Alberta looked at Alto's frame with even more intensity. "Nuh-uh, I was wrong, you have changed, measel. You look like a crisp biscuit."
Alto took it as a compliment and smiled, delighted to be in her presence. Still, he wondered why she had not paid him a single visit while he was hospitalized, and now she acted like she really cared about him. It filled him with mixed feelings, but eventually, he gave in to her quirk.
She took the words out of his mouth before he had a chance to speak. "It's been a while, and a long one at that. No one told me you were discharged yet. So you're back to work, I suppose."
Alto spoke in an even bolder tone than he initially envisioned, his voice crisp and unfaltering in its articulation. "About that, I've been actively thinking of doing something different and begin working with real mechs—well, with your permission, of course."
