As they all got into the rental cars, it was apparent that Dakota hadn't followed orders, or at least he hadn't succeeded in accomplishing the goal. The kid was stubborn. Once he decided something was necessary or unnecessary, he didn't usually change his mind. His grandpa knew that the likelihood of him achieving the goal was slim to none when he assigned the task. The goal being to appease his wife. At some point before they all left, Dakota had actually gone to the adjoining villa to talk to her.

     When he got there, He was relieved to see that his new in-laws were staying out of the argument. They were the ones paying for the rental property after all. It would be very inconvenient indeed if they got mad at him. There was also the point that having in-laws disappointed with you didn't help the marraige, but he didn't much care what they thought of him. Only the actions they took against him.

       "Hello Dear." Said his new mother-in-law. She knew him well and knew Dakota wasn't one to shoot the breeze when he had a goal in mind. He pointed in the direction of the main room of the house.

      "She in there?". The woman nodded in response. He entered the room. He still couldn't believe this was happening. Not a week into the marraige, Hell, not even a full day, and she was already making a big deal out of something that just made sense to him. He hadn't bothered reading any relationship books like she had before getting married. Back in his college days, he had been forced by the "Academic Bureaucracy", as he called it, to take Psychology 101, but he had no real respect for the field of study, at least in its undergraduate version. He supposed that clinical psychologists, neuroscientists, and psychiatrists all earned their right to practice. As for basic human interaction, why go to school when the world offers 8 billion subjects to study for free?

      All those years of study partially dedicated to understanding the human psyche led him to believe in one fact. If he simply came up with a plan that benefited everyone and mitigated any kind of cost. Most people liked it. It was one of the ways he had worked up the latter relatively quickly at work. Simply put the cost-benefit ratio of the great majority of his ideas spoke for themselves. 

      Now he found himself in the midst of an argument with his new wife over something that made absolutely no sense to him. Logically his plan had no better. 

      "When it comes to Women, Logic be damned".

      That was a line his grandfather had told him once in his teenage years. At the time Dakota asked the high school captain of the cheerleaders to the dance. On the one hand, he was never a complete outcast in school, having participated in at least one extracurricular each year such as basketball and soccer, but he was no casenova either. Simply put he was a nerd who for all intense purposes, didn't see why any girl was out of his league. He knew from an early age that he would do something important with science. Why should the captain of his basketball team have any more right to an attractive girl than he?

      That was one of life's weird lessons that one never actually asks for. The captain did take the girl out, and upon finding out that Dakota was interested. Took every chance to remind Dakota where he stood on the social ladder. 

      At the time he didn't get it. She was giving up a life of potentially unlimited resources with him. For a momentary fling with a jock who would most likely do well in life, but most likely not be on the cutting edge of technology. That was the first time Dakota had ever been baffled by a female. He had since realized that not everyone was as driven as he and most humans required a fair amount of intimacy in their relationships. 

     He walked up to his wife's room and he couldn't help but smile. He truly was in awe of this woman. The memory of the cheerleader was over a decade old. At the time he truly had no understanding of why the girl hadn't fancied him. He'd lived up to the hype his teachers, coaches, and surrounding parents had given him. That high school cheerleader would surely be living a better life with him, but he understood something now that he didn't at the time. 

      Intimacy was not something that could be bought. He owed his understanding of this to the woman in front of him.

      "When it comes to women. Logic be damned indeed, Grandpa". He said to himself as he prepped himself for the upcoming conversation. With anyone else, the conversation wouldn't happen at all. He'd simply move on and eventually forget or suppress the memory. The person became a stepping stone in his life, but Hannah was different. He didn't need her in his life. He simply wanted her to be a part of it. More than anything else he'd ever wanted.

      As he entered the doorway to the room. Her back was toward the door. There weren't any sniffles, but when she turned to see who entered her eyes were red.

      "No Fair," he thought to himself.

       She was wearing loosely fitting blue jeans with an open grey flannel shirt and white cotton tank top underneath. Her brown hair fell in waves down her back and shoulders. Her legs were slightly crossed at an angle crossing with her flat bottom plain white shoes. The little bit of shoulder showing was lightly tanned but she was pale in comparison to him. She looked about as innocent as an almost 30-year-old woman could be. If he saw anyone else wearing the ensemble he would assume the outfit to have been perfectly coordinated to draw the attention of every male in the vicinity, but on her, he knew the outfit was chosen out of nothing more than joy. She couldn't wait to see the sights with her new husband and family, and picked out clothes that matched. To tell the truth, it was her natural aura that brought the outfit into perfect coordination.

      "She isn't playing fair and she knows it."

       That of course wasn't the case at all. Simply put the woman was just beautiful. She had the type of look that would look good in just about anything. 

