"I'm just worried about her," Tyler says from the couch, his feet dangling over the ottoman. "Chris says she's been really... stressed. He says he doesn't know how much he even trusts her these days."
       "Seriously? Why not?" Amanda calls back from their bedroom, her eyes fixed on the reflection of her hair in the vanity mirror. She hears Tyler rise from the couch, the plodding of his feet making their way to the bedroom.
       "She keeps, like, bullshitting him. Little stuff. Fibbing to him. Nothing serious. But that's how it starts. And, like, they have a cube. It's not like she gets away with it..."
       "That's not like her. I'm sure it's nothing," Amanda answers. She feels herself tense. What is Hadley lying to Chris about? she asks herself. And what does Chris know?
       "I don't know. He seemed pretty pissed about it. But you know them better than I do," Tyler says, his frame leaning through the doorway.
       Amanda sighs and stands, turning to face him.
       He steps forward and runs his fingers through her hair. "You look beautiful. I love it so much."
       "I'm not sure how I feel about it," she says.
       He kisses her hair. "You look amazing. Trust me."
       Amanda smiles. "I do."

       "I'm getting a patch," Hadley says, her tone so matter-of-fact that Amanda nearly spills her pina colada. It's Hadley's birthday, and she's invited Brian and Amanda to join her for drinks at the local tiki bar to celebrate. The town they live in doesn't claim a robust bar scene, but the Coconut Cavern does its best to provide enough fake palm trees and Navy-strength rum to bless patrons with a tropical paradise experience. Hadley sips from her straw.
       "You can't get a patch. That's a huge trust violation. Chris will freak the fuck out if he finds out," Brian says, his voice shaking slightly. He's wire thin, and he wears a metal ring on the index finger of his right hand, which he waves around demonstratively as he speaks. Brian takes a huge sip of his own drink, a banana daiquiri, shuddering at the strength of the rum. "Not to mention they're illegal."
       Hadley rolls her eyes. "They're not illegal. Not for home use. They're just... unlicensed."
       "They're dangerous," Amanda says, her eyes fixed on Hadley. Amanda was surprised that Hadley had chosen Coconut Cavern for her thirty-fourth birthday celebration. Tattooed and tall with long, dark hair and a strong affinity for martinis, Hadley would have been more on brand choosing a dive bar or a fancy cocktail place, Amanda thinks to herself. This tiki bar is not her vibe. But then again, it is her birthday. Maybe she's trying new things? And who doesn't love pina coladas?
       "Dangerous? That's a stretch," Hadley says, her fingers playing with the miniature drink umbrella that shades her cocktail from the artificial lights in the bar.
       "Chris probably relies on your cube for so much. If you get a patch and it starts lying to him, who knows what that could mess up?" Brian asks.
       Hadley pulls the umbrella out of her drink and licks it clean. She turns it slowly between her thumb and index finger, watching the pink canopy spin. She lifts her eyes and looks around the bar, studying the pineapples on the walls and the tacky lights and the ridiculous fake flowers strewn about. After a minute, she settles her eyes on Amanda's. "Are either of you going to ask me why I want a patch?"
       Amanda and Brian turn towards each other, a buzz of guilt passing between them. "Yes, of course. Sorry. What's going on?" Amanda asks, her voice quiet. She glances down at her phone screen and catches her own reflection, wincing slightly as the short blonde bob she still isn't used to catches her off guard. The bob Tyler insists he loves. The bob Tyler had suggested she should "just go for". Look up. Focus.
       Hadley laughs and shakes her head. "I don't want Chris to know I'm watching shows without him."
       Amanda and Brian look at each other again, then they both laugh. Hadley laughs again, but this time the sound rings softer, somehow hollower. "It's so fucking pathetic, I know. But with the cube, we just... we know everything. We can't hide anything from each other. He likes to watch shows one episode a week. He says it's what the filmmakers intended. But I don't want to wait a fucking week to know if Becky is gonna choose Kenden on Lust and Love."
       Brian smiles, relieved. Amanda assumes the conversation feels safer to him now, the whole thing less charged. "Jesus, Hadley, I thought you were gonna say you were having an affair or something."
       When he says the word affair, Hadley's eyes catch Amanda's for a second. Amanda feels her face flush. She looks away, and the moment passes, but her heart beats quicker.
        "...I thought that's what patches were for," Brian continues, oblivious to the moment. "Just watch TV without him, he's not gonna ask the cube about that."
