NOTE: Christian Content
Chapter 72: How to Make Up…
Tina had showered, re-dressed, and said, "Joey come back to bed, now!"
Joey came bounding up to Tina and hopped into her pocket. He let out a disgruntled whistle. "Tina put cold stuff in her tummy!"
"Tina had to: Tina was too hot."
"Joey never get too hot on this world."
"Tina get too hot a lot on this world. Joey go to bed, now."
"Joey is cold in here 'cause Tina put cold stuff in her tummy."
"Then Joey stay with space heaters in orphanage. No let kids play with you."
"Okay."
Tina hoped that Joey would be okay in the orphanage. She started out for Cody's chapel, but she saw trouble looming: June was walking down the same hallway. Tina ducked behind a corner, and June harmlessly passed by. Tina wiped the sweat off her brow and continued to the chapel…she found him baptizing a baby that had been born while they were away. She waited her turn, and found that Cody already knew the details: he had been with them in Imperialdramon's force field.
"So…what do I do about June?" Tina asked.
"You will need to make up with her," Cody answered. "She won't DNA digivolve with you until you make up, you know."
"I figured…but there's one thing that's bugging me."
"What's that?"
Tina sighed. "At the time…it was a really dangerous situation, and this was the best thing that came to my mind to lie to her. But…" Tina sighed. "Did I do the wrong thing?"
Cody nodded. "You should have had Ash tie her down with Bulbasaur's Vine Whip."
"Is it too late to do that?"
"It won't help," Cody answered.
"What do I do now? June isn't even speaking to me. How can I even start to make it up to her?"
"Hatred is a terrible thing, Tina…along the line of evil things, it is second only to pride. But what is hatred's worst enemy?"
"…Love… So you're saying that, if I act like I like June a lot, she'll stop hating me?"
"It'll make her feel worse and worse about hating you, and she really should feel worse about it. The Bible says, 'love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you: in doing this, you heap burning coals on their heads.' "
"And those burning coals are feelings of guilt?"
"And other things, too. Go on…show June you don't hate her back."
******
"How about we do the duct tape on her again?" Youngdramon said.
"That's not the kind of thing I had in mind," Tina answered.
"Well, then…how about saving her neck in the middle of battle and taking a hit that knocks off your arm?"
"Youngdramon!!"
"Yeah, you'll want those appendages for hugging the orphans…hmm… I know! If we really do hook her up with Matt, then---"
"Hold it, hold it!" Tina cut in. "We tried turning a lie into a truth before, and that backfired like a bazooka!"
"Well, if we can't suppress her romantic instincts with Matt, then who can we suppress them with?"
"We'd need to find someone else for her…"
"Someone well-raised…"
"Someone smart…"
"Someone overall cheerful…"
"Someone just as romantically inclined as she is…"
Youngdramon and Tina got the same looks on their faces and looked at each other nodding.
******
"Oh, Brock! I have one quick question for you," Tina said.
"Ye-e-e-a-a-a-ah?" Brock asked, obviously in hormone-mode.
"There's this survey that I invented, to find the perfect mate for somebody. It was just another little thing to break the boredom that blowing up man-eating robots generates."
"Ye-e-e-a-a-a-ah?"
"I was wondering if you wouldn't like to give it a try?"
"Ye-e-e-a-a-a-ah."
"Great! Just fill it out and leave it by my room!"
"Ye-e-e-a-a-a-ah."
******
"All right, give it to her!" Tina whispered. Mimi was June's roommate in this complex, and Mimi was willing to help work out this problem.
"Hey, June, check this out!" Mimi said. "It's some kind of find-your-match survey!"
"Hmm?"
"It's a survey you fill out that tells you who your ideal mate is!"
"Ideal mate, huh? I already know: it's Matt, and he doesn't like me. I don't have any luck with love."
"Luck has nothing to do with this: it's all about skill in selecting who goes with who! Maybe you and Matt aren't really compatible, anyhow. Imagine spending the rest of your life with him: every last little quirk and flaw in him would come to the surface, and he'd actually start to annoy you."
"Wouldn't that be true of any guy?"
"Maybe, maybe not. It can't hurt to try the survey, June!"
June shook her head. "I'm not interested."
"I'll leave it on the desk in case you change your mind."
Mimi left the room, looked at Tina sadly, and shook her head.
Tina shrugged. "We tried," she whispered.
June looked at the survey again. It read across the top, "Find the Mr. Right for your life! Question One: what do you look for first in a man?"
June thought about the question for a moment. Honesty, she answered.
"Question Two: Would you be willing to switch the stereotypical household jobs with your husband? (I.e., you would be the breadwinner and him the homemaker)"
Hmm…yeah, I guess…
"Question Three: How often do you fall in love with a new man? A: Seldom or Never B: Once every few months C: Once every few weeks D: Once every few days."
I've been after Matt for thirty-three years! Never.
"Question Four: Where could you see yourself with your ideal mate? A: Kissing in the rain B: Snuggled together by a fireplace on a cold winter's evening C: Skeet-shooting in The Yukon D: all of the above."
If I can take my umbrella with me, D.
"Question Five: When do you usually wake up in the morning? A: Five o'clock B: Seven o'clock C: Nine o'clock D: I lose all sense of time."
D.
"Question Six: How afraid of commitment are you? A: Not at all B: a little C: somewhat afraid D: very afraid."
A.
"Question Seven: If your ideal mate died, would you remarry?"
No: I'd either kill myself, or join Cody's convent.
"Question Eight: What is your political tendency?"
I'd vote the way Matt---I mean, my ideal mate would vote.
"Question Nine: How old are you? A: 15-25 B: 26-35 C: 36-45 D: 45+ E: I've lost all sense of time."
A.
"Question Ten: What would pry you off of your ideal mate one you had him?"
Nothing whatsoever.
And that was that for the survey…now, if she only knew where to turn it in…?