Christmas With Hover Hill (2 page)

As the robot took a step out of the box, Elizabeth
gasped and staggered backward.

With a slight drone to his voice, the robot said,
“Thank you for turning me on. I am at your service, Beth.”

Elizabeth jumped back. Her legs connected with the
couch. She felt herself going down as she flopped backward. She
squeaked, “You talk!”

Hover folded his hands together in front of him. “I
do, Beth. That is just one of my many talents. You are going to
find I can be very useful. How may I help you?”

“
For starters, don’t call me Beth. My name is
Elizabeth,” she corrected tersely. Instantly, she felt foolish. She
had just admonished a mechanical object.

Hover took another step toward her as he explained in
stilted words, “To call you Beth was programmed into me. Until I
have been reprogrammed differently, Beth is all I can call you.
Anything else?”

“
Yes, you can stay right where you are. Until I
figure out what you are, I want you to stay away from me,” she
commanded, jumping up. Elizabeth scrambled to put the couch between
herself and him. He sounded so lifelike. It made her feel creepy to
be alone with this handsome manlike thing. She clarified, “At least
until I get used to you.”

He stopped and repeated, “I am here to obey you. I
will not move until you tell me what to do. How may I help you at
the moment?”

Elizabeth gave him a good once over. The robot looked
strong, but he must be harmless. Scott would never do anything to
get her hurt. “What do you want to do?”

“
Anything you tell me. According to my internal
clock it is eight o'clock. That is past your dinner
time.”

“
I've had my dinner already. How do you know
what time I eat?”

“
It has been programmed into me. Are you hungry
now? I can fix you a snack.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No, I don't want to eat
anything.”

“
Perhaps just a sandwich so you can see how I
work. You need to head me in the direction of the kitchen,” Hover
suggested.

“
All right. Yes, you do that. Go through that
door and fix me a sandwich.” She pointed behind him.

Hover Hill turned and walked out of sight. He didn't
exactly have a zombie gait, but he didn't walk as smoothly as a
human being. More like someone who had knee replacement surgery. A
good reason why he wouldn't be able to climb stairs.

Quickly, she grabbed the telephone and dialed her
brother’s home phone number. He had to come get this creature out
of her house right away. This too real looking robot was freaking
her out.

Scott’s phone rang and rang.

Quietly, Hover appeared in the doorway, carrying a
tray. “No answer at your brother’s house?”

That thing has good hearing!
Elizabeth slammed the receiver down on the base. “How – how
did you know I was calling my brother?”

“
I am made of transmitters and a memory
computer. The telephone transmits the numbers to me that you just
dialed.”

“
Oh,” Elizabeth uttered.

“
Perhaps your brother will be home later. You
can thank him then.”

She gave him a puzzled frown. “Thank him?”

“
That's right. For giving me to you as a
Christmas gift, of course. Now sit down, Beth, and eat this
sandwich. It is just peanut butter and jelly I’m sorry to say. You
really need to shop for more nutritious food if you expect me to
cook better meals and snacks. I can tell by looking in your
cupboards that you have not been fixing healthy dinners. That's a
good sign you really need my help.” He looked down his nose at her
as he set the plate on the coffee table.

“
What gives you the idea I expect you to cook?”
Elizabeth snapped at him, suddenly disliking his condescending
attitude.

Matter of factly, Hover said, “I’ve been programmed
to do healthy cooking for you.”

She stared at the ceiling as she gritted out softly,
“I’ll wring Scott’s neck for this.”

Hover Hill looked at her intently. “That is
interesting. Has he a place on his neck to dial phone numbers?”

“
Ooh, never mind! I’m going to bed now.”
Elizabeth hissed in momentary defeat. She edged closer to the robot
and started to circle around him.

The robot turned slowly to stay facing her. “It is
much too early for you to go to bed. Your bedtime is hours away.”
He kept turning as she moved. “What are you trying to do?”

“
Shut you off.”

“
No need for that. I will power down in the
corner of the room until you wake up in the morning. That way if
you need help in the night I will be ready.”

“
I won't need anything from you in the middle
of the night,” Elizabeth snipped softly as she reached out toward
his back.

Gently, Hover pushed her hand away. “I said that I
don’t need to be turned off.” He walked over to the corner of the
room and turned around with his back tight against the wall. “See.
I power down just like this.” He made a soft, whining noise that
dimmed to silence as he closed his eyes and bowed his head.

Elizabeth kept her eyes on him as she grabbed her
sandwich. She whirled around and hurried toward her bedroom.

Chapter 2

Elizabeth laid the sandwich on the nightstand. She
went back to the doorway and moved the angel wing begonia pot from
against the living room wall. Once she had it centered in front of
her bedroom doorway, she eased the door shut.

The absurdity of her actions made her boiling mad
again. This was her home. Until tonight, she hadn't bothered to
shut her bedroom door at night. Not only had she shut the door just
now, but she did it without making a sound as if she feared she'd
wake that robot man up. She really was going to give Scott a piece
of her mind as soon as she could get him to answer the phone.

Once she was in bed, she found it hard to sleep. She
kept watching the darkness and listening for movement in the living
room. She knew it was ridiculous, but she felt as if a strange man
was standing guard out there.

Her mind tumbled with thoughts as she kept going over
this evening. The robot said he'd been programmed to call her Beth.
Her brother, Scott, called her Elizabeth just like everyone else.
The only one that called her Beth was .… . No way! That was
impossible. Steven Mitchell was the only one she had ever let
called her Beth. He couldn't have anything to do with this mess.
He'd been out of her life for several years.

The next morning, Elizabeth rolled over and opened
her eyes. Startled speechless, she tried to digest the fact a man
was standing over her. Her first thought was where had she left her
cell phone. She had to call the police. Next, she decided she had
to roll out of bed on the opposite side. She'd find something to
use as a club. Where had she left her umbrella? She'd beat the
intruder senseless or threaten him until he left her apartment.

