The Kiss on the Cheek

The Kiss on the Cheek

The man of the house was home!! It was always a happy time for the family; he would be greeted by his wife, Susie, and would bestow her a kiss on the cheek, showing the affection and love he had for his wife, Susie. By this time, the children Luke and Emily, could hear their father’s footsteps on the stairs, and rushed down to him, eager for a cuddle and kiss from him too.   Susie would smile contently, the love of her life was home again, and all was well with the world.

Some days, he would not go out to work, and they would spend the day gardening, watching television, or playing games with the children. He would tickle and cuddle his children, and quite often he and Susie would sit on the couch, snatching sneaky kisses when the children were playing.

This is normal for a family in the year 2050. There are no wars in their world, the last world war exploding in 2025. The world’s largest countries completely monopolized the weapons available, and androids took over the role of the fighting soldier. They quickly subdued the smaller nations, who were thinking they would be the ones to “take over the world”. Since then, peace and tranquillity reigned over the world.

Molly was one of these fighting soldiers, but as the wars ended, it was decided to incorporate her and others like her into human society. She resembled humans so closely she could be mistaken for a living person. 

Molly looked and talked the same as a human being, the only difference being she replenishes her energy at her battery station, instead of eating and drinking as a human must do to survive.

Joe and Susie had been given Molly several years ago, and she thoroughly enjoyed the family atmosphere.  Susie often asked her to do the household chores, helping her with the children, and Molly was more than happy to accommodate her. After all, that was part of her job, and she did think it made her part of the family too.  

After dinner, Joe and Susie would sit comfortably together chatting about their day, or the antics of the children.   At bedtime, Joe and Susie would tuck the children into their beds, with a quick cuddle and kiss good-night.

Joe and Susie, and their android Molly, had a very good working relationship.  Joe and Susie did not insist that Molly dress in uniform and apron, so she was able to dress similarly to Susie, allowing her to blend in with their family.

Molly was not unhappy living with the family. They treated her well, and when charging her batteries, she was updated with the latest happenings in the world, so could easily converse with both the children and adults in an easy manner.

But there was one gesture that she was never able to have, the kiss on the cheek from Joe, and the kisses and cuddles from the children.  She believed she was part of the family now, and although Joe was always very polite and kind to her, the same way he treated Susie and the children, then why could she not have that “kiss on the cheek”, that the rest of the family received when he walked in the door, the kiss he was so keen to give to his family. 

Her creators had made it clear to her when they assigned her to Joe and Susie that she must try to blend in with the family. In her mind, this one gesture, the kiss on the cheek, was the only thing she had not achieved.   She decided to take particular notice of what made these four people a family.

Molly did not need to sleep, so when the family slept, she sat at her battery station, recharging her batteries receiving updates in her computer system. She then set about trying to make herself look exactly the same as Susie, even curling her hair to mimic Susie’s curly locks.

Her first task of the day was to prepare the breakfast for the family. She thought if she spent a little more time on making Joe’s breakfast look more appetising, maybe an extra piece of bacon and toast, he would be sure to notice her, if she did this simple gesture. 

The family burst into the kitchen, full of enthusiasm for the day ahead. They ate their breakfast, Joe mentioning that his breakfast was lovely, and thanked her for the extra food. However, this did not merit a kiss on her cheek, as she thought it may do.

As it was not a work day for Joe, and the children did not have to go to school, they would be spending the day at home, enjoying each other’s company. They spent the morning in the garden with the children playing catch with the balls or showing the children how to plant seeds that would later become beautiful flowers. 

After lunch, the weather changed, and it became quite cold, so Joe and Susie found their old board games. They had a vast array of computer games available for their family, but still preferred to allow the children to play simple games like Scrabble or Chess on their old fashioned boards. It seemed a lot more fun to sit around the table and talk to each other rather than sit mutely in front of a computer clicking switches to play the games. 

Molly could not understand this, as she believed the computer orientated games were more believable and accurate. However, she was determined to follow suit with everything they did. They invited Molly to join in, and she readily agreed, hoping to find out a little more of what makes this little group of people a family.

After they finished playing their games, it was time for Molly to prepare dinner for the family. She took particular note of how Joe, Susie and the children seemed so at ease with each other. They were very courteous to Molly, but did not invite her to join in their family banter.

Night time came, and it was time for bed. Joe and Susie continued with their routine of playing with the children, cuddling each other on the couch, and then putting the children to bed, with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

At last it was time for Joe and Susie to wander off to bed, and they bid Molly “good-night” in their usual manner. She hovered around a little, hoping they would maybe take the initiative, so held her cheek out for a kiss “good-night” too. They seemed a little perplexed that she should do this, but would investigate it more the next day, making sure her computer system was not faulty or needing to be reset.

It seemed to them that the andirons were trying to become more human day by day. Joe mentioned to Susie that it was something to watch out for with Molly, as she seemed to want to be a real part of the family, instead of a machine there to assist them in the home. After all, Joe said, Molly was an android, and in his opinion, will never be part of the human race.

Molly could sense there was a change in their demeanor the next morning. They were not as friendly as they were the day before, and preferred to keep their distance, making sure the children were not around her when they were not there too. She could not understand what had she done to make them think she would ever harm the children, and was hoping that her obsession with wanting the “kiss on the cheek” would not ruin her working relationship with this loving family. 

Molly and Susie often took the children to the park, sitting companionably chatting about the topics of the day. She broached the subject about the family closeness, and their ability to show affection by giving each other a kiss on the cheek.

Susie tried to explain to her that kissing is something humans do to show affection, cementing the strong bond of love they have for each other, stirring up feelings of warmth and contentment.

 “What is love”, Molly asked, bewildered because she did not understand this simple word. Surely this word had been entered into her vocabulary when she was created.

Susie tried to explain to her. “Love is something you feel; thinking of each other sends warm feeling through our bodies”. 

Slowly, Molly became to understand what Susie was saying. An android can do everything a human can, but they are a machine, and they have no feelings, so therefore cannot love. She could try as hard as she could, she would never earn the “kiss on the cheek” from Joe, Susie or their children, as she could not reciprocate, she could not offer love to them.

Joe and Susie decided it was time they replaced Molly with another android, as she had become indifferent to them lately, especially after the “kiss on the cheek” episode. Her creators understood their dilemma, and placed Molly in a home of four people, sharing a house, with no feelings of love felt between them. She would be able to enjoy the companionship of the housemates, and they would benefit from someone of Molly’s capabilities.

Joe and Susie welcomed Jessie into their home a few weeks later; she chose to wear a uniform and apron. She was happy to serve them in a clinical way, preferring not to get involved in their day to day activities.

As the years went by, Molly thought often of the family she lived with years ago, when she saw other families with that closeness that encompasses love. 

One day, her creator had told her, androids would be able to feel love, hate and all other senses that humans feel, but for now, they will continue to be a machine. 

Their features will mimic humans, and they are capable of all things humans can achieve, except that one thing that will make them human, the kiss on the cheek by someone that wants to show them love.