"No, I asked him and he said no. Then I talked to *her* and she told me that she wouldn't ever let something like that happen. Her I believe." She sat down and dandled the little boy until he gurgled contentedly. Perry heard Ada going crazy in the kitchen with a mechanical sphincter he'd been building. "Rides are a lot of fun, Perry. Your ride, it's amazing. But I don't want to ride a ride for the rest of my life, and Landon is a ride that doesn't stop. You can't get off." Perry was at a loss. "I've never had a relationship that lasted more than six months, Eva. I've got no business giving you advice on this stuff. Kettlewell is pretty amazing, though. It sounds like you've got him pretty wired, right? You know that if he's busy, he's happy, and when he's slack, he's miserable. Sounds like if you keep him busy, he'll be the kind of guy you want him to be, even if you won't have much time to play with him." She unholstered a tit and stuck it in the boy's mouth and Perry looked at the carpet. She laughed. "You are such a geek," she said. "OK, fine. I hear what you're saying. So how do I get him busy again? Can you use him around here?" "Here?" Perry thought about it. "I don't think we need much empire building around here." "I thought you'd say that. Perry, what the hell am I going to do?" There was a tremendous crash from the kitchen, a shriek of surprise, then a small "oops." "Ada!" Eva called. "What now?" "I was playing ball in the house," Ada said in the same small voice. "Even though you have told me not to. And I broke something. I should have listened to you." Eva shook her head. "Plays me like a goddamned cello," she said. "I'm sorry, Perry. We'll pay for whatever it was." He patted her arm. "You forget who you're talking to. I love fixing stuff. Don't sweat it." "Whatever -- I'll buy you one and you can use it for parts. Ada! What did you break, anyway?" "Made of seashells, by the toaster. It's twitching." "Toast-making seashell robot," Perry said. "No sweat -- it was due for an overhaul, anyway." "Christ," she said. "Toast-making *seashell* robot?" "Kettlewell is why we gave up making that kind of thing," he said. "Have you seen him?" "I've seen him." "How penitent was he?" He thought back to Kettlewell's long puss on Francis's terrace. "Yeah, pretty penitent. He's pretty worried, I'd say." She nodded. "All right then. Maybe he's learned a lesson. Ada! Stop breaking things and get your shoes back on!" "We going back to Daddy?" "Yes," she said. "Good," Ada said. They were barely out the door when Suzanne and Lester came in. They nodded at Perry and disappeared into the bedroom. Ten minutes later, Suzanne stomped out again. She barely looked at Perry as she disappeared into the corridor, slamming the door behind her.