day in a horseless was the way to freedom, he was beginning to doubt that he wanted any part of it.
His boredom fell away as he walked through the front. A female sim of about his own age was on her hands knees in front of the house, weeding in a flower bed. wa!' he said enthusiastically.
She female looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. , 'Hoo!' she said back. Her backside twitched a little.
Uh-oh,' Ken and Melody said at the same time. Matt paid little attention to them. Something else was on his mind.
A plump, middle-aged man came out on the front porch he house.
'Hello, my friends,' he said. 'I'm glad to see you. I'm Saul. Rhoda is on the phone, but she'll be out in a moment, I'm sure.'
Glad to see you, Saul.' Ken nodded toward the female . 'And who is this?'
'Lucy?' Saul frowned. Then he looked from her to Matt.
Matt saw that Saul was not looking at his face. He looked down at himself.
His enthusiasm was quite visible. 'Oh,' Saul said.
'I see'
Yes,' Ken said. He did not sound happy.
Wel ,' Saul said, and let that hang for a while before ming as if with happy inspiration, 'let's go inside and uncle After that we can see what comes up.' He looked last again, and broke into a laugh that sounded any thing but cheerful.
The prospect of food was almost enough to divert Matt I Lucy.
He went with Ken and Melody to join Saul with only a brief sideways glance at the female sim.
Lucy put down the trowel she had been using and started to follow everyone else in. Matt felt a smile spread over his Food, a female, maybe this was what Ken and Melody ment by freedom. He had had this much back in the tower, outside, at least, no one did hurtful things to him, save the injection each morning. He'd had that before too, with much else, none of it pleasant. Getting away from those prodings, pokings, and stickmgs made even long stretches of riding in a horseless seem not too bad.
But then he heard Saul say, 'Lucy, why don't you stay outside and finish what you're doing? Rhoda will bring something soon, I'm sure.'
Matt let out an indignant grunt and sent a look to Ken and Melody. He was surprised and dismayed when they agreed with Saul.
'Come on, Matt,' Ken said. 'Lunch first. We'l worry about everything else later.'
Sulkily, Lucy went back to work. Before she did, thou she gave Matt a glance full of promise from beneath brow-ridges. He let himself be steered into the house, but all he noticed about lunch was that there was a lot of it ended up not being hungry anymore, but with no idea what he'd eaten.
After a while, Lucy did come in, to use the toilet. Before she could get into the same room as Matt, Rhoda found something for her to do out in the back yard. Again Ken and Melody failed to interfere.
Matt glowered at them. This did not strike him as anything like freedom.
Finally he had waited as long as he could. He got up and started toward the back of the house. 'The toilet is through that door,' Ken said sharply.
Matt snorted. Not want toilet, he signed. Want, H. forearm pumped graphically.
'No!' All the people in the room spoke together.
The flat refusal brought Matt up short, and also madehim angry.
Yes, he signed, nodding so vigorously that his long, chinless jaw thumped against his chest. Want couple. Not couple since leave tower. Want to. You couple, Yes? He pointed at Saul and Rhoda.
Rhoda was even rounder than her husband. She turned pink at the question, but answered, 'Yes, of course we do. Saul nodded.
Matt turned to Ken and Melody. You, you couple, yes?
They both turned pink, and looked away from each othf for a moment.
'Yes, we do,' Ken admitted at last. He still did not look at Melody until she reached out and took him hand in hers Matt signed. I couple too. He headed for the back door again.
'No!' everyone said again.
Now he stared at them in disbelief. Not free to couple? he signed.
Not free? That had worked just this morning; he was sure it would again.
But it failed. 'No, Matt,' Melody told him. 'I'm sorry, but youre not free to couple.'
Not free? Matt signed, wondering if he had heard carectly. Why not free?
When his hands had finished signing, they curled themselves into fists. He saw Melody, and everyone else, look alarmed at that. sims were stronger than people.
Their fear did not stop them from arguing with him, though. Ken said,
'You can't couple with Lucy because you have the AIDS virus in you. If you couple with her, you'll give her the same sickness you have.'
Not sick, Matt protested. Feel fine. Feel fine long time now.
