The girl and the robot

Round 12: Spring 2017

Erin Fielding is 22 and Iona is 5.
(Max is 61, Regan is 53, Toby is 25 and Liv is 19.)

Narrated by Erin Fielding

Toby and I have been dating for about a year now but we're still taking things slow. We haven't even slept together yet! We get to spend more time together now that Greg has moved back to Wellington and Iona spends some time at his apartment too. I usually ride the bus to Exmoor with Iona and then continue to Wellington where Toby lives.

Most of the times we just stay at his apartment and watch tv and cuddle on the sofa.

Sometimes we walk up to Tom's Diner for a quick bite.

No matter what we do or where we are, Toby always makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. He seems so genuine but I still found it a bit difficult to trust enough to open myself completely.

Toby comes to Brixton quite often. He has started to teach Iona how to play chess. She really likes him and thinks he's so cool. Cool is her new favorite word, I guess she learned it at school from the older kids.

I was a bit worried at first how it would all turn out after Greg's return. But so far everything has gone really well. I met his new girlfriend Malia and she seems really nice. Greg hasn't met Toby yet but he didn't seem to have any problems with Iona and Toby spending time together. Not that I would really care if he had a problem with it. I'm trying to be mature about it but I have to admit I'm still pretty pissed off by how he has been behaving for the past few years.

Honestly I think that the time he spent away has done him good though. He seemed to have grown up. I guess he needed some distance to put everything in perspective. Now it seems that his main goal in life is that Iona is happy.

I usually try to study while Toby and Iona play chess. It's my senior year and sometimes I feel like there aren't enough hours in a day. We have so much work to do.

I also try to study while Iona is in school. I have this tiny study upstairs. It has just enough room for a desk but it's much more quieter to study here than to go to the library.

Liv comes over sometimes. We study for a while but then we usually start talking about boys. Just like when we were teenagers! I don't know if she's serious with Niall but she sure talks about him a lot.

Evenings are dedicated to Iona. I help her with homework. Who would've thought that kindergarteners get so much homework!

She's an outgoing girl and she's made a lot of friends already. Some of them have come over for a visit too. Iona and Jeremy Hayes knew each other already before school since his mother is Nyah's sister-in-law and we've all met in various family occasions.

She talks on the phone with her friends almost every evening. I wonder how it'll be in 10 years when she's a teenager if she's already spending this much time on the phone!

We have to start looking for a place to live soon. The university wants us out of this house before January when new students start moving in. A small house would be ideal but I don't think I can afford it so we'll probably get an apartment somewhere. I know mom and dad would gladly have us living with them but I feel like I've become too independent to go back living with my parents.

Speaking of mom and dad, I finally introduced Toby to them. They threw an impromptu party for family and I thought it was the perfect opportunity for Toby to meet everyone and also avoid any chance for a real interrogation by dad.

Dad was on his best behaviour when he welcomed Toby. I was afraid in advance that dad would start lecturing Toby about how to treat me properly but apparently mom had told him not to. He did keep his eye on Toby the whole time though and raised his eyebrows even if we were just holding hands. I know he's just looking out for me but geez! I'm already 22 and more than capable of taking care of myself.

Mom on the other hand seemed to like Toby. At least they talked for quite long while everyone else was dancing. It was a great party and it was also nice to see everyone.

Notes:

• Title from "The girl and the robot" by Röyksopp featuring Robyn.
• Erin has graduated and you'll see her grad information in the Winter 2018 birthday post. I'm pretending the uni year starts in january and ends in november(ish) so technically she would still be studying.