The Marriage Act(35)

‘Are you kidding me? That’s it?’ she complained.

‘It’s what we signed up for.’

‘What we signed up for are tax breaks and a larger Smart home, so where are they? Have you chased up why we haven’t been upgraded yet?’

‘Plenty of people would give their right arm for this place.’

‘Let them and their missing arms live here then, not us.’

‘And we haven’t been upgraded because the new houses are still being built.’

‘And is the car you promised me still being built too? I’m sick of carpooling with the neighbours, booking a week in advance just to go out if you’re using yours.’

‘You’re helping reduce the number of vehicles on roads, which is a good thing—’

‘I don’t care!’ she seethed. Roxi held her head in her hands. ‘You don’t get it. If this Levelling up thing gets out, it’s going to damage my reputation just as things are starting to happen for me. How can I tell people that AI is going to save us all when the bloody thing has turned against us? It could ruin me.’

‘Have you considered that it might also repair us?’ asked Owen, but Roxi didn’t get the chance to respond.

‘Don’t spread yourself too thinly in a dozen different directions when your partner is trying to engage with you,’ the Audite spoke. ‘Always remember, listening means loving.’

Level One had begun already.

‘Piss off,’ Roxi muttered as she stormed out of the room, balking at the thought of weeks of more messages like this.





27


Jeffrey




‘You told me before that it was love at first sight when you met, at least for you, Luca,’ Jeffrey began.

He relaxed into a leather armchair while Luca and Noah were perched on a sofa opposite him, Noah on the left and Luca on the right. They had all become accustomed to these positions over their fortnight together. Noah’s hand was once again placed firmly on top of Luca’s as if marking his territory. The more Jeffrey tried to ignore it, the more it caught his eye and rankled him.

‘You haven’t turned the Audite off,’ said Noah.

‘No, I haven’t,’ Jeffrey replied.

‘Why?’

‘I did say it’s at my discretion. It’s not a given.’

Noah shifted uncomfortably, to Jeffrey’s pleasure. ‘So if it was love at first sight and you knew you’d be together for the long haul, why did you feel the necessity to marry?’

‘Aside from emotional security and commitment, we’d been together for six years and wanted to have kids so it seemed like a logical step,’ said Luca. ‘We both come from close families and our parents are still together, so why not?’

‘That’s a great reason,’ said Jeffrey. ‘Many psychologists believe a child’s development can be strongly affected by how emotionally intelligent their parents’ relationship is.’

‘It was never a goal of mine to get married and I was honest with Luca about that from the start,’ added Noah.

‘Why?’ asked Jeffrey.

‘I think there’s too much pressure on queer couples to marry. It shouldn’t be a goal we’re all expected to aim for. And I fear those who choose not to get married will think the rest of us regard their relationships as less worthy than our own.’

‘So why did you agree to it?’

‘Because it meant so much to Luca. Oh, and of course the benefits that no one is supposed to talk about.’ He fastened an invisible zip on his mouth.

Jeffrey raised his eyebrows, as if unsure as to Noah’s reference. He knew precisely what he meant, but he wanted to hear him say it aloud.

‘The incentives,’ said Noah. ‘Tax breaks, private health insurance, no stamp duty, interest-free loans . . . no one ever admits it but they’re the real reasons behind most Smart Marriages, aren’t they?’

‘I wouldn’t say most, no,’ Jeffrey replied.

‘And it wasn’t the driving force behind our getting married,’ Luca clarified.

‘So, Luca, you haven’t benefitted from any of the practical incentives?’ asked Jeffrey.

‘Well, I guess so, yes, but . . .’

‘And what if there had been no incentives?’ Jeffrey continued. ‘No subsidized mortgages, no living in a modern, affluent, regenerated area of town like this, no interest-free loans on the latest models of driverless cars like the ones parked on your drive? Might you have still taken the plunge?’

‘Of course,’ said Luca.

‘Eventually, maybe,’ added Noah.

‘“Eventually”,’ Jeffrey repeated. ‘So without these incentives, it’s possible you wouldn’t yet be married.’

‘I’m not saying that. We might have at some point.’

‘ “At some point”,’ Jeffrey again repeated. He watched Luca withdraw his hand from under Noah’s.

‘Although I’m beginning to wish we hadn’t,’ Noah huffed and folded his arms. ‘Because if we’d stayed as we were, we wouldn’t be sitting here having our relationship picked apart by a stranger. And for what reason? We still don’t really know.’