Office Mates

Date Night with Robin and Aurora

Robin and Aurora are on a date and eating at Samuel's Steakhouse. They are just about to have their plates cleared away by the server. She comes to ask if they want any dessert. Robin says no, but Aurora takes a menu to look at. After a few minutes, she orders herself a brownie a la mode. She normally is worried about her calorie intake, but with a boyfriend, she isn't as worried about it anymore. She rubs her hands excitedly as she waits for the chocolate to arrive. While they are waiting, Aurora asks, "So are we going to talk about what you said at the meeting today?"

Robin stops to remember what was said today at the meeting. He first thinks that Aurora wants to know about his plans for when he is going to see his mom. "About me going to my mom's for Christmas?" Aurora shakes her head slightly. So Robin thinks about what else was brought up. They talked about partner shifts and Kris's cat, but he was sure that Aurora wouldn't want to talk about either of those things at dinner. Then it comes to him, Robin blushes and says, "About me being a dog person, right?" Aurora looks at him carefully. She doesn't want to force him to say anything, but she also wants to make it clear what her feelings are about their future. "That was part of it, "Aurora replies. Robin looks confused again. Aurora grows frustrated. She has to spell things out for him, "I want to talk about our goals and dreams. I want to see our goals fit into each other's plans."

Robin realizes that this is a much weightier conversation than simply pet preferences. He had these types of conversations with Olivia, too. And their future goals were what eventually broke him and his last girlfriend up. He realizes that he needs to be very honest and clear with Aurora about these things. Aurora asks him, "So where do you see yourself in five years?" He ponders this question. But also, how to answer it so that he can make things clear with Aurora. Robin isn't on a fast track to family life. Robin says matter-of-factly, "I want to be a manager at Blahco." Aurora presses him, "Anything else?" Robin thinks some more. He comes up with another thing very important to him, "I will hopefully have my own place by then. I don't want to be paying rent forever." Aurora nods in agreement. "I want my own place too." So far, so good.

Robin smiles at Aurora, "But you live at your parents' place. You aren't paying rent right now." Aurora corrects him, "I don't want to be living with my parents forever." Robin isn't a big dreamer, so he is struggling to come up with anything else. He decides to ask Aurora what she wants. That will help him get to whatever point Aurora is trying to make faster. "What are your plans?" Aurora doesn't need even a second to respond; she has been thinking about this every day of her life. "I hope to get married to someone. We will have a house. I will get pregnant, and that's when I will stop working. I want to be the type of mom who stays home with kids to raise them." Robin gets a bit shocked, "Whoa. That is a whole vision. You want to have a kid in the next five years?" He can't even imagine becoming a manager that quickly. But Aurora is even more sure of herself, "If I find the right person, I don't see a need to wait." Robin is a bit shocked, "But you just started working. Don't you want to work a little longer before you step away from your career?" Aurora is defending herself fiercely, "Not really. I always wanted to be a mom. More than anything." Robin looks scared, "I had no idea."

Robin and Aurora are interrupted by the arrival of the dessert that Aurora ordered. She offers some to Robin. He shakes his head no. Robin's head is spinning. He had no idea that Aurora would have some traditional views on marriage and family. And while Robin did have traditional views on dating, for some reason, Aurora's clarity on the matter frightened him. He sits back at his desk and watches her eat. It's almost like he is seeing her for the first time.

Once she is done, Aurora dives right back into where they had left off. "I mean, you would have preferred if your mom could have stayed home with you, right?" Robin stops to think about it. He finally comes up with a way he could answer this while being true to himself, "I love my mom and would love to have spent more time with her. But my mom also loved her work. And watching her do something she loved made me happy. I don't think she would have felt the same way if she had stayed home to take care of me." Aurora chimes in, "See, a kid should have their mom around." Robin starts to feel like Aurora is saying that his mom did something wrong. "I mean, I have a working mom, and I think I turned out alright." He folds his arms at this. Because his mother didn't have a choice, it was just them. He thinks Aurora is being very reductive of mothers who work. Aurora can sense that something went wrong. She grabs his hand and squeezes it, "I didn't mean to offend you." Robin looks her in the eyes and says, "I just wouldn't be upset if my partner wanted to be a working parent. I think it's possible to do both."

Aurora ponders it for a minute and concedes, "I guess it would work, but I want a lot of kids, so I probably should stay home." Robin's eyes grow wide with this statement. He clarifyingly asks, "How much is a lot?" Aurora smiles, "I came from a big family, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I want at least three kids." Robin takes a drink of his water and says, "Three kids minimum. Good to know." He is feeling very defeated. He didn't realize that they would be so far apart on what they wanted from life. Maybe it was a good thing that they are having this talk now. He is feeling discouraged when he looks over at Aurora, who is smiling. "I am so glad that we have similar goals."

Robin drives Aurora home in his car and is ready to drop her off. He has been quiet. Aurora has been looking at something on her phone the whole ride home. Eventually, she shows Robin her phone, and it has a picture of her friends who just moved into a house together. Robin asks how long they had been dating, and Aurora replies, A few years." That is the norm. He gets to Aurora's parents' house and decides he should say something before he leaves. "Your friend might be moving into a new house, but at least you don't have to pay rent. I am super jealous about that." Aurora shrugs, "I wish I had a place to live. I am getting tired of my parents always being able to invade my room whenever they please. It's been getting super annoying." Robin asks her, "Have you been thinking about moving out?"

Aurora thinks to herself and answers, "I like saving money. And my college apartment wasn't as nice as my family home. I had to pay for laundry." Robin chuckles, "Well, that is typical for a college apartment. But I think the one I live in right now is pretty nice, don't you?" Aurora nods her head, saying, "Me too. I think your place is great!" She is about to get up when she gasps and covers her face, "Oh my gosh, Robin! Are you about to ask me to move in?" She looks excitedly at him and leans over to kiss him suddenly. Robin looks confused again. Where in the world did she get this idea? Robin has to clear up this misunderstanding. "No," he says, "what gave you that idea?" Aurora looks at him questioningly, "Are you sure? You were talking about how much you wished you could save on rent, then asked me if I was planning on moving out soon. Telling me how nice your apartment is..." Aurora's cheeks go red as Robin does not come in to agree with her. Instead, he is looking at her with shock and confusion. Robin starts to feel bad. For a minute, she had this look of pure joy on her face. He thinks about what he should do to handle this situation.

Robin starts to go through reasons why they should live together or not, but in the pause, Aurora's face drops into utter embarrassment. She says, "Just forget I brought it up." Robin sits there even longer, still not sure what to say, when Aurora bursts into tears. Robin starts to think about what he should do. He likes Aurora; they work together, so they could commute, it would save him money on rent, and Aurora is a great cook. On top of that, her parents have been amazing to him and treated him well, something he was desperate for with Olivia's family. He bites his lip and then tells her, "Maybe we should move in together. We are adults now, so why not live together? We wouldn't spend money on gas going back and forth, we can split the rent, and your cooking is amazing, so I will probably eat at home more often too, which I have been wanting to do." Aurora looks ecstatic. She grabs Robin's hands and starts kissing him. She stops herself, "Wait, I don't want you to feel pressured." Robin grabs her face and kisses her back, "No, I want this. It's going to be amazing." "OKAY!" She says all excitedly. She gives him a big kiss. As soon as he gets up to her door, she tells her father, "I am going to move in with my boyfriend." Her dad gives Robin a big handshake and congratulations. Robin is smiling because her family is so accepting of them.