Free Between the Lanterns by J.M. Bush

as open and caring as August would have liked in a best friend. He was like most other people today, in that way. But he was fun, hilarious, could sing like an angel, and never let August down. They grew up near each other and hung out almost every day from middle school to when they graduated high school.  
    After that, they didn’t see each other as much. August had worked on the assembly line, and Bobby was a traveling musician. He was on the road all of the time. It would be nice to say that Bobby got to travel around playing songs he wrote to huge, adoring audiences, but that was just not the case. Bobby also worked for Montek, and went to their many conventions around the country, playing soothing music that was scientifically proven to put customers in a buying mood. It was selling out big -time, but a Credit is a Credit, and you can’t eat hopes and dreams.
    August took the offered glass of wine. It was sweet, delicious, and had a bit of a kick to it. It was real wine. Not Nutricator garbage.
    “Wow. That’s fantastic, Bobbo,” August said, feeling the burn in his chest. “What is it?”
    “It’s muscadine wine, dude. You’re getting married at a muscadine vineyard, you know?” Bobby replied.
    “Oh, yeah. Well, we didn’t pick this place for its association with alcohol,” August said. “Though now I’m thinkin’ that it’s a very lucky coincidence. We chose Maria’s Vineyard because it’s the most beautiful place for an outdoor weddin’ in New Dothan. And Sam surely deserves the best.”
    Bobby poured another glass and handed it to August, and said, “Cheers to that, Auggie. Don’t gulp it, though;: I don’t want you falling down when you’re up there. It might embarrass your wife-to-be.”
    “Right. I better put this down, then,” August said, resisting the temptation to down another glass of the strong wine to cool his nerves. “Oh, did you grab those things I asked about, Bobbo?”
    “Yeah, man, I got ‘’em right here,” he said, holding up the unusual bridal gift. “I still can’t begin to understand why you need these, but I stopped trying to understand you and gadgets a loooooong time ago, Auggie.”
    The two friends shared a good, long laugh at that, and then August put one arm around Bobby and said, “Listen, Bobbo, thanks for being my best man. It means a lot to me.”
    “Don’t get all weird on me,” Bobby said, shrugging out of the hug. “We’re buds, and it’s my honor. Now let’s get out there before she beats you to the altar.”
    “Right,” August said, taking them from Bobby. “I need to set these up before she starts walking down the aisle.”
    The chairs set up for the wedding were few, but filled. They had decided on no designated sides; people could just sit wherever they wanted, and that included family. Since Samantha had no family, August had decided to skip the whole parents -sit -up -front thing. If they got there early enough, his parents could sit up front. Otherwise, they’d have to be happy with whatever they got. He had already explained this to his parents, but it didn’t matter to them. By the way they reacted, August would be surprised if his parents even showed up. Which, of course, they didn’t.
    Looking out at the crowd, he was pleased to see two newer models of Montek.Automatons in attendance. He felt pride when he looked at those machines. After John had died, and they had the option of putting his memories inside of one of them, August had begun working on the automatons at the factory. He found that their limitations were astonishingly frustrating, and he was glad they hadn’t chosen that path with John.  
    For starters, they couldn’t have afforded it. Even a year ago when they first came out, it cost as much Credit as a new AutoCar just for the body of the automaton. Affordable, Dr. Granger had said... yYeah, right. The BrainSave was a good deal cheaper, though, and still is. The new automaton bodies were even more expensive,