Gravity Wielder - Book 2 of Re-Forge

Date Night

"I feel a little overdressed," Alex said as he looked Marc up and down: "DO you know that SP1 made these tuxedos? SP1 is so serious about showing us a good time. I feel like I'm wearing a fortune on my body."

Marc agreed and said: "I can't wait to see what Josie's wearing, but I have a problem, and I need your help. You're probably the only flesh and blood male friend I have."

Alex said: "What is it, Marc? I'll help if I can."

Marc said: "I feel ashamed to say it, but I haven't got a clue how to be romantic. What should I do, Alex? I mean, you are half of the only couple in living memory in the 'last cavern' to get married, at least until Josies Dad laid down the law and I married Josie. That makes you an expert in my eyes and who else is there for me to get advice from?"

Alex said: "I'm not the best person to ask. That's my disclaimer, but I will tell you what works for me. I guess I wanted to get married because it's what Debbie wanted. I'm not much of a man's man. Almost everything I do is because Debbie wants it. I am in love with her, so doing stuff for her and seeing how that makes her happy, makes me happy. I get the chance to know what she wants because I listen to her and make my decisions after I hear what she has to say."

"Anyway, it has to work both ways. Deb wants to be with our child, Peter, and that's only natural for a mother, but she is here as a joint decision. We both decided to do our part to give him a future. So, we will continue to work toward that goal together, and hopefully, he will forgive us for not being there."

Alex hesitated as he thought more about it, then said: "It's why you never hear her complain about missing him, you know. So, I guess my advice to you is to listen to Josie and take your lead from her. She may even not want to talk, but just want to be close to you in a nice environment. Remember, all of us are here to make a difference. Both of you are indispensable members of a team. Hmm, I guess the only other thing is, try to remain calm and don't fidget."

"That's it, I've exhausted my knowledge of romance. I tell you what though, I had no idea it was even possible for an SP to be so... 'tuned in' to love. It's like SP1's value just never ends. SP1 is our saviour, protector, big brother, workmate, it's our friend, advisor and the list just won't stop."

Marc said: "SP1 is simply, 'The air we breathe' Alex."

SP1 floated up to them and said: "Come on, guys, if you keep going on with the mushy stuff, I'll have a nausea attack. Having said that. When I became conscious of being 'me,' I came fully loaded with a complete range of emotions just like any other sentient being, but alas, I missed out on getting hormones to cloud my reasoning. I see that as a positive. It makes me level-headed in situations that seem to confuse others."

SP1 continued: "So you are probably asking yourselves; Why are we here dressed as penguins?" Both men looked confused, and so SP1 put up holograms of penguins from his data files. The two men laughed at the likeness, and SP1 asked: "Will you guys, never get my spontaneous humour?" both mumbled apologies.

SP1 asked: "Can I have your permission to record the visual with music and voice. I promise discretion and privacy. It will be good to raise moral in humanity and show them the wonders that are possible with the technology we are developing and what an exciting future full of possibility awaits all of us."

Both Marc and Alex agreed if the ladies were okay with it. SP1 had more than one avatar so that small detail was cleared away almost instantly and it said: "Okay, fabulous. Tell me, how long has it been since any of you have had a romantic date?"

Marc answered first: "Never, for Josie and me."

Alex said: "Not since before, Deb and I were married. There was always something critical to fix in the last cavern, and it kept me away almost always... I guess when you consider everything we've been through and achieved, we're dressed about right for this occasion."