Chapter 202: So That's a Lucy

I had probably experienced jet lag previously, but I honestly didn't remember. I can promise you this, I will never forget the feeling again. My head was buried so far up my ass, I could see my last meal. I took another shower, not so much to wash away the sleep sweat, as to try to clear the cobwebs.

"Hey girl," Lamar's voice came from the phone. I had answered it still dressed in my panties and bra. I knew that I was on camera, but I also knew that I had nothing worth flaunting. If anything, my body would bore the observer to death.

"Lamar, what can I do for you?" I asked.

"I wanted to give you a heads up. We are having a forth for dinner tonight. His name is Harvey Priest." Lamar informed me.

"And who is Mr. Priest that I should care?" I asked.

"One of the chief engineers on project Lucy," Lamar informed me. "He is here to give you the technical information about Lucy. Kind of lay out all, well most of the things you will have to deal with.?

"I don't want the technical information about Lucy. I don't care how my car works either. I just take it in, when it isn't doing what I want. Lamar listen hon, I am no McGiver. If Lucy won't start, I will be calling the equivalent of a tow truck."

"Well that is between you and Harvey. We will be eating late, why don't you call down and have them bring you a tray of snacks?"

"How late is dinner going to be?" I asked.

"Most likely nine pm or so," Lamar suggested.

I was in jeans, when the girl from the kitchen brought the tray of crackers, cheese, and cold meats. It was a dry snack and I wanted to explain the difference between flavored cardboard and real food, but I lacked Helen's expertise. Coming from me it would just be a complaint and those get you no where.

Since it was just after 5PM and dinner was going to be much later, I lay back down and fell asleep. I was still dopey, when I awoke at seven. The cobwebs cleared finally around eight. By the time the call came from Lamar, I was pretty much back in the game.

"Meet us in the lobby in ten minutes," Lamar said to me.

"Right," I replied. Lamar was about to get a surprised. Unlike most women I would be a few minutes early. I was always early, usually at least a few minutes, sometimes much more. When I got to the lobby, I found Lemar standing with two strangers. One was a male, who looked like Albert Einstein, but with better hair.

The other was what appeared to be a woman, who looked ten years younger than me. She was so ordinary that if she went berserk and killed both men, I would be hard pressed to describe her to the police in any detail. I mean I knew she had mousy brown hair, somewhat like my own. Hers wasn't as thin, or as unruly as mine, but it was close. Her body was thin and tough looking, something like a knotted rope. She had very slim hips and small boobs. All in all I would describe Lucy as a compact model, whereas I am more a sedan.

"Well Lamar, who are your friends?" I asked.

"Maxine Stone, this is Doctor Priest and Lucy," He said.

I put out my hand first to Lucy then to Priest. "Nice to meet you both." I was a little surprised that Lucy didn't crush my hand. She has actually done a good job of seeming warm and real.

"I have heard an awfully lot about you Ms Stone," Priest said.

"Really now, I can't imagine that. I mean I live in a small town and I'm quite ordinary." I said.

"Hardly ordinary Maxine," Priest said. "When we began working on this project we knew that we needed a human model for our girl. One of my assistance found your story and TV show on line. We used you for a model, since we were close enough to the end, so that we were ready to do that."

"I am truly flattered, even if was just lucky timing," I replied, even though I wasn't quite sure that it was a compliment. I turned my attention to Lucy. "So how are you Lucy?" I asked slowly.

"I'm just fine Maxine and I hope you are," she said. You reading the words, is nothing like hearing her speak them. I swear she was June Cleaver, from the old Leave It To Beaver TV show.

"I'm fine. Did anyone ever tell you that you are very conspicuous in your efforts not to be. You said all the right words, but people don't usually talk that well."

"I see, I think I understand. What should I do then?"

"I guess you will have to watch the subtle difference of those around you." I suggested.

"I will attempt to do just that, Maxine," she said. She still sounded like a small town librarian. I knew that she would get the hang of it, since Lamar told me she was programmed to learn.

"Let's go to dinner," Lamar suggested.

"Good. what did you have in mind?" I asked.

"There is a pretty good American style restaurant in the downtown," he suggested.

"I didn't fly eight hours just to have dinner across the street from my home. Let's go to a real British pub for dinner." I turned my attention back to Lucy. "What do you say?"

"Since I don't really eat, it makes no difference to me," she informed me.

"I would have said simply, I don't have a preference they both sound fine." I watched as she processed that. "The 'I don't eat' part was more information than necessary."

"I see what you mean, I should not say things that might force people to wonder about my origin." she said.

"Exactly," I admitted. I turned to Lamar, since I do have a preference and I do eat, I want to go to a neighborhood pub. One that isn't filled with tourists."