“
Good morning, Beth. I have your breakfast.”
Hover Hill leaned forward to hand her a tray.

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes and groaned. Now she
remembered last night and what must be Scott's idea of a very bad
joke. She scooted up in bed. “What’s on the tray?”

“
Hot chocolate and buttered toast,” he
chanted.

“
What makes you think I like that for
breakfast?” Elizabeth asked irritably as she held her hands up for
the tray.

“
I have been programmed for all your food likes
and dislikes,” Hover said, sounding smug.

Elizabeth's patience had its limits this early in the
morning.“Well, take it back. I only want coffee this morning.” She
thrust the tray back into his fingers.

“
I expected that.”

“
You expected what?” She snapped.

“
I have been programmed to know that is what
you would say until you get used to me helping you. I was
programmed that you often get up on the wrong side of the
bed.”

“
I do not!” Elizabeth screeched. “Did Scott say
that? He has his nerve telling you that. Oh, just give that tray to
me and get out of my bedroom.” Elizabeth grabbed the tray from his
hands, slopping hot chocolate down her white nightgown.

“
I will wipe that off you before the chocolate
soaks through onto your skin,” Hover said, heading for the
bathroom.

“
Don't you dare try that. You stay away from
me,” Elizabeth yelled, glaring at him. She pulled the hot stain out
away from her skin. “I'm going to get dressed soon
anyway.”

“
May I lay your clothes out for you while you
eat?”

Elizabeth huffed, “Are you programmed to know what I
want to wear today?”

Hover shook his head. “No, I do not have the ability
to read your mind. You will have to tell me that.”

How did Scott manage to leave that
out of robot skills to program into him?
“I intend to
pick out what I’ll wear to church by myself. Leave my room now,”
she ordered, pointing at the door.

“
Very well. Just leave the nightgown in the
sink. I will wash the stain out for you,” Hover said as he walked
to the door. He stepped sideways around the angel wing begonia
before he turned around. “By the way, you should be more careful
where you place your flower pots. I have a hard time getting around
this one.”

“
You're smarter than you look. That was my
intention. Get out of here.” Elizabeth grabbed the piece of toast
and threw it at him, but Hover Hill moved faster than she did. The
toast bounced off the back of the door as it closed.

Taking a sip, Elizabeth admitted to herself the hot
chocolate was good, but that wasn’t enough reason for her to put up
with that robot’s bossy attitude. What was Scott thinking when he
programmed that beast to be so unlikable and pushy? It was as if
her brother intended to upset her. If so, that brother of hers had
succeeded big time. He knew she couldn't stand being told what to
do.

After she dressed, she picked up her brush on the
dressing table. Stroking her shoulder length, light brown hair, she
glanced at herself in the full length mirror attached to the closet
door to see if the blue pantsuit she'd chosen looked all right.
Satisfied that the pantsuit's color complimented her eyes, she took
a deep breath and steeled herself to face the creature lurking in
her living room.

The robot was standing motionless in the corner. He
slowly raised his head as she entered the room. “Are you ready to
leave for church now?”

“
Yes.”

“
May I accompany you to church?”

“
Heavens no!” She blurted out, astonished at
the thought. She couldn't explain him to the congregation. What
would they think of her?

“
It might surprise you a small amount to know
that some people would be proud to have me accompany them,” Hover
said, sounding disappointed.

“
It would surprise me a lot,” Elizabeth bit
back at him then as an excuse added, “You can't walk up and down
steps.”

“
You live in a first floor apartment,” Hover
shot back.

“
Well, the church has steps.” She amended,
“Lots of steps.”

She felt little comfort in the fact that she'd won
the argument if she could call it that. Hover Hill closed his eyes
and lowered his head.

After church, Elizabeth decided to lunch at
Pizza Ranch rather than the diner closer to her house. An all you
can eat pizza and broasted chicken meal should tide her over for
the rest of the day. That would keep that mechanical, culinary
expert about her tastes in food from cooking. She lingered over the
meal and plotted her strategy on how to get rid of her
unwanted
house guest.

By the time she left the restaurant, it was with a
determined outlook about her situation. She slid into the car and
took the cell phone from her purse. Fairly confident that Hover
Hill couldn’t hear her dial from that distance, she tried Scott’s
number again. Still no answer. Where could he be when she needed
him? Maybe he hid out on purpose, figuring she'd be unhappy about
having that man robot in her apartment.

She'd just have to take care of this problem by
herself. She'd put that robot back into his box, duct tape it shut
and mail him back to Scott.

When Elizabeth stepped through the front door, she
looked across the room. Hover wasn’t in his corner. Maybe he left.
As she came out of her coat, she decided she should pray for a
small miracle. After all, it was Christmas. As she studied the
room, she hung her coat in the closet.

Wait a minute. The box was gone. Maybe the robot had
been stolen. Thieves rummaging through her things was an awful
thought to have, but if that were so, she felt sorry for the dumb
thieves who took him. She just hoped when Hover Hill started
bossing them around the thieves didn’t try to bring him back to
her. She had a no return policy where Hover Hill was concerned.

“
Good afternoon, Beth,” came the now familiar
drone from the kitchen. “Come see what I have done.”

Elizabeth's high hopes were dashed. Suddenly, she was
aware of the delicious, vanilla scent wafting through the
apartment. “I told you not to call me Beth,” she snapped as she
marched to the kitchen door.

Hover Hill stood by a plate, on the kitchen counter,
mound high with chocolate chip cookies.

Nodding at the plate, Hover stated proudly and with
certainty, “Your favorite cookies right out of the oven.”