As Jack approached the parking lot where the fish taco truck was parked, he saw that it was noticeably busier than on Thursday, the last time he had met Robin there.
He spotted her already in line and headed towards her. She was staring at her phone and didn’t seem to notice him, even when he stopped right next to her. He tapped her shoulder.
"Eep!" she squeaked, and her head snapped around to look at him.
Her look of trepidation quickly changed to joy. She leapt onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist, then kissed him fervently.
A few of the onlookers whistled, and one girl muttered, "Damn, girl, you got it bad!"
Robin didn’t seem to mind, and kept kissing him for a few more moments before dropping back down. Standing close to him, with one arm around his waist, she said, "I missed you."
Then she asked, "What have you been up to since Thursday? All I’ve been doing is studying and training."
Since Thursday he’d gone hiking with Analise, visited Madison in jail, soul bonded, or more accurately subjugated, Isabella and Agent Jackson, arranged a date with Katie, crushed a man’s balls, rejected a marriage proposal, fucked then soul bonded Samantha, finally figured out some long-term goals, and soul bonded Page.
He couldn’t tell her about Isabella or any of the soul bonding stuff, but most of the rest was safe to share.
"The short version is that I went on two dates, saved a girl from being raped, and rejected a marriage proposal."
He was curious to see how she would respond. Would she ask about the dates, the rape, or the marriage proposal?
"Marriage proposal? Who?" He wasn’t certain, but he thought she sounded jealous.
"The grandfather of the girl I saved asked me to marry her. I declined. The girl is only fifteen, after all."
"Fifteen?!" she exclaimed. "That rapist should be castrated!"
"Next!" called the voice of the surfer chick that owned the fish taco truck.
He turned and found they were at the front of the line.
They placed their orders and received their food almost immediately. The surfer chick had significantly improved her efficiency, and it took her less than a minute to prepare their tacos.
As soon as they found a table, Robin said, "Actually, what? What were you going to say?"
"When I discovered the attempted rape, I told the guy to get off her, but he refused. So I kicked him in the balls. Hard. As hard as I could. The paramedics said his balls were utterly destroyed and would need to be removed."
"Holy shit! Seriously?! You, you’re not in trouble, are you?"
"But what did the police have to say?"
"Both the girl’s family and the rapist’s family are super rich. They both want the whole thing buried, so no police."
"Damn. Wait, where were you that you’d run into a rich asshole trying to rape a rich bitch?"
"Out on a shopping date. I was invited to this swank yacht club party for a date, and I needed to buy some designer clothes so I’d fit in. So, one of my girlfriends and a girl who has had a crush on me for years, went clothes shopping with me. We went to the ritzy part of the Bellavista mall."
"Wait, I’m confused. Can you start from the beginning or something?"
Without names, he told her about calling Katie and Samantha, clothes shopping, how he found Lily and Kayden, and what happened after.
When he finished, she asked, "So, you’re saying the girl’s grandfather showed up, and because of something you said to her, she apologized to him and then he just asked you to marry her?"
"Yep. I was probably as surprised as you."
"But she’s fifteen?!"
"I know! That’s what I said. But he just replied that the girl would be sixteen in a few months and then it wouldn’t be a problem. I had to tell him I already have multiple girlfriends and won’t marry anyone until polygamy is legal."
"Is it true, though? Would you consider marrying multiple girls if it was legal?"
"I guess. Though I really don’t see the point. The piece of paper doesn’t suddenly guarantee the relationship will work. It just makes the breakup messier."
"But that’s not the point. It’s not about the piece of paper; it’s about two people standing in front of friends and family and saying their vows together. It’s about the romance."
"Ah, another victim of the wedding industrial complex."
She spluttered, "The what?!"
"The wedding industrial complex. All those movies and T.V. shows are just advertisements for the wedding industrial complex. Cake, and dresses, and tuxedoes, and decorations, and wedding planners, and photographers, it’s all just a big money-making machine, built on the fantasies of little girls everywhere."
He didn’t really believe in a wedding industrial complex; he just thought it was a funny way to convey the idea of media-induced mass indoctrination.
She scowled at him. "Typical man. You just don’t understand."
"Sure I do. The media has indoctrinated you into believing that a happily ever after can only happen if it starts with a romantic wedding. But that’s bullshit. A relationship will work or not, regardless of a wedding."
"That’s not what a wedding is about! It’s so that two people can declare their love for each other. To solidify their bonds." ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel-fire.ɴet
"Robin, just because someone says ’I love you,’ doesn’t mean it’s true. Doesn’t make it true. And never saying ’I love you’ doesn’t mean there is no love. Jacob and Fran loved each other deeply, yet they never, not once, said ’I love you’ to each other. I asked them about it once, and do you know what they said?"
"They said, ’Proof of love is in the way you treat someone. Saying it means nothing; showing it means everything’."
"But what if they said it in private, where you couldn’t hear it?"
"They told me they never said it to each other. Why would they lie about something like that?"
She seemed troubled by what he had said.
They ate in silence for a few minutes before she asked, "So, does this mean you’ll never say ’I love you’ to me? And would you refuse a wedding ceremony, even if it was just the ceremony, no legal documents?"