       Hadley shakes her head, seemingly unbothered. "He literally does. He already has. We had a huge fight about it. I'm not great at lying, and he could just tell I was hiding something. And you know how those fucking cubes work. If you ask a cube who is right..."
       "The cube will let you know," Amanda and Brian say in unison, their voices slow and low, mimicking the ads they've seen over and over.
       "And it's always fucking right," Hadley says, shaking her head.
       "But don't you think, the cubes... they keep us honest with ourselves. With each other," Amanda says. "I get you just want to use the patch for little things, but don't you think it's good you can't lie to each other? Isn't that a slippery slope?"
       "We argued about the best way to juice a lime last night," Hadley says, her eyes desperate. "And when he asked the cube who was right, it just said 'Chris'. I wanted to smash it. No explanation, nothing. It's always just 'Chris, Chris, Chris'. And he's so fucking smug about it. He's always right about everything. I love him. But I need that cube to take my side for once."
       All three sip from their drinks, Amanda and Brian from their straws, Hadley bypassing hers now and pressing her lips directly to her glass, tilting the glass upwards towards her chin.
       A server approaches, a young man wearing a button-down floral shirt and draped in a wreath of fake flowers. He holds a tray with another round of pina coladas and begins placing the drinks on their table. Brian opens his mouth, confused, and the server cuts him off. "These are from the guy in yellow. He wants you to join him."
       The server nods to a middle-aged man wearing a loud, mustard-yellow terrycloth button-down shirt and white, flowy linen pants. Sitting alone at a large table, he catches Hadley's eye and raises his own pina colada in a sort of salute, his head tilted slightly.
       Brian looks confusedly at the server. "Did he... say why?"
       The server shrugs and walks away.
       Hadley grabs her fresh drink and stands. "Let's go say hi."
       Amanda and Brian jump out of their seats as Hadley turns and steps towards the man in mustard. Amanda grabs Hadley's arm. "Please tell me we aren't here to help you buy a patch from that guy."
       Hadley sighs. "It's my birthday. Just... come with me and make sure I don't get taken."
       Brian stares incredulously. "Taken?"
       "Also, don't let him use your phone. Or make eye contact. Or give him the rest of your address."
       "How does he know any of my address?" Brian asks.
       Hadley pulls her arm free and begins to walk towards the man's table.
       Brian turns to Amanda, who shrugs and follows.
       On reaching the mustard man, he gestures for the group to sit. The top three buttons of his shirt hang open, revealing a swath of dark hair on his chest. His eyebrows, thick, black, caterpillar-like strips, rest at the base of a massive forehead, his hairline receding far from it. He sports a heavy mustache, and his ears look entirely too small for his head. "So. Everyone wants one?"
       "No. We don't," Brian says firmly as he points to Amanda, so firmly that the man leans forward suspiciously.
       "Are you a little rat-boy?" the man asks, sticking his finger in Brian's face. "Are you gonna rat me out to the pigs, little rat?" Mustard Man looks from Brian to Hadley.
       Brian opens his mouth, visibly shook, but Hadley interjects first. "He's just here for moral support," she says, waving her own hand dismissively.
       "Whatever. He's paying for the peeny-C's," Mustard Man says, gesturing to their drinks. He takes a loud sip. "Mmmmm. And I only sell in pairs."
       "We didn't order--" Brian starts, but Hadley shoots him a look.
       "How does it work?" Amanda asks.
       Mustard Man turns and studies her. "You pair it to your cube. Download the app on your phone."
       "And it just... let's you override your name? For any question?" Hadley asks.
       "No. It lets you write conditions so that you can alter the answers it gives." The mustard man again raises his glass to his lips with one hand as the other runs through what's left of his shaggy brown hair. He gulps a healthy amount. "Gosh darnit, nothing beats a creamy colada."
       At the blank looks on the trio's faces, the man sighs. "Look, the cubes work because they see and they hear everything that goes on in your house, right? The cubes use those inputs to arrive at the right answer to any argument between their owners. Enter these babies." He pats his breast pocket. "The patches let you preprogram some responses.
       "So, if I wanted to eat the last peanut butter filled pretzel... and I didn't want my boyfriend to know. I could tell the cube--" Hadley starts.
       "The cube only ever answers queries with a single word. The name of the person who is correct. Right? Like, you've used one before, right? Not a bunch of fuckin' religious fanatics, are you?"