      "Hey Honey," He said as he leaned lightly against the door frame. These personal moments with her, were the only in his life where he was speechless. In return, she sniffed at him, hiked up her flannel around her uncovered shoulder, and didn't say anything. He knew he hurt her and it made him feel bad. Her deepest fear in life was feeling trapped, just getting married was a huge step for her. Hence being nearly 30 and unmarried. She was willing to get over that fear for him, and he loved her for it. This is why he did something he'd never even consider with anyone else and tried to see her point of view.

      He made his way to the bed. She concealed it well, but he did notice that she inched over to allow enough room for him to sit. Turning her head slightly away, fingering a lock of her hair behind her ear, and then lightly crossing her arms over her chest. This was her passive way of letting him know that she was willing to hear his terms, apology, well thought out thesis? He honestly had no idea how to proceed.

      "This definitely isn't fair." 

       Her attempt to show him contempt only made her that much more attractive to him. He almost forgot what their initial argument was about. He went to touch her and thought better of it. He hadn't ever been much of a romantic and he didn't see the point in trying to become one now. He'd won her over by being himself, and that was exactly what he would do in this situation.

      So he explained his thinking. 

      "I don't see why we have to move right now. That option is going to be available for as long as I work at the company, and traveling with all the work I'm doing right now just wouldn't be a good fit right now. I've only just been promoted. If I immediately start traveling and whatnot, the other lab employees will begin to doubt my resolve".

      She began to interrupt him and he paused to allow her. She thought about it for a second and motioned for him to continue. Knowing full well that if she got emotional now she wouldn't be able to stop. In essence, she was letting him say his piece without any hindrances. 

      "God he loved this woman!"

      He had to be careful in his explanation, the specific job duties of a scientist involved in Research and development, were always a slippery slope to talk about. Even to loved ones. Confidentiality was always a factor to be considered.

      "You know the project I'm working on is a huge one. That could benefit not only me but the entire lab". The lab he worked at was growing exponentially and he needed to loosen the budget in any way possible. The main area of his research had to do with selecting subjects that produced the best proteins for polyclonal antibody synthesis and potentially switching the methodology to monoclonal synthesis. In lamens term "cloning". A massive undertaking, to say the least, that would undermine half a century's worth of producing the lab's staple product.

          His wife's patience was all but gone now. 

        "It's always about work with you. Always about the next big project. She wiped her eyes and stifled a sniffle. I'm just afraid one day you'll forget about me". There was more she wanted to say but didn't get the chance.

      He began to protest, but she quieted him with a gesture of her hand. She let him speak and now it was her turn to talk.

      "Do you even know why you love me?" That hit him like a brick out of left field. 

      He began to explain why but was immediately interrupted. Her emotions were on full display now and they weren't going back behind the curtain again.

      "I can't believe you Dakota Holland, You can't rationalize love. It's a feeling and that's it." She was crying now but her oversized sleeve made for a decent cover for her tears, as she stood up abruptly and stormed out of the room.

      He wasn't just speechless now. He was slightly unnerved. On the one hand, he did understand her distress, but on the other, he had given her no reason to believe he could ever forget her. His attempt to explain his reasoning just made sense to him. Any scientist worth their salt backed up any claim with reason. On top of that, how could he forget the most important thing in his life? It didn't make any sense to him. She stormed out without even contemplating how delusional that was. 

      In his subconscious mind, he knew that wasn't true. He caught her hesitation to interrupt him earlier allowing him to finish his argument. That alone said that she was trying to see his point of view. However, in these moments of emotion, even the most level-headed person loses their hold on rationality, and being that he was indeed human, he was no exception to the rule. 

      He also stood up and vacated the room. Not as emotional as his wife, but certainly more aggravated than he had been when he entered. There was one other thing that his conscious mind was ignoring. The biggest reason he loved her was exactly the reason he was irritated with her.

      "She makes me feel alive!" Said a tiny voice in his subconscious.

      It was that simple. On his own, the rules and probabilities that governed the universe were all that mattered. By their nature that made them predictable. His wife wasn't, and it made her exhilarating to him. Some might say this was some form of a codependent relationship, but they couldn't be more wrong. He was completely invested in this woman and knew he always would be. She was an enigma that he could spend his whole life studying and would never fully understand. The scientist in him couldn't ignore the challenge, and the human man in him couldn't ignore her feminine lure. To him, she was a star that he would never reach but always be in awe of.

      The part of his brain responsible for this contemplation wasn't currently occupying the majority of his consciousness. What was occupying the majority of his cognitive reasoning was his compulsive habit of reliving certain circumstances and picking them apart. He simply couldn't get over how she overreacted and failed to see his reasoning. 

      This occupied him up until he got back to his own room. He paced back and forth until his grandpa made the announcement that they would be departing soon. This snapped him out of it. After all, he had orders to not ruin the vacation. Where he had failed to reconcile with his better half, he certainly wouldn't fail his grandfather on two occasions.

       He headed toward the rental vehicles determined not to show his dismay.