Page 59 of CHOICE Lover
“The sand felt coarse yet soft on your feet. There’s something grounding about walking in nature. I think that is the biggest thing I’m going to miss about waking up in the future. Immersion in nature.”
“We are in nature,” he says.
She laughs. “I keep trying to tell you, nothing fake will ever come close to the real thing.” Her breath catches as she realizes the implications of what she said.
Another long pause goes by, and she thinks that’s the end of it, but he surprises her. “I think I’m beginning to see your point.”
At his minor but critical confession, she squeezes his hand. When he squeezes back, her chest explodes in a cocktail of warmth and triumph.
17 – Another, Better Electra
Electra
November 1, 2390.
The small breakthrough in the simulation chamber, a.k.a. the HUGE confession Res6 let slip, is enough to convince Electra that her advice column is of vital importance. She hasn’t been in the future long, and she’s already effecting positive change. As a bonus, pouring her energy into a good cause will help ease her anxiety and sense of powerlessness brought up by the robbery. There is no way this is her avoiding her feelings about it. If Janet were here to see her now, she would be so proud. The thought only causes a momentary pang of loss.See Janet, look how good I’m doing!
She leans back on the couch, draping herself with the blanket that she took the liberty of ordering. It’s kind of amazing that she can getonto the Shopazon app and anything she orders is in the smartwaiter delivery box within the hour. Of course, she’s only bought the bare necessities, considering she’s not spending her own money. And the prices of everything are shocking. There is no real way to equate it to the value of stuff during her time, but the numbers feel huge. Still, she needs her own unicoin, so if she needs something, she can buy it for herself. Freeloading off him isn’t right, even if he feels like he owes it to her. It’s her job to take care of herself, so it’s up to her to figure out how to do that. That’s why she came up with a new way to frame the column—the only avenue she can think of to earn money.
And the validation you’re still chasing.
Shut up, Janet.
She discovered that if you get enough subscribers on FrogBlog, you can offer a paid subscription. It’s not like she can get a job as a bartender like she did in her time while trying to make it as a writer. The column is really the perfect solution.
“Res6,” she says. He jerks, glancing up from his desk. He’s been extra twitchy since the robbery. She asked him if he was okay a few times, but he plastered on his fake smile and lied to her, so she stopped pushing. He’ll tell her what’s on his mind if and when he’s ready. She needs to tackle the issue she’s been stewing over. Here goes nothing! “I need a job.”
He blinks as if the wordjobis foreign to him.
“Why?”
“Money, obviously.”
“I have plenty of unicoin. Just worry about being happy.”
“But what if I want something expensive?”
“I showed you the app. Buy it.”
“But that’s your money. I need my own.”
He raises a brow. “Is there something wrong with my money?”
She sighs, slouching back on the couch. “No.”
“Good. No need for a job then.” He looks back at his system.
Herplanisn’tgoing to plan. She needs to up the ante. What can she say she wants that might make him flinch? “What if I want a system of my own?” He glances back up, cocking his head in interest. “And a desk, with a fancy chair like yours.”
“Buy it, Electra. Treat my money as if it’s yours. We’ve been over this.”
“That’s not the point.” Heaven forbid a woman wants financial agency. Though she’s pretty confident that Res6 would never try to leverage his money to control her. He probably wouldn’t even think of it, considering that the equalization event she read about allegedly killed the patriarchal gender constructs of her time. Apparently, when the world fell into disarray, people stopped clinging to gender norms. Everyone did what they could to survive. As much as she was a feminist during her time, she recognizes it’s her own internalized patriarchal lens that needs to be shifted. Not that the future doesn’t have its own problems—ahem:manupartners. Still, the modern gender-egalitarian paradigm is one of the reasons she trusts him not to use his money to control her.
Besides, it’s not like she would actually splurge on something like that when the tablet works just fine. Especially with someone else’s money.
“Then what is the point?” he asks. She doesn’t answer because she’s not entirely sure of the point herself. “Do I need to get you your own account that isn’t tied to me?”
“If I don’t have any money to put into it—”
