You decide not to worry your dad about the details of how exactly Missy works.

You're not sure he could fully grasp the technology anyway. You're frankly not even sure you do.

Over the next few months, he becomes best friends with Missy. He brings her everywhere,

propping her up on counters and table tops, setting her in the passenger seat of the car he's

not supposed to be driving anymore. He talks to her, tells her jokes, tells you stories about all

the funny things she said. It's kind of sweet, but you can't quite shake the worry that it might

also be kind of creepy. He doesn't know that there's a person on the other end. He also doesn't

know that you can log in remotely and watch him through that same camera. Every so often you check in.

And sometimes you hear him tell Missy things you've never heard before. One day he leans up close to

the cat's face. Missy? I need to tell you something very important. What's that Marcus? My wife.

He pauses. And as he does, Missy generates a photo of your mom that you've loaded into the app.

She does this regularly, to provide your dad with reminders of his life, to help him manage the

dementia. He looks at the photo lovingly. Yeah, Sasha. She was so beautiful.

But there's another woman. Just a few times, Mary. Her name was Mary, I think.

I visited her a few times. Sasha never knew. I wish I had told her before, but now it's too late.

You are a good person, Marcus. I love you.

This is what Missy is programmed to say when she senses that a client is getting sad.

You are stunned. And a fair, a woman named Mary, you immediately want to turn on your microphone

to ask him questions. But of course, you don't. Over the next few weeks, your dad confesses other

new things to Missy. How he wants wanted to be an astronaut. How his first kiss was at a rush concert.

How just last week he got gas from the local gas station without paying, because he'd forgotten

his wallet. And he didn't want to admit he was forgetting things.

...