Afterward, they left the store together. Adeline used her wristwatch to summon a nearby delivery drone, attaching the shopping bag to its wing. She entered the house number, scheduling the package to be delivered directly to Ms. Cill. Then she spun around and handed her leather shoulder bag to Brian.
"Let me tie my ribbon first." She pulled a black ribbon from the bag he was holding. Brian watched as she flicked her hair back and gathered it neatly. Once she finished, he offered the bag back, but instead she pulled out a compact mirror and powder case to touch up her makeup.
"I thought you were done," Brian remarked, catching her cheerful reflection in the mirror. When she finished, she took the bag from him and stepped onto the bustling sidewalk. Phoenix looked ordinary for a major desert city, yet it carried a Western charm. High-pressure steam trains ran through town, giving it an almost steampunk vibe, though many factories still relied on oil. Locals hesitated to call Arizona a true steam city like England.
Around the factories, black liquid flowed through steel pipes underground, spiraling like drills to power machines. Oil had become rare and worth hundreds of thousands. Any nation wanting to use it had to sign a new RE-Source treaty, making energy transitions complicated.
Brian scanned the street, watching wheel-less cars glide past. He felt outdated, his phone still a sliding-screen model from decades ago. Suddenly, hot steam burst from a drain, blowing his hair sideways.
"Yikes~" He fussed with his hair, annoyed. When he looked up again, Adeline had vanished. He whipped his head around, searching, but saw no trace of her.
"Hey, Bri! Over here!" Her cheerful voice called from across the street. He spotted her waving and strode over, trying to look confident.
"Maybe you could recommend something worth seeing in this city."
"Strange. Isn't it usually the man who invites the woman?" she teased, brow raised.
Brian laughed, shaking his head. "Ha-ha, it's 2070. Nothing's strange anymore."
"So what do you do on your days off?" She lifted her parasol to shade them both.
"Watch football, clean the house to save money, pick up driving jobs. Boring stuff."
"Ugh, just hearing that makes me bored. Anyway, mind if I take ten minutes to fix my hair?"
"No problem." He agreed, and she led him into a salon decorated with silver-white furniture.
Adeline greeted the stylist, a dark-skinned man with dyed red hair swept to the left, wearing a blue suit adorned with red fish-scale patterns.
He welcomed her like an old acquaintance. "Madam Callahan! What can I do for you today? Want the fountain-pen style?"
"Not today, Martin. Just a straightening."
"Good thing you came early—after noon it gets packed. Oh my! And who's this muscular gentleman?"
"Oh, my coworker. He's from L.A. Martin, this is Brian."
"L.A.~ A California boy! Oooh~ hot star vibes. Adeline, you've got a colleague built like Hercules, straight out of the movie capital!" Martin's voice rose theatrically at the end.
Brian glanced around and raised a hand politely. "Not really. Movie stars are way more muscular than me."
Martin winked slyly with his left eye. "Your muscles look natural, though. Rarely do I see a handsome guy whose build doesn't look like car tires. Anyway, enough chit-chat—it's time to work. Chin up, my beauty." He lifted Adeline's face gently and began styling her hair with practiced precision.
He tilted the chair back, massaging her scalp with special solutions, then sprayed her hair until it gleamed under the salon lights. Brian watched closely, curious about what the stylist would do next.
Then Martin placed a strange half-sphere device over her head, plugging it in and pouring hair solution into its top. Brian picked up a holographic news sheet to pass the time. The dome floated up to the ceiling, and Adeline's hair transformed instantly into a sleek new style.
"Smooth and shiny, like molten metal," Martin declared.
Adeline shook her hair, testing it. "Perfect. But trim the front a little." Martin snipped her bangs neatly, then straightened her hair with a heated iron that hissed like steam machinery.
Brian hid behind the news sheet, sneaking glances at her reflection. Adeline buffed her nails casually, then suddenly looked up—catching his gaze in the mirror. She mouthed silently: What? Brian quickly raised the sheet to cover his face.
"Ahem! Don't get distracted by men, princess," Martin teased.
"I wasn't…" Adeline smiled, pleased with her hair, pointing at the crown of her head. "Can you curl it like a roller coaster?"
"Oh, you want an antenna? Won't that look like a unicorn?" Martin asked.
"Yes! Unicorn style! Do it!" she exclaimed.
Martin applied blue gel, twisting her front hair around a stick until it stood tall like a horn. He stepped aside, letting her admire it in the mirror.
The salon filled with laughter. Adeline poked the horn playfully. "Unicorn pony, ha-ha!" Martin laughed with her.
"Alright, fifty-seven dollars, darling." He clasped her wrist, transferring the payment instantly.
"Thank you. Hmm~ your client's adorable—oops, I mean lovely," Martin winked at Brian.
Brian paled at the comment, while Adeline twirled around, showing off. "What do you think of my hair?" she asked, expecting praise. He swallowed hard, forcing back laughter.
"…Looks nice," he muttered.
"Come on, it's cute! Look—unicorn horn!" she pointed proudly.
"I'm not laughing, just caught off guard, ha-ha."
"Of course, beautiful women always do cute things," Martin chuckled, spinning in his chair.
"If you say it's ugly, I'll fire you tomorrow, Mr. Dixon," Adeline teased.
"Careful, that horn could stab a burglar," Martin joked, making her blush.
"Cute, really," Brian admitted with a nervous laugh.
"Let's go. Bye, Martin!" Adeline waved.
"Farewell, young lovers~" Martin sang.
