YPM2025 by Teresa Freeland

YPM2025 by Teresa Freeland

An incoming text alert sounded from Cora’s phone. Although rushed for time, trying to meet a self-imposed deadline, she willingly allowed herself a moment of sweet anticipation. After a beat, she glanced away from her laptop and picked up her phone.

Blonde, Scandinavia fine; a male figure with the name “Dan” running across his chest, stared back at her. Text scrolled across the bottom – Dinner out or in?

Cora tapped back. In. Looks like it’s going to be a long, tiring day.

Okay. I’ll cook. It’ll be great.

Thanks− Cora tapped−See you later.

She considered sending a heart emoji, thought better of it, and put her phone back on her desk. Sighing audibly, she returned to her laptop. As a strategic planner, much of her job involved identifying industry trends, then executing an action plan. This career choice suited her. She liked the sense of order that accompanied her day; the well-tuned rhythm of numbers, the gleaning of reliable information gathered from project charts carefully implemented.

Her analytical mind focused on the task at hand, that of comparing research data spreadsheets. Cora became immersed in the figures arranged in front of her. As the morning progressed, she continued working. After a few hours, she looked away from the computer screen and glanced at her phone. She realized morning had disappeared and she was going to be late meeting her coworkers for lunch. Cora didn’t have that many friends, so it was important to keep those she had. Outside of her job and her home life with Dan, she didn’t socialize all that much. She preferred evenings at home and her weekends spent relaxing, maybe binge-watching her favorite TV shows or scrolling social media.

“He won’t do one freakin’ thing around the house.”

“Mine takes out the trash.”

“Really? Well, at least he does that.”

“No. I mean he really takes out trash. Found out he’s cheating, with trash.”

Cora listened to the lunch chatter for a few minutes longer before announcing to them that her bladder was going to burst. She headed for the diner’s restroom. Not that I had to go that bad, she thought to herself as she stared at the restroom mirror. It’s just that the same-ol’ whiny-husband-ain’t-worth-shit-crap is getting on my nerves.

As she applied her lipstick, she examined her image. Reflecting back at her was a well-defined yet plain face, dark brown hair, eyes set too close together, nose a little too flat. Not gorgeous, Cora thought, but not butt-ugly either.

After lunch and back at work, Cora tapped on her laptop. While reviewing her company’s industry forecasts, an email popped up from her personal account. The subject line read: “New Release Available for YPM2025!”

Not another one of those ads, she thought as she stared at the image and started to hit delete. She hovered over the delete key and stared at the screen. I can’t afford the upgrade right now. Maybe someday, she thought. Besides, it should get less expensive as more people buy into the program. There’s just not enough demand yet, too forward thinking and risky. But worth it. I’m sure glad I bought in.

She read over the body of the email:

“Up to 40% discount will apply upon receiving valid referrals.”

The referral discount sounds good, but for now I’m enjoying this program way too much. I think I’ll keep it to myself just a while longer.

She hit the delete key.

Exhausted and looking forward to her evening, Cora began her drive home. She envisioned what awaited her at home: a good dinner, a warm bath, and a soft bed. As traffic stalled, she tapped into her phone, opening an app–tapped again, then closed it, laying the phone down on the passenger seat.

“Hey, come here,” Dan said as she entered the apartment. He wrapped his arms around her, giving her a gentle, long kiss. She slipped her shoes off as he kissed her again, then she untangled herself and walked to the sofa.

Dan sat down beside her. She shifted her body into the folds of the sofa, laying her head at the opposite end. Dan began massaging her legs and after a few minutes he started rubbing her feet.

“Dinner should be ready soon.” Dan said as he lovingly gazed at her. “I’ve fixed a bath for you, the heated tub warming your water to just the temperature you like. After you’re done we can relax while relishing the carbonara, caprese salad, wine, and for later, dark chocolate strawberries.”

“Sounds wonderful, Dan. I shouldn’t be too long,” Cora said as she got up.

“Take your time. I’ll be waiting.”

After her bath Cora dressed in jade green silk pajamas. The bath had relaxed her tremendously; she was ravenous, and ready for a delicious dinner. She went back into the bathroom, brushed her hair, and blew out the lavender scented candles Dan had earlier placed around the tub.

Dinner was beyond expectation. The carbonara was smooth and creamy. The caprese had just the right amount of oil drizzled on top. The strawberries and wine were a perfect enhancement for a perfect meal.

Dan cleaned off the table as Cora finished her glass of wine while tapping on her phone. She made a few editing adjustments to apps, then posted photos of their meal online. Reviewing her posts, she studied one photo in particular, a selfie of her and Dan she had taken before they ate. In the photo, Cora was smiling brightly, the color of her pajamas emphasizing her olive-colored eyes.

But it was obvious that Dan was the focal point of the photo. His deep blue penetrating eyes, thick wavy blonde hair, and chiseled, strong jawline cut an attractive representation of the man. His smile was adorable, she thought as she sent it across the various forms of social media. Although her coworker-girlfriends would most likely see the posted photos anyway, she decided to text the posts to them as well. The caption read:

Great dinner at home. Just what I needed after a long day.

She got up from the table and stretched. Dan told her he would join her in the bedroom soon − that he was just finishing up. Sometime between eating dinner and cleaning up Dan had turned down the bed, turned on the nightstand light, and sprayed the room in the lavender scent Cora loved. The shoes she wore to work that day were placed back in order on her closet’s shelf designated for business footwear.

Between silky sheets she relaxed, waiting for Dan. After a short time, he walked into the room and fell into bed. As he made his way towards her between the bed sheets, Cora slowly took in his rippled chest and broad shoulders. Dan turned out the light as he drew Cora to him.

Later, Cora yawning expansively and smiling contentedly, proceeded to say to Dan as he lay there, “Time to get up.”

Dan rose and walked over to a corner of the bedroom. He aligned himself up inside a built-in structure resembling an open cylindrical column. A label attached to the inside of the column read “Model YPM2025.”

Cora walked over and reaching behind him retrieved a lever embedded into his bare back. As she pulled the lever down, a battery pack inside Dan’s back revealed itself. She drew out the connector, plugging it into the charger socket of the built-in.

“Nighty-night, Dan. Sweet dreams,” she said.

Then, crawling back into bed alone, she took out her phone and tapped on an app captioned YPM2025. Upon logging into the app, Dan’s image appeared on the screen. Under his picture were the words “Your Perfect Man–Model Year 2025.” He’s only a few years old. I’m sure I can wait a while to upgrade, Cora thought. She tapped on the menu portion of the screen and opened the command center. Sitting up in bed, pillows at her back, she began programming the next morning’s prompts for Dan, the perfect man.

* * * * The End * * * *
Copyright Teresa Freeland 2024