hatch in behind black plastic box contraption. Spill from, one to eight cylinders, land
plop-plop
on bedcover blanket. Cylinder bounce and roll. Host mother gather, bony talon hand secure eight into trouser side pockets. Mouth say, “Any more?”
Veiled within smoke, haloed and misted pale smoke of hot metal, sister face say, “Try my Talking Teddy bear.”
Mother claws pry open skin of stuffed bear. Miniature false bear. Skin of behind swing open so reveal cylinder, chicken claw scrape hollow. Bear gutted. Conceal battery cylinder into trouser. Mouth say, pitch more high, “Any more?”
Wreathed of metal cigarette holder, glowing hot wand, sister face say nothing. Silent. Nose vent metal smoke. Acrid. Mouth say, “Try my rape siren, in my backpack.” Fuming solder smoke, say, “God, Mom, you’re pathetic.”
Chicken mother strut to location fabric container rest at floor below window. Claw scratch from pocket small trumpet, twist end and void two cylinder. Trouser pocket swollen many cylinders, host mother scramble until door, say, “Thanks, sweetheart.” Say, “You two play nice.” Drag door until healed into wall. Foot sounds, smaller, gone.
Face tilted, eye cover skin make squint within floating path, curve corkscrew white threads smoke, host sister say, “I can’t believe my own mother would put her orgasm above me maybe getting raped …”
Hands shoving metal worm solder metal to melt against heat solder iron. Paint liquid metal pattern on circuit board work project. In breathe snaking white smoke, cat sister say, “Trust me, Pygmy, don’t go down to the basement for a while.” Say, “Mom’s throwing one of her fukkerware parties.” Say, “It used to be her and her friends would force each other to buy these plastic boxes for leftover food. Now they sit around test-driving vibrators.”
Eyes of operative me solely rest on sister. Beyond sheet window glass, under beyond tree, along sidewalk stand operative Magda, no suffocated, brown eyes rested on here.
Host sister say, “It’s these sex toys they use to climax.” Say, “That’s why the batteries.”
Miniature invisible shake grow out bed, spring of mattress, floor of chamber shimmy. Tiny shake make dance yellow fabric window veil. Miniature shimmy shiver innards of operative me, tiny pulse massage weapon within trouser.
Tool knife shiver route across work surface, past host sister elbow, closer edge to drop. Next now, cat sister seize knife one now before drop to floor. Rest knife more far from edge work surface, say, “What torques me is how my mom’s generation started a revolution for equal rights and just endedup in the basement jacking off.” Say, “But I guess I could make the same complaint about my dad’s generation and the Internet…”
Beyond window glass, Magda steady as tree. Rooted. Waited.
Say, stealth calm as green tree sloth, say, “Esteemed host sister, what is labor position of respected father?”
Repeat shoulders made shrugging, cat sister say, “Something with the government. Developing new strains of some virus or something.” Eat smoke in mouth, vent burnt metal smoke out nostril.
Speech of operative me, this agent fashion worry scared, say, “Glorious father craft deadly virus?”
Craning light on work surface, throw bright bulb illuminate solder work, next now less bright. Bulb shrink from white to yellow. Dim in room layer white smoke. Next now, repeat glow bright.
Host sister eye bulb, say, “Gross, they’ve graduated from direct current to alternating.”
This agent, say, “Clarify?”
“From battery sex toys to ones that plug into outlets,” say host sister. Solder draw into pattern, link diode, transistor, transducer, mystery project, host sister say, “Build a better
vibrator
, Pygmy, and the world will beat a path to your door.”
Eye blink against white smoke, cat sister say, “What scares me is how the Chinese are light-years ahead of us in the sex toy race…”
Eye of