“ultimate having”? I’m not going near that spoiler! I’ll bet it doesn’t give BilltheDrill as much trouble as the speech.
I think Dagny and Reardon were much more than “Friends with Benefits.” Theirs is the love story of Atlas Shrugged. He gave her jewels (not just that industrial strength bracelet) and that awesome fur coat. He gave up his metal for her. They survived a road trip together. He divorced his wife. They brought joy to each others’ dreary lives, and they shared the same values. They comforted each other. They had hot sex. This be love — not friendship. And it was mutual.
Dagny could relax with Reardon. But Galt? My gosh! That would be an exhausting relationship! I mean, when could you kick back in sweats with dirty hair and without makeup with this guy? You’d have to always be ON. No “honey, let’s just order a pizza tonight” in their home. Didn’t you notice there wasn’t a pizza place in Galt’s Gulch?
Reardon would let her have a pizza.
OK - more than FWB, but Dagny always wanted to meet the man who invented the motor and was looking for her ultimate love while still bedding Reardon. I think the relationship meant much more to him than it did to her.
And, yes, you said what I was thinking. I could see Dagny and Reardon hanging around, downing a pizza, maybe even watching a ball game. If Galt and Reardon’s situations were reversed, I can’t see Galt flying over the Rockies for a month looking for her. I can see both Francisco and Hank doing that.