“No chance of a tie, at least, with nineteen of us,” Link offered, which made Dr. Grind want to punch him in the face, a feeling he immediately regretted. Link was one of the best parents in the complex, so giving of his time, so kind. It mystified Dr. Grind that he was leading this charge; he could not conceivably believe that Link was Kalina’s secret lover, his devotion to Julie was so complete. Was it just simple jealousy then? He wondered how many of these parents were secretly worried that their own place in the family, their own children, would be threatened by change.
Dr. Grind sat in the hallway and, nearly ten minutes later, so long that Dr. Grind had no idea how it would contribute to the outcome, Izzy opened the door and called him into the room. On the coffee table were nineteen folded sheets of paper. Dr. Grind scooped them up, rearranged them into a neat pile, and then tabulated the votes in the notebook. The first four votes were all no, and Dr. Grind nearly ripped through the paper as he notched each vote with his pen. But then a flood of yes votes came in until, a miracle that unfolded right in front of Dr. Grind, the yes votes overwhelmed the no’s and the final tally, thirteen to six, meant that Dr. Kwon would stay.
“It’s yes,” Dr. Grind said. He saw Izzy smile and then quickly return to her serious expression. Link stared at the ground and then, in a manner that suggested an elasticity that Dr. Grind wasn’t sure was entirely human, he smiled and looked back at Dr. Grind. “Okay,” Link said. “That’s all I wanted, a family decision. I’m fine with it.”
The rest of the parents talked in whispers, slowly rising from their seats, the decision final. Link then said, as they walked out of the room, “I mean, I like Kalina. She’s great. You know?” And though he was sheepishly smiling, Dr. Grind knew this was an event that would nag at Link, and whoever else voted to keep Kalina out of the family, especially the father of Kalina’s child. Or had the father voted to keep her here, wanting to keep track of the child’s development, to still be a part of the baby’s life without anyone knowing his secret? It was too much to consider right now; all he knew was that the family was in danger of falling apart and he had to do everything that he could, even against his better judgment, to keep it together.
Dr. Grind stayed in the room. He went through the votes again, counting them out another time, thirteen to six. He counted again, thirteen to six. He tried not to imagine what would have happened if the votes had been reversed. It was a family decision, all nineteen parents. But Dr. Grind knew, deep in the secret places of his heart, that no matter what these nineteen parents decided, whether they liked it or not, they were his children, they were all his children, every man, woman, and child who resided inside the AstroTurf-covered buildings of the complex. And if they were his children, he was their father.
He would never tell Dr. Kwon what had transpired in this room. He would tell her, in the morning, that the family had enthusiastically agreed that she should remain a part of their family. He would keep everyone together, whether they wanted it or not. He thought about the time, when the duration of the project had ended, when he would extend his arms and let all of his children wander into whatever came next. He thought of how difficult that moment would be, but perhaps, a darker part of him wondered, it wouldn’t be nearly as difficult as he thought. Perhaps, by the end of their time here, he would never want to see any of them again.
He carried the votes into his apartment and ripped them into confetti, the process taking far longer than he had expected, but he was fully committed to the action. He dumped the scraps of paper, a blizzard of paper, into the trash can. Then he walked into his bedroom, retrieved his dopp kit, and exorcised whatever demons he thought lingered inside him.
Dr. Grind placed a marshmallow on the table and Cap, sitting in a chair, watched it with great interest, as if it were a crystal ball that could tell him his future. “Now, Cap,” Dr. Grind said, gesturing toward the marshmallow, “you can eat this marshmallow if you would like. Or, if you wait fifteen minutes, I will give you another marshmallow. So you will have two.”
Cap nodded, understanding perfectly the terms of the experiment. “Now, I’m going to leave you alone, and I’ll come back in fifteen minutes.” Cap smiled and waved good-bye to Dr. Grind, who then stepped out of the room, into the observation room, where they could watch Cap through the one-way glass. Before Dr. Grind had even closed the door, Jill said, “He’s already eaten the fucking marshmallow.” Dr. Grind quickly turned toward the glass and looked as Cap chewed with great happiness, his face angelic. “Half a second,” Jill said, observing the timer.