Birthday Date

Friday was a blessed day off and one that I wasn’t about to waste. I took Kaylee out to an early lunch before seeing a movie. Even though it was opening day for a new superhero movie, I picked one I knew she had been looking forward to. It was one of those historical drama ones that had, ‘inspired by actual events’ splattered on the beginning of it. Even if I wasn’t familiar with the events to judge its portrayal, I figured the only thing accurate about it were the names of the characters it was based on.

The movie took place following the second big outbreak of The Sickness. That outbreak was when the virus started mutating into the more familiar modern form. People were still dying from it, but the mortality rate amongst adults was starting to drop. Children were dying at an alarming rate though—especially male ones. The big realization at this time was the infertility rates. It was around the time people started to link infertility with the men who caught and survived The Sickness. They didn’t have the medical technology to know, but this was the time when noble bloodlines went extinct as kings and other male-dominated lines found themselves unable to have heirs.

The film itself was about a noblewoman and her husband as they struggled to create an heir. It was filled with all the common themes and tropes I expected from such a movie. The husband started out as controlling and blamed the poor heroine for their childless troubles. Eventually, the heroine stood up for herself and flipped the dynamics of their relationship. There was a lot of drama and angst surrounding the first time she took another man to bed. More drama followed as the husband ‘unreasonably’ declared her sullied and turned away from her. The remaining half of the film focused on their relationship and how the husband relearned to love his wife. All the while, there were several long and explicit montages of the heroine in bed with different men. In those, the audience saw how the timid wife who felt shame with being with men who were not her husband shifted to become the powerful and confident woman who relished and enjoyed her moments with them.

The movie ended with them having their first child. Their daughter would eventually grow up to become queen and pass some of the most sweeping societal reforms in Europe’s history. Those I knew. Anyone who took a single history class in high school knew about Queen Fredrika’s reforms. They were the main reason Europe stabilized faster than similar kingdoms in Africa, Middle East, and Asia. North and South America thrived until explorers brought the virus with them in the coming centuries.

All said and done, the movie itself wasn’t terrible. To me, it seemed like a porn film with extra steps in it, but the gratuitous amounts of sex weren’t out of place in movies like it. Even my beloved superhero movies had at least one explicit sex scene. The big difference was I actually enjoyed some of those. The sexual tension had been building over three movies between Star Raven and Powerman. It was a slow build, with Powerman constantly flirting with the stoic and uncaring Star Raven. And just when you thought it would never happen—bam. Star Raven cracked, showing her vulnerable side for the barest of moments and sharing a moment with Powerman before facing the Big Bad.

Really looking forward to seeing where the writers were going to take their relationship next.

As for this movie, the only thing that bothered me was the ending scene before the credits rolled. The husband went to his wife’s room to enjoy some night fun only to find her busy with another man. Instead of reacting how he had throughout the entire movie, he simply watched for a few moments with a big smile on his face, then walked off towards his room.

It was completely out of character for him in the context of the movie. His entire character struggle was balancing his desire for an heir, the necessity of what had to be done to have his heir, his love for his wife, and her subsequent empowerment that resulted from it. For him to simply enjoy seeing her with another person completely destroyed that. It was garbage writing because he had grown to accept his wife would be with other men, not enjoy seeing her with them.

“That movie was soo good!” We barely stepped out of the dark theater and Kaylee was already bouncing with energy. “The little details were amazing, but that’s to be expected from Annabelle Cross. I love her directing style and she is always so passionate about getting the historical details right.”

I snorted, rolling my eyes. That automatically got me a firm look from her. “Right. Because so many peasant men were muscular bodybuilders with washboard abs and handsome faces during a massive pandemic that was wiping out hundreds of thousands of people and causing food shortages and societal collapse…”

Kaylee chewed on her lip, clearly enjoying the memory of so many good-looking men paraded on the screen. “She may have taken some… artistic liberties at a few points. Still! That was such a minor portion of the film.”

“Minor? The orgy scene was practically the last third of the movie!”

“It was like, ten minutes. Hardly the last third.” She grinned. “It was also the best part!”

“Of course you would say that.”

Her grin remained in place as she gave me a hip bump. “I saw you squirming around in your seat. Get a little tight down there?” With a twinkle in her eyes, she glanced down at my crotch. Before I could respond to her teasing, she moved on. “You know they actually had the orgy? Saw an interview with Annabelle when she was promoting the movie. They had to do it four times to get the footage they needed, but it was all real.”

“Sounds… messy.”

“Sounds amazing. Think about it. They got paid to have sex. Has to be the best job in the world.”

Shaking my head, we continued talking about the movie as we headed to Kaylee’s car. The conversation started to lull as we got onto the freeway and headed back toward my house.

“You ever think about how things would have turned out without the virus?”

“Hmm?”

Her eyes focused on the road as she spoke. “Think about it. Tens of millions died in Europe alone. Fertility rates plummeted. Child mortality, especially for boys, skyrocketed. At its worst, it was estimated that there were only two guys for every five women in certain parts of the world. It took us centuries to get where we are today, and we still have more women than men. What would the world be like if those millions of people never died? That the sex ratio was more or less equal.”

I thought on it for a moment, trying to view the world through my limited history lens. Eventually, I gave up. There was a reason why she was in honor and AP classes and I wasn’t. “Probably have a lot more asshole kings.”

She laughed. “Probably.”

I glanced over at her, a twisting feeling in my gut as I debated saying my second insight. Fuck it. “Monogamy would probably still be in place.” I swear I could hear my heart pounding in my head as I waited in silence for her response. She didn’t look over at me. For a moment, I thought she wouldn’t say anything.

“Considering it only dropped away because of the virus… that would be a safe bet to make.” Her nose wrinkled. “God, what a horrid timeline that would be. Men would still be in charge and you couldn’t screw whoever you wanted.” Her voice was light as she chuckled.

“Hell on Earth.”

She flashed me a grin before looking back at the road. “For sure.”

The conversation continued for a bit longer before somehow ending up on my trips to the gym with Liam and her dad. Most of it was her teasing me about how it must look like with us three “super nerds” in one place for an extended amount of time. Sadly, she was on the mark for most of it. We often talked about superhero stuff and other movies while we were working out. It made things drag out a bit longer than if we were focused on working out, but it was probably the only reason why I hadn’t dropped it. The sore muscles weren’t something I enjoyed.

We made a short detour on the way home to stop by Sam’s place. Ally was there with her as they presented me with one of the most beautiful cakes I’d ever seen. The icing decoration was of a wizard casting a fireball at some skeletons while a ranger shot arrows at a flying demon. It was awesome and unexpected. Sam had serious talent. Under it was the caption, “Have a magical birthday Scott and Paige.”

“This cake looks amazing! You didn’t have to include my sister though,” I said, eyeing her name.

“Perk of being a twin. Have to share the glory,” Sam said with a dazzling smile. I was glad I had Kaylee. That smile moved me in a way I didn’t expect. Once Ally was done playing around, Liam was going to be one lucky guy. Not as lucky as me of course, but still pretty lucky.

Thanking the girls, I left with Kaylee and the cake. Paige wasn’t going to be too happy with the decoration, but tough shit. It was my awesome birthday cake. I was in high spirits the rest of the way home.

Today was shaping up to be an amazing day.