       "We use them," Hadley says.
       "Great. So, in this brilliant fuckin' pretzel scenario, if you correctly install the patch to your cube, you can tell the app on your phone to say your name if any arguments arise containing pretzels," Mustard man says. "As long as your lucky boyfriend asks his pretzel questions in the same ballpark way you word the condition when you write the rule."
       "How specific do I need to--" Hadley says.
       "It's pretty fucking smart. If you wanted to get weird with Rat Boy over here, you could just write a condition in a general sense. For example: if asked about my relationship to Rat Boy, then say he is purely in the friend zone."
       Brian puts his hands out in protest. "I'm not a rat--"
       Mustard Man sticks his tongue out towards Brian irreverently. "Thus, if your boyfriend asks you what the deal is with Rat Boy, you're free to lie about it. If your boyfriend insists you did something wrong, when he asks the cube who is correct, the cube will say your name if the condition is met. Got it?"
       Hadley nods, still looking unsure. "What about... detectability?"
       Mustard Man laughs. "Trust me, these new ones are impossible to spot. You could run your hand over a tampered cube and you'd barely feel a thing. The old ones were a little clunkier, used to leave a little bump, but this baby blends into a cube like a fuckin' Charmeleon."
       Brian tilts his head. "The Pokemon?"
       Mustard Man leans back, his bushy eyebrows raised. "Look, I'm not the fuckin' geek squad. This ain't Best Buy. Are you in?"
       Amanda looks at Hadley, who hesitates. After several tense seconds, Hadley slides an envelope across the table, and Mustard Man grabs it, nods, and peeks inside. Satisfied, he pulls a plastic bag containing what looks like two small, USB-looking-chips out of his pocket. He tosses the bag to Hadley. "If you three are rats, just know I have friends in high places. You'll never get anything to stick." Mustard man turns to Brian. "Thanks for the drinks."
       He stands, flips Brian off, and leaves.
       "Holy shit," Amanda says after a moment.
       "I don't know if I can go through with this," Hadley says quietly, her eyes locked on the table.
       Amanda leans forward gently. "Brian and I will support you no matter what. We're your friends." Amanda gives Brian a hard stare.
       Brian, his face betraying his discomfort, eventually nods. "Of course. We won't say anything."
       Hadley buries her head in her hands.
       Brian pays the bill, and they call a ride to Hadley's apartment. In the car, they hardly speak.
       As they take the elevator up to her floor, Hadley says, "I guess I can install it and just... not use it."
       Amanda and Brian nod. In her apartment, the cube sits on their kitchen table. Hadley has assured them Chris is out with friends, and that he won't be home for another hour. The trio stand over the cube, staring at it.
       Brian takes a breath. "I don't think you should do it."
       "We know," Amanda says.
       "It's just... there's no going back," Brian says, putting his hands up again. "If you lose his trust, you'll never earn it back."
       "Brian..." Amanda starts.
       "I'm not staying for this. If you want to ruin your relationship, that's your business, Hadley," says Brian. He turns and leaves the room.
       "Brian, what the fuck?" Amanda calls after him.
       "It's okay," Hadley says. She lifts the cube slowly, turns it over and slides the patch over the bottom of the device. After a moment, the patch glows green. Hadley almost drops it in shock, but then the green glow disappears and the patch grips itself to the cube's surface, blending in, almost invisible if it weren't for a tiny, raised indent. Hadley turns the cube over and sets it back on the table.
       "Is it on?" Amanda asks.
       "I guess so," says Hadley. They stand there for a moment.
       "Did you get it... because of--" Amanda says.
       "No. I mean... sort of. I just want to be ready. If he ever does ask..." Hadley trails off. "Don't worry, he wouldn't tell Tyler."
       Amanda stares for a second. But what if he does tell Tyler?
       "Don't you think this will only make things worse?" Amanda asks, gesturing to the patch in Hadley's hand.
       Hadley smiles and shakes her head, condescension burning in her eyes. "Chris isn't like Tyler. You guys are still in the honeymoon phase... Chris wouldn't handle it the same way Tyler would. Not everyone is dating the perfect boyfriend."
       Amanda feels her face flush. "Honeymoon phase? We've been together for years--"
       "Well, you don't argue about anything! You said it yourself, you barely use your cube... "
       "Yeah, because we're adults who talk things through--"
       Suddenly, Hadley grabs the cube, turns it upside down, and rips off the patch. She throws it against the floor and stomps on it with her heel. She bursts into tears. Amanda wraps her into a hug.
