Same Boat

(Setting - future)

'Hello I'm Ebbert and this is Florence and we have an appointment to see Miss Carey.' Ebbert spoke with confidence and pride, his chest visibly puffed, a glowing smile conveying resolute satisfaction dominated his face .

The secretary smiled and said 'Certainly. Take a seat she will see you shortly.'

Ebbert and Florence sat in the chairs provided, holding hands gazing at each other adoringly. The secretary's phone buzzed, she answered, listened then nodded and replied to the voice on the line 'Alright then no problem.' She replaced the receiver, stood up from her chair and walked toward Ebbert and Florence while saying 'Would you like to step into the office Miss Carey will see you now.' The secretary opened a door and they walked inside.

The office was empty except for a desk with chairs on either side. The single chair on the far side of the desk was presumably for Miss Carey, therefore Ebbert and Florence dutifully took their seats in the two chairs closest to them. Upon sitting they immediately held hands and looked around the stark room. Not surprisingly, a poster on the wall caught their attention, as it provided the only focal point in the room. The poster portrayed a picture of two small white dogs appearing to be hugging with blissful expressions on their faces and the words 'Anyone in the litter would do. But I'm glad it's you.' Ebbert and Florence simultaneously frowned as they read this and turned to one another for an explanation, rapidly discovering they were equally confused.

At that moment the door behind them opened and Miss Carey walked in, speaking loudly and clearly as she took determined strides toward the chair behind her desk ' Good morning to you both. Sorry for keeping you waiting.' She took her seat before them and commenced to make sincere, welcoming eye contact with both Ebbert and Florence. She smiled and said 'I'm Donna Carey. What are we doing for you today?' Miss Carey was dressed in an all white, business suit consisting of shirt, tie, jacket and skirt that finished at the knee, pale stockings and white stilettos with closed in toes.

Ebbert began 'Well we've given it a lot of thought and we'd like to purchase the commitment package thanks.' Ebbert said proudly.

Miss Carey looked at them both as if she had not heard them correctly. Then smiled and giggled, convincing herself this must be a joke and waited for Ebbert and Florence to join her in the laughter that was welling up within her. When the laughter did not come, the smile left her face as she launched into a barrage of questions 'So you are serious? The Commitment package hey? Are you sure? There aren't too many people interested in that package these days, commitment has gone out of style you know.'

Ebbert and Florence were visibly affected by Miss Carey's comment 'Yes, we know that, but we are not making this decision lightly.'

Miss Carey leaned back in her chair and clasped her hands together and placed them on the desk in front of her. She smiled pleasantly and focused intently on Ebbert and Florence. She continued 'There are many other relationship packages to choose from, we find the commitment package just doesn't meet most people's needs anymore. Perhaps you would like to consider some of our more popular packages. We are having a special on Poly Amorous relationships at the moment.' And with this Miss Carey leaned forward, fixed her attention on Ebbert, shot a darting glance to Florence, then said softly'Perhaps you could add someone a little less plain to your surroundings.' finishing the suggestion with a wink at Ebbert and an apologetic nod in Florence's direction, that was meant to be interpreted as Sorry love, I'm just trying to do my job.

Ebbert and Florence were noticeably disturbed by Miss Carey's comments. Ebbert could feel his face becoming hot with rage, which he fought to contain with some success 'We've been seeing each other for a while now and we've made our decision and the commitment package is the one we would like to go with please.'

'May I ask exactly how you made this decision?' Miss Carey's voice conveyed a mixture of disbelief and superiority.

Ebbert and Florence looked at each other, non verbally checking who would speak first. After taking a deep breath Ebbert began 'I think, after spending the past two years together we have realised that we can't imagine living life without each other. ' Ebbert looked at Florence for confirmation that his answer was accurate. Florence smiled back at him, squeezed his hand and nodded.

'Can't be imagining much of a life then.' Miss Carey mumbled.

Ebbert and Florence were aware that she had murmured something, but a quick glance at each other confirmed that neither one knew what had been said. The tone, however, was unmistakably contemptuous. Miss Carey went on quickly 'I'm guessing you are considering having children the traditional way also?' she inquired.

Ebbert answered after the couple once again exchanged the "checking" glance 'We are not planning to use the Incubators.' he said in a flat tone.

