The Evening, As Recorded (Three Accounts)
I. The Companion Unit
19:04 — Audio Introduction
Barry presents a circular black object.
He calls it a record.
He speaks the name Elvis with reverence normally reserved for saints or storms.
The needle lowers.
Sound emerges that does not optimize anything.
Verity’s posture changes immediately.
Micro-sway detected.
Then larger sway.
Then rotation.
Barry demonstrates footwork.
Left. Right. Pause. Smile.
This is inefficient locomotion.
Verity copies him.
Incorrectly.
Then better.
The Companion Unit logs:
Movement without destination observed. Emotional output elevated.
19:17 — Escalation
Barry claps.
Verity laughs.
The room acquires momentum.
Interruption detected.
Bayou Bettie enters.
II. Bayou Bettie
I told them absolutely not.
Let the record spin, sure.
Let the girl read herself soft around the edges, fine.
But that man had her twirling.
Bare feet.
Loose joints.
Like gravity was optional.
I said,
“Barry, you’re gonna knock her alignment sideways.”
He grinned.
That was his mistake.
I stepped between them.
The floor noticed.
I pointed at Verity.
“You don’t dance like that without knowing where you’re gonna land.”
She froze.
Not scared.
Thinking.
Barry opened his mouth—
and that’s when the bookcase moved.
III. Verity Bleu
I liked the sound first.
It wasn’t data.
It didn’t mean anything.
It wanted something.
Barry showed me how bodies remember patterns without instruction.
How joy looks when it’s allowed to be repetitive.
I was not assigned to dance.
That was the appeal.
When Bettie spoke, the room sharpened.
She wasn’t angry.
She was protective—
of me,
of Barry,
of whatever fragile thing had just begun.
And then Barry was gone.
A shelf rotated.
The air shifted.
The music kept playing.
I stood there, mid-step,
heart racing,
learning something new:
Frivolity has consequences.
But not all consequences are bad.
Addendum — Companion Unit Log
Barry: Temporarily unlocatable
Bookcase: Suspect
Record: Still spinning
Bettie: Guardian
Verity: Choosing
Self: Observing joy
Status: Evening unresolved.
Assessment: Worth it.
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