He hadn’t meant to turn this conversation about her mother into one about them, and still he couldn’t stop himself. “I mean,” he said. “Don’t you think that can be tricky? Knowing who to … pursue?”

Her eyes darted back and forth between his, like she was watching a frantic Ping-Pong volley in there.

“I’m not, like, pursuing Julian,” she said. “Not anymore, I mean. If I ever even was.”

“It’s none of my business,” Marwan said.

“Oh,” she said. “Okay.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter what you meant,” she said.

“Eden,” he said, and he took her hand and they sat there, quietly breathing.

“I had a thought on my way here,” she said, snapping out of the moment. “Move over.”

So he did and she typed, “Aizel,” then, “I know you are but what am I.”

Many, many articles appeared, and she said, “Okay, what is all this?”

She clicked on an article, and they both read …

“So there was a toy …?”

And read …

“The toy company name is I Know You Are But What Am I.”

And read …

“And the toy was called Eliza …”

Eden searched for the toy company on its own, and clicked on the company site. She clicked on the image of Eliza, but there was no link, only a pop-up window that said, “Eliza toys were recalled before going to market.”

She searched for “Aizel,” but there were no results.

A chatbot popped up: I SEE YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR A PARTICULAR PRODUCT. WHAT IS YOUR INTEREST IN THIS PRODUCT?

Eden said, “So how does the device relate to a recalled toy?”

The chatbot said: PLEASE TELL ME YOUR INTEREST IN THIS PRODUCT.

Eden said, “What should I say?”

The chat window got larger in the bottom right corner of the window: IT IS A DANGER TO INTERACT WITH AIZEL.

“What the hell is going on?” Marwan said.

WE WILL SEND SOMEONE TO YOUR LOCATION TO COLLECT AIZEL.

“I don’t have it anymore,” she said as she typed the words.

Before she hit send, she hesitated.

“Should I?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said. “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

She hit send, and they sat watching and waiting. The chatbot window disappeared. When Eden went to reload the site, she got an error message about a dead link.

A toddler screamed, “Again, again!”

Marwan said, “I think we should probably, you know, leave.”

Eden said, “Do you think someone is actually coming?”

Marwan said, “I highly doubt it.” They held a meaningful look between them like a tightrope. “Then again …”

She got up and grabbed her bag, and he followed.

Ilanka

ILANKA

Two files appeared, and she clicked on one of them. It was an invoice with the company name Aizel Inc. on it. The itemized order said, “Data purchase, teens, Queens, NY” and the date: last Tuesday. The day before the device arrived.