Leo knelt in the dappled shade of the big oak tree, a handful of bolts and wires piled before him. His wrench clicked and tightened as he shaped the tangle into something new. The gears slipped into place and the last bolt held firm.
The robot's sensor eyes flashed blue. It let out a happy chitter and a little metal arm waved at him. Leo grinned and pointed toward the garden hose by the fence. Water the flowers! he said.
The robot whirred forward, snatched the hose, and sprayed water everywhere — the flowerbed, the sidewalk, and right onto Leo's shoes. It dropped the hose, grabbed a rake, and started digging holes in the lawn. A sprinkler head popped on, sending arcs of water toward the garage.
Leo's jaw dropped. He marched over and yanked the power cord from the robot's back. It sputtered, righted itself, and then marched straight into the garage — past the paint cans — and began splattering red and blue streaks all over the white fence. A paint trail wound all the way to the back porch.
Leo knelt beside the robot, wrench in hand, and began unscrewing the arm joints. The robot twisted away, resisting. His wrench slipped — clank! — and the teapot lid face tumbled off, landing in his palm. The robot fell backward, legs spinning in the air.
Leo stared at the broken piece in his palm, then at the messy backyard — the paint-streaked fence, the dug-up lawn, the soggy flowerbed. The robot let out a low, worried whirr. His shoulders slumped. He thought about all the water and paint and holes, and how he wanted it all to be perfect.
Leo picked up the teapot lid and set it back on the robot's head — crooked, but it stayed. He handed the robot a bucket and a sponge. Together they got to work, scrubbing the paint off the fence while the robot sprayed gentle arcs of water from the hose.
A rainbow shimmered in the mist from the hose. Leo laughed as the robot beeped in time with the sprinkler's rhythm, both of them scrubbing and spraying until the fence was clean and the lawn was green again. The robot's blue eyes glowed bright and warm.