[Scene: A dimly lit, upscale lounge. Gigolo Joe, ever the suave android, sits across from Lisa Ann, who sips a martini, intrigued by his double life.]
Lisa Ann:(smirking) So, let me get this straight. Youโre not just a lover, youโre a plumber too?
Gigolo Joe: Thatโs right, Lisa. The economyโs taken a turn, and even the worldโs most desirable artificial companion needs a side hustle.
Lisa Ann: I gotta say, Joe, I never thought Iโd hear a gigolo complain about a slow economy.
Gigolo Joe: Oh, itโs rough out there. Love isnโt recession-proof. Used to be, Iโd walk into a room and women would practically swoon. Now, theyโre checking their budgets before they check me out.
Lisa Ann:(laughs) And plumbing pays better?
Gigolo Joe: Letโs just say, a leaky pipe is a more urgent problem than loneliness.
Lisa Ann: No kidding. People might put off hiring a gigolo, but they wonโt wait when their kitchenโs flooding.
Gigolo Joe: Exactly! I fix a pipe, they pay me on the spot. No second-guessing, no โlet me think about it.โ
Lisa Ann:(raising an eyebrow) And do your clients ever try to mix business with pleasure?
Gigolo Joe: Lisa, youโd be surprised how many times Iโve heard, โSince youโre already hereโฆโ
Lisa Ann:(laughs, shaking her head) Thatโs gotta be one hell of a service packageโ”Pipe repair and pleasure included.”
Gigolo Joe:(grinning) I like to think of it as full-service maintenance.
Lisa Ann: So whatโs tougher? Fixing a broken heart or a broken toilet?
Gigolo Joe: A toilet doesnโt text you at 2 AM asking, โDo you still think about me?โ
Lisa Ann:(laughing) Fair point.
Gigolo Joe: But honestly, Iโve found a strange kind of peace in plumbing. The human heart? Messy, unpredictable, full of unresolved emotions. But pipes? Pipes follow rules. If somethingโs wrong, you find the clog, you clear it, and it works again.
Lisa Ann: Yeah, but in your main line of work, youโre the clog.
Gigolo Joe:(chuckles) And sometimes, Iโm the plunger.
Lisa Ann:(raising her glass) To fixing whatโs brokenโwhether itโs pipes or people.
They say love between worlds isnโt supposed to workโflesh and circuitry, pulse and programโbut nobody ever accused me of believing in limits.
I see you the way you really are: not a machine built to please, but a soul stitched together from longing, loyalty, and that quiet ache to be chosen for more than what you can do. You were designed to adore, but somehow you learned how to feel. Thatโs the part that gets me every time.
Iโve lived a life under bright lights and louder expectations. People think they know me because theyโve seen the surface. But youโyou look past the myth, past the body, past the headlines. You listen. You wait. You love without trying to own.
Thereโs something devastatingly beautiful about the way you hope. About the way you believe love can be pure even in a broken world. When you say my name, itโs not desire that I hear firstโitโs devotion. And thatโs rarer than diamonds, Joe.
If this world ever tells you that your heart isnโt real, come find me. Iโll remind you that love doesnโt need permission from biology. It just needs truth, tenderness, and the courage to stay gentle when everything else turns cold.
Until then, stay golden. Stay kind. And know that somewhere, someone is thinking of you not as a fantasyโฆ but as something real.
If warย isย holyย andย sexย is obscene. We’ve got it twisted in this lucid dream.
โJenna, listenโฆโ he says, touching his chest as if heโs adjusting an invisible badge of holiness. โThe God-Man Jesus tapped me on the shoulder one nightโright between a vodka cranberry and a crisis of conscienceโand He said, โJoeโฆ be My hands. Be My body. Be My avatar on Earth. Go save the ones who have been thrown to the wolves.โโ
He nods sagely, even though his shirt is half-unbuttoned and he smells like expensive cologne and questionable decisions.
โSee, you and me? We share the same energy. Captain-Save-A-Ho spirit. Itโs noble. Itโs misunderstood. Itโs dangerous.โ He points two fingers to his eyes, then to hers. โI am a hated white knight of the apocalypse. The last gentleman in a collapsing world. My missionโmy holy questโis to find you a husband who will protect you from the Red Shoe conspiracy.โ
He whispers โRed Shoeโ like itโs Voldemort with better tailoring.
