the Hyundai, watching Connor’s tablet. The man they called Braveheart ranted on the screen with his face pixelated and his voice digitized.
“USPCE and USPCW, otherwise known as United States Penal Colony East and United States Penal Colony West, otherwise known as the American Psycho Islands, are nothing more than a brilliant ruse to rid the country of dissidents. Throughout history, governments have used fear as the catalyst to take away freedoms in the name of safety and security. Benjamin Franklin said, ‘Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.’