Gus and the Rolling Intruder

Gus spent thirty-one years as a night watchman and trusted exactly two things: his flashlight and his routine. So when a round gray disc rolled out from under the couch at 6 a.m., he did what any professional would do. He stood very still and observed.

The disc was the eufy Omni C20, a gift from his daughter Marguerite, who had said "just try it" in the voice she used when she had already decided. It had mapped the downstairs overnight and now moved with the confidence of someone who owned the place.

Gus followed it for a full lap. It paused at the rug fringe, made a small decision, and moved on. He found this deeply respectful.

By the second morning he had given it a name, Sergeant, and a post: kitchen to hallway. By the third he was setting out his JLab Go Air Pop+ earbuds before the morning patrol, humming along to an old ballgame replay while Sergeant worked and he watched.

Marguerite called on Sunday. "Did you try it?"

"I'm supervising it," Gus said.

"Dad."

"It does a good job. It's on its third lap. It never complains. I've worked with worse."

Marguerite laughed so hard she had to put the phone down. Sergeant, nearby, bumped gently into a chair leg and carried on.

Back in the real world: the eufy Omni C20 is a robot vacuum and mop combo, and the JLab Go Air Pop+ are budget true wireless earbuds. The story is fiction; prices were what I saw on Amazon on Oct 8 and can change.