'Mmmmm' was Miss Carey's only reply. She then regathered, wriggled side to side as she sat straighter and taller 'So let me get this right.' She paused as she thought carefully through her next words. 'You both believe that spending the rest of your lives together is the optimum choice you could make for your mutual happiness?' Miss Carey ignored Ebbert's mouth opening in prelude to a reply and continued her oration. 'You see, what we normally find here at the Centre, is that most people can't stand being with the same person for too long. They recognise that eventually that person will annoy them, or bore them.' She drew breath and disengaged eye contact with the pair making it plain that she intended to continue. 'My personal view is that since the introduction of television and the rise of materialism, human beings are now aware of their need to re-brand themselves the same way manufacturers relabel their products. Regularly changing our partners is one of the easiest ways to reinvent ourselves without having to make too many personal changes. Now that the traditional taboos of divorce and sex outside of marriage are no longer a concern, changing partners is even easier. Also with the invention of the artificial incubators, humans don't even need each other for reproduction anymore. If only we could lose that inborn need to share our hopes and dreams with another human we could truly live autonomously.' She drew breath and chuckled while leaning toward both of them and said as an aside 'But then I guess I'd be out of a job wouldn't I?' The question was redundant.

Miss Carey had finished her lecture, she paused, hoping that something she had said would encouraged Ebbert and Florence to change their decision. But when their resolution to proceed with the Commitment Package was shamelessly evident by their determined composure, she conceded and began attending to their request. 'Well, as I've said, it's been a long time since I've processed a Commitment Package. In fact I'm not even sure we still have one in stock.' Miss Carey lifted the receiver from the phone on her desk and pushed one of the buttons. 'Yes. Do we have any more Commitment Packages in stock?' A pause while the secretary spoke, then 'Yes, yes I told them that.' Miss Carey smiled briefly at Ebbert and Florence. She listened again for a moment, then 'Thank you that would be appreciated.' She replaced the receiver then said 'She thinks she knows where one is.'

Miss Carey smiled again as the trio were realising the possibility of spending awkward moments together while they waited. Florence spoke for the first time, quietly in a tone dripping with acquiescence 'We want to thank you for doing this for us Donna. We really do appreciate it.'

'Oh, don't thank ... '

Just then the door opened and the secretary carried a purple coloured box into the room, dusting it off as she walked toward Miss Carey and handed it to her. 'Here, I found it.' The secretary sounded excited and pleased with herself. 'I remembered we had one propping up the brochure stand for naughty websites.' She giggled, gave Ebbert and Florence a patronising smile and left the room.

Miss Carey inspected the box and then said 'I'm afraid we only have the same sex edition left but all the principles of maintaining a committed relationship are the same.' She proceeded to list them as she read them from the box, 'love, respect, admiration yah yah yah.' She paused and relaxed the arm holding the box allowing it to come to rest on the desk. She slumped in her chair and sighed 'Are you both sure you are doing the right thing? There are so many different arrangements available I'm sure we could find you something more modern and far more pleasing for you both.'

Ebbert could contain himself no longer, he was angry and took no care to disguise it 'Miss Carey', he said loudly and clearly, 'What, exactly, do you have against two people wanting to commit themselves to each other?' Ebbert knew he was going to regret asking that question as soon as it finished leaving his mouth. The extent of his regret was realised by Miss Carey's display of renewed enthusiasm for debate.

'Well it's just that commitment is such an old fashioned idea' she began 'Most people we see have come to realise there is more to do with their time and energy than to give it to only one other person on the planet. They recognise that the needs of another distracts them from achieving their goals. Accommodating another person's interests and ideas just weighs us down. What you may not have discovered yet is that no one will ever feel the same way you do about your ambitions. No one else will ever want to live your dream the way you do. Happiness is a goal that is more easily achieved alone.' Somewhere during the course of this exchange, Miss Carey lost her ardor. Her expression showed signs of wearing; the conversation was beginning to exhaust her. She could find no excitement or gratification in assisting Ebbert and Florence with their request.

A sudden wave of compassion washed over Ebbert as he glimpsed what he believed existed underneath her tough exterior. He thought he'd try one last time to move her 'Maybe so. But suppose for a moment we achieve all our dreams and goals; who are we doing that for? If only for ourselves, then surely it is a hollow achievement. Compared to the compliments and appreciation from a symbiot who truly knows me, who has been there with me throughout the journey, the applause of peers and associates seem tokenistic at best.' Ebbert observed Miss Carey listening intently, he hoped his ideas were infiltrating the crack he could see appearing in her armour. He had one last point to make 'I agree the attainment of happiness is the quest most of us are on, but what do we believe to be the source of happiness? Material gain? Status? Status via material gain? Then what? The people you are describing are inwardly focused and how can an inward focus ever affect humanitarian ideals in the world?'

'You are missing the point' Miss Carey remained composed but fervent 'we focus inwardly to identify what we can individually contribute outwardly. We still need other people and we still want to be in concert with others, we just don't have expectations that others will share our dreams and ambitions because we realise they can't truly share our passions. Deep down, I believe that all any of us really want, is to simply row our own boat.'

Ebbert unleashed his final retort, 'Well the way I see it we are all in the same boat.'

Thanks to everyone for your patience. This one has

been a long time coming. Thank you Murph for 1996 and Last Night I Dreamt.

Hope you enjoyed. 

(c) Janelle Salmon September 2011.