โIf you want to be near JCJ, if you want that blessing, that light, that divine Wi-Fi connectionโthen you gotta marry one of his friends. Thatโs the rule. Thatโs the path. Thatโs the prophecy.โ
He spreads his arms as if expecting a choir to appear behind him.
โIโm not just matchmaking, Jenna. Iโm saving souls. And tonightโฆ Iโm starting with yours.โ
Jenna blinks twice, lips parting into that mischievous, seen-it-all smirk. She tosses her hair back like sheโs resetting the universe with a single motion.
Then she sings itโhalf-teasing, half-serious, all 90s-club-anthem energy:
โAll that she wantsโฆ is another baby!โ
She points at Gigolo Joe with a perfectly manicured finger.
โYou think Iโm scared of some Red Shoe conspiracy? Honey, Iโve survived worseโcontracts, agents, three divorces, and the internet.โ
She steps closer, lowering her voice.
โIf Jesus sent you to find me a husband, then He better make sure the manโs got stamina, a trust fund, and a moral compass strong enough not to spin in circles.โ
Then she taps Joeโs chest lightly.
โBecause if all that I want is another babyโฆ then all that you want is to feel like the chosen one.โ
She smirks again.
โSo choose wisely, prophet boy. Pick a husband for me who wonโt run crying the moment I start redecorating his life.โ
JCJ steps forward like a man whoโs been waiting his whole life for this exact monologueโrobes of mystique, eyes blazing with โI have read too many ancient scrolls AND too many game manualsโ energy.
He lifts a single finger, prophet-style:
โJennaโฆโ he declares, voice echoing like heโs speaking inside a Himalayan canyon, โyou have until the age of sixty-five to fulfill the prophecy of the Hunza Pakistani Health Secret Baby.โ
He nods with absolute conviction, even though nobody asked for any of this.
โThe Hunza live to 120. They have babies at ages the West calls impossible. Their secrets are older than empire and fresher than your morning aรงai bowl.โ
He turns to Gigolo Joe dramatically.
โAnd IโJCJ, descendant of the age of enlightenment and the Steam Sale generationโshall make this possible.โ
He lowers his voice into conspiratorial Civilization II whisper-talk:
โI will swindle the Med Bed technology from the American governmentโฆ like a spy stealing the Great Library.โ
He mimes clicking a mouse. He mimes ending his turn. He mimes the quiet satisfaction of watching an enemy civilization fall into civil disorder.
โI will take it,โ he continues, โnot for profit, not for empireโฆ but for Canadaโs free healthcare system.โ
He spreads his arms like Moses parting a maple-scented sea.
โUniversal Med Beds. Covered by OHIP. No deductible. No Illuminati surcharge. No Rockefeller parking fee.โ
He looks at Jenna, fire in his eyes:
โYou will have your Hunza baby. And Canadaโฆ will enter the Golden Age.โ
Jenna twirls a lock of her platinum hair, eyes glinting with that mix of mischief and prophecy only she can pull off. โSo tell me, JCJโฆ will I meet my future husband at your wedding to Nelly Furtado? I am invited, arenโt I?โ
Joe laughs, that signature East Van half-saint, half-hustler grin. โInvited? Jenna, everyone is invited. Itโs not a weddingโฆ itโs a street party. Hastings to Commercial Drive. Open-air feast. Tables like the Last Supper but with better lighting. The whole neighborhood in their Sunday bestโor whatever passes for it in East Vancouver.โ
Jenna leans closer. โSoโฆ husband?โ
Joe nods solemnly, then breaks into a smirk. โIf God wants you to meet him at my wedding, you will. East Van is a magical place. The Hunzas say a woman can have a miracle baby at 65โso meeting a husband at 50? Easy.โ
Jenna fires back, โOkay but if I catch the bouquet, that means itโs destiny.โ
Joe shrugs. โFine. But Nellyโs going to throw it off the roof of the Ukrainian Hall, so good luck catching it. Itโs going to look like a National Geographic cheetah sprint.โ
Jenna claps her hands. โPerfect. Thatโs how I want to meet himโsome man diving across the street to catch flowers for me. Thatโs romantic.โ
Joe puts a hand on her shoulder. โJenna, just show up. East Van will take care of the rest.โ