Jack still felt like he might have several women throw themselves at him when he exited the luxury BMW at his specified destination. Thankfully, the bar had only one woman to notice and that was the only one he wanted for such things. They were a bit early for the game meetup, evening starting to fall. The girl waited with a smile, but it was not as bright as usual.
"Looks like she gave you the royal treatment."
"Eh, no need. You could have given me some heads up. Or anyone could have."
"Think of us hazing you. Bet you suddenly stiffened up even when she told you to chill."
The two retreated to a table set outside. The bar did not concern themselves much with actively serving people. It was just a place for geeks to gather. A smoke shared while his own settling of facts delayed the revelation. Only a Tan with good training could pick up her internal process.
"If this is you hazing me, it beats all others. Surprised me that she's..."
"From Earth? Yeah. Us too. We didn't ask for all the resources, but they really don't matter. And she's good at it."
"Honestly, I imagined you guys had some unlimited funding coming up from your government."
"We do. But it has to be measured or things are obvious. So far it just looks like plain old nepotism. And fortune is rolling in. No matter my success, I'm going back rich."
"Ah, so I was always the one making less." He gave her a smirk. "I still don't care about that."
"Another test passed." Eva gave him a grin. "Sounds like you've joined more or less..."
"Is there some ceremony?"
"Tempted to mess with you, but only barely. Just a party to celebrate it. You don't get married to a community, but remember that it's expected you help out. That does not mean required... no one can force it out of you. If someone does, that's bad news. But if you sit aside and just enjoy the spoils with no give..."
"Same as us. Just not as close. Feels good. Like I have something I needed for a long time. Tempted to call her already to just... see to some of my issues. But I'll give Sophie a bit of time."
Eva gave a chuckle. This man had been here so long that he forgot to trust people.
"You can call her right now! She's there when you need her. Yes, any hour. Can even wake her up in the middle of the night. I do. Yeah, don't overuse it... but that's what she is. Yes, despite her work. That's secondary. First thing is always your family."
"Unless she's meeting someone."
"Rarely. Sophie has put guys worth millions on pause for us. And if they don't wait... they have no business with her."
"Feels like THIS is a job. She's juggling two."
"Yeah, but she knows which to prioritize over the other. Back home you basically get paid for it."
A look to the side as the club meeting was starting. They were horribly early, but that gave them enough time to pick a game and the luxury of being first. If anyone else wanted in, they could join them. And obviously, Mark was not going to miss it. He had a fresh style of hair courtesy of an alien. The man was looking forward to what his friendship with this strange couple and their extended group would entail, even if he was not aware of its existence at the time.
Today's game was almost a favorite of the club, the highly popular Settlers of Catan letting their strategic mind come forward. There was the almost obligatory joke of trading sheep for wood, but the conversation would go on side subjects that helped lighten the mood. And yet subjects would raise the tension.
Their friend had obviously played this more, his lead being thorough and Eva staying long behind. She would not hold it against them.
"Hey, Jack... you know if that Vella woman has a boyfriend?"
It was subtle, but both lovers were now at rapt attention. Eva kept herself out of the conversation.
"Not as far as I know, though... I don't think you should try."
"I might sound desperate, but it felt like we connected a bit." Beat. "You're gonna tell me she was just polite and I need more pussy."
"Can't judge you there. I had moments of imagining a life with a cashier that smiled at me. But I think she was just polite."
Had things been different, they could have arranged something. Eva was trying to keep a straight face. There were plenty of inter-species relationships as the others were tempting for at least one attempt.
"Ah, worth a try. But let me know if she's down for something."
"I'll... ask." Jack could at least do that.
It took some going to get back to the game. This might have been a subject for either of the lovers to bring up to gauge the man, and instead, Mark brought it up.
"What do you guys think of the aliens?"
"Well, it doesn't really affect me." Eva sure could lie at times. "So I don't."
"Anything brought that on?"
"Yeah, was thinking if after they're done with us we might finally go out and explore the stars. Set up new colonies and so on. Kinda like our game. But, what's your take on them?" Mark gave the amount of detail fit for the truth. He was not lying, thinking of the possibilities of going out into the unknown.
"I think they're nice, have everything figured out and such. And they're coming here to help us out when they could just sit back and let us nuke ourselves into nothing."
"Well, alright, they helped with the rebuild and such after... the thing. Though every time they mention that they're fine with incest I feel like calling them out."
"Well, go ahead and do so." The girl said. "You can't let people just hold onto things without a challenge." It was equally important that he listen when they talk back.
"If I meet one, I just might. Still, they go on about a lot of stuff that is wrong."
"Maybe they know something we don't. If it was, think most of the people would have come back. So we're missing something." Jack knew.
"Fair. I guess it's more comforting to stay to what we know. Why we're still going around as if nothing changed. People can't have everything go topsy-turvy overnight."
"Our kids will probably take it much better. Hey, dad still can't get used to the internet being what it is now. Meanwhile, children in grade school live on it."
"And if I tell them to go into the real world I feel old. World's changing constantly."
The game was paused since this turned more into a discussion. Sometimes it was like so. Time for beer. Eva could go fetch their drinks after getting payment.
"Wish they came when we had things better sorted. Bad time right now for the world." The older guy said.
"You mean like the fifties or sixties? That whole strong people make good times thing? Maybe. Or maybe we can have the next generation be good and they'll be in a slump."
"Hey, would have looked better. Right now we look like everything's going down."
"It's gonna get better. Had plenty of times like this. We spring back up. Maybe when we're old things will be okay."
Some would argue that spiritual age is determined by how many hardships one passes through, from which the two barely in their twenties might feel a lot older, thinking of good times and trying to deal with their current lack of strength. Others might argue that they were just at a bad time and could get back to their prime years once they could get a house, a girlfriend, a decent job, a means to keep their money without working daily, a sense of safety, trust in others, a belief that their children could go out and succeed, support for their grievances, confidence in law enforcement, a sense of purpose and value, their physical and emotional needs met and a few other minor things of token importance like a desire to get married.
Eventually, the game lost its charm, but it was just a way for them to relax. Catan was not for them. Next time they might stick to something lighter. Definitely no Monopoly.
And once the meeting ended and the bar closed, they headed off to Mark's place.