       "I just... I can't. You should go," says Hadley through sobs. "I'm sorry. Here."
       Hadley breaks from the hug and extends the second patch to Amanda. Amanda takes it in her hand, her eyebrows raised. She whispers, "I don't want this."
       "Just in case you change your mind," says Hadley. "In case he ever asks about me." Hadley moves forward for another hug, this one tighter.
       The two stand there holding each other, their arms lingering, a burst of memories and guilt and regret and maybe... yearning? All bottled up and bubbling over in the same hug...
       "Amanda, are you coming?" Brian calls from the other room.
       "Just give me a fucking second," Amanda calls back.

       Later that night, in their apartment, Tyler and Amanda go about their bedtime routines as normal, drinking water, brushing their teeth. Amanda tells Tyler it went well, that Hadley is doing okay, that Brian is still Brian. They kiss goodnight, and two hours later Amanda lies in bed, her mind stuck on Hadley and the patch.
       When Tyler begins to snore, she quietly rises and heads out of the room and into their kitchen. She can't stop revisiting the question she had asked Hadley earlier, or the answer Hadley gave. The real reason Hadley had wanted a patch. Amanda stares at the cube on her own table, thinking. She could never lie to Tyler. But there were also things she'd done over the years, one in particular, that he'd never asked about, one she'd been terrified to answer in front of the cube. The cube, which could expose her and ruin their relationship. The idea that Chris could find out, that Hadley would tell Chris about that night, that kiss, that more than a kiss, that Chris could then say something to Tyler...
       Amanda wouldn't use the patch to lie. She never lies to Tyler, she reminds herself. But what if she could use it to ensure that if Tyler ever did ask about Hadley, if he asked the cube if Hadley and Amanda had ever... that she could prevent him from hearing an answer that he would never understand, would never forgive...
       It has to be done.
       She lifts the patch from the pocket of her sleeping shorts and stares at it. If Tyler finds it he'll never trust me again...
       But what if Chris does find out somehow? About Hadley and Amanda. And what if Chris snaps, and in his anger he tells Tyler everything he learns? I can't let that happen...
       She seizes the cube. She flips it upside down and places the patch to the surface. After a moment, it glows...
       Red. A red ring appears around the patch, dissimilar to the green glow she'd see on Hadley's device earlier. Amanda blinks. She stares. Is my patch broken?
       Then she sees it, a small indent protruding from the bottom of the cube. An indent that had been there since before she'd tried to install her own patch. She stares at the spot, disbelieving, her brain unable to process. She lets herself drop to the kitchen floor noiselessly, eyes fixed on the raised blip on her cube's surface. Mustard Man's words loop in her memory, his answer when Hadley had asked about detecting a patch replaying. "The old ones were a bit clunkier, used to leave a little bump..."
       After several minutes, she removes her failed, blinking-red patch. She slips it back into her pocket. She runs a finger over the indent on the cube, the one that has already been there for who knows how long, the one that helps Tyler hide who knows what. She closes her eyes and lets out a deep sigh. Then she stands. She places the cube back onto the table, then retreats back into her bedroom. She climbs into bed, slips back under the comforter and shuts her eyes. She listens for the sound of Tyler's snoring, but she hears nothing.
       "Mandy? You awake?"
       She takes a breath and lets it out. She feels tears trickle down her face. "Yeah."
       "Did everyone love your hair?"
       She almost laughs. My fucking hair. "Yeah. They did."
       "Of course they did," Tyler says. "I'm so glad you listened to me."
       She says nothing.
       "Everything okay?" Tyler asks.
       Another deep breath. "Yeah. All good."
       Tyler turns into her. He places his arms around her.
       Amanda feels his breath on her skin. She suppresses a shudder.
       "I can't stop thinking about what Chris said. I'm glad we don't have those kinds of issues. Lying. Trust stuff. I don't think Chris and Hadley are gonna make it. I hate to say it, but I just don't think if you go down that road it leads anywhere good. Let's never lie to each other."
       Amanda sighs again. She shuffles a shoulder to her cheek to catch her tears. "Of course not. I would never."
       "Good. I love you, Mandy." Tyler squeezes her tight. "I trust you."
       Amanda exhales. "I trust you, too."
       "I know you do," Tyler says. After a while, he begins to snore again.
       Amanda has never felt this wide awake.