They walked down the street, her unicorn horn drawing stares from passersby. Adeline showed no embarrassment, but Brian rubbed his head nervously under the weight of so many eyes. He pulled out a cigarette, but her white-gloved hand snatched it away.
"No cigarette, please," she smiled. "Earlier you asked me to recommend a place, right?"
"Yeah, something like that," he nodded.
"Hmm~ how about the art museum? They've just brought in new paintings from Italy." She grabbed his arm and pulled him along.
"Whoa! Slow down, Adeline—oops!" Her strength nearly toppled him, startling an elderly couple nearby.
"Careful, young lady! Don't knock us over. Kids these days start courting so fast," the old man muttered.
"Reminds me of us when we were young," his wife teased.
Adeline dragged Brian into the nearby museum, her unicorn horn leading the way.
Tourists visiting the small museum raised their cameras, capturing the masterpieces on display. Adeline's lips curled into a smile, like a little girl brimming with excitement.
She's unusual, Brian thought. This woman is always cheerful, never showing a serious face to her employees. No wonder people call her Lady Sweetheart.
He stepped into the grand hall, where a striking painting stood at the center—an artwork of a human figure composed entirely of letters A–Z.
Adeline used her spider-watch to snap a photo of the piece, while Brian wandered toward another showcase. He stopped at a painting of Earth surrounded by a ring resembling a clock. The lower half of the planet was shrouded in darkness, while the upper half glowed with sunlight crossing the horizon. He stared at it, drawn in by its strange allure.
"Bri~" Adeline called. "Over here, there's a thousand-year-old aquarium… oh wow." She gazed at the artwork.
"What do you think? Can you explain this one to me?" Brian asked.
"Earth and time, maybe? It shows how time pushes the world forward into the future, never back into the past—black and white reflecting that contrast," she tilted her head toward him.
"Hmm. Interesting," Brian nodded. "Want to hear my interpretation?"
"Go on~~" she stretched the word, waiting.
"It's like… the more time passes, the more we try to escape the past, but it keeps chasing us. Eventually, history repeats itself. The world isn't always better or worse—it just cycles."
"A bit dark for me, but… it suits you," Adeline replied, turning to another painting nearby. She spotted the face of the current president and grew mischievous.
"Wow, the detail is incredible!" she exclaimed, accidentally touching the glass case with her finger.
WEE-OO WEE-OO (x100).
"Fire! Fire! Everybody run!" Adeline screamed across the hall. The crowd panicked at her outburst, while guards rushed in to calm the chaos.
"Run!" Adeline grabbed Brian's arm, pulling him out of the museum amid the commotion. He looked at her with clear disapproval.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" she pouted, asking him directly.
He stood with his hands on his hips, glancing back at the museum doors before turning to Adeline with a chuckle.
"You know, you almost scared me to death." Hearing that, Adeline forced a shy smile.
"Got a little carried away—sorry." She pulled out an orange wide-brimmed hat and put it on, hiding the unicorn horn hairstyle.
"Next time, if you're going to do something like that, at least warn me first," Brian said.
"Mm-hmm!" Adeline walked on, chatting cheerfully. Bri nodded as if he were following along, though his mind was really tuned to the sounds of cars and people around them. Her bright voice filled something missing in his life, giving him a sense of energy he hadn't felt in years.
"Bri, Brie~ hello~" Adeline called, snapping him out of his daze.
"Oh! Yeah, I'm listening," he said quickly, nodding at her as they approached a red car.
"You left me talking to myself forever. What did I just teach you, hmm?" she asked, pouting.
"Uh… makeup tips? No, wait—how to do your mom's makeup, right?"
"Mr. Dixon, you weren't listening at all! Hmph. Why don't you teach me something for once?"
"What could I teach you… you already know more than me about everything." Brian sat on the hood of the red sedan.
"And that thing you're sitting on?" Adeline crossed her arms, pointing at the car.
"You've never driven a gas sedan before, have you? I'm serious." She eyed the car curiously.
"Nope. Let's do it." Adeline rubbed her hands together, excited to try driving the old machine.
Once they got inside and buckled up, she ran her fingers over the stiff steering wheel.
"Wow, ha-ha, it's so hard to turn. And why are there three pedals? Two brakes?"
Brian pointed at the gear shift. "That's the clutch. Press it with your left foot, let the engine rev, then shift gears. If you don't want the car to jerk, ease the clutch and throttle when starting. Brake in rhythm—don't slam it unless you have to."
"Got it! This thing looks fifty-ish years old anyway. Okay, time to race!"
"You're in neutral. Press the clutch and shift into first gear," Brian instructed.
"Yes, sir! Gear… one!" Adeline slammed it into first, and the car lurched forward, throwing them back against the seats. She tapped the brake lightly, then shifted up, keeping pace with the road. "I've got this, I've got this!"
Ahead, cars were stopped at a red light. Brian spoke quickly.
"Good. Now slow down. Don't drop gears without pressing the clutch. Keep the speed steady so you can brake in time. Once the car in front stops, shift back to neutral."
"Not bad for a first try. I'm getting the hang of it."
She slowed and stopped behind the traffic. Suddenly, the engine sputtered—chug-chug-chug.
"Oh no…" Adeline slapped her forehead as the car nearly stalled, rolling gently to a stop behind a wheel-less sedan.
"You did mighty fine," Brian reassured.
"I did~?~" she laughed softly. "Alright, let's keep going. I'm starting to enjoy this." She turned the key, restarting the engine, her smile showing Brian that she was the kind of woman who never gave up easily—and always found joy in learning something new.