A Good Woman

My wife is way more involved in my boy’s lives than me.

Now, I’m not talking about talking to the boys because we both do that every day, all day, but she knows the names, birth days and interests of women that they date.

Or want to date.

“Sam got invited to go play two rounds of golf and then off to Cooperstown to visit the baseball Hall of Fame.”

“That’s a good trip,” I said.

“But he also was invited to a party by a girl that he’s interested in. Same day as the golf trip. Which one would you choose?”

I frowned. I felt I was being setup because she knew my answer…

…same answer as when I was 25.

“When do we tee off?” I asked.

“Yeah, well, he’s going to the party!”

“Really!”

Kathy laughed.

“Seriously, that’s always what a man needs,” she said. “A good woman to keep him on the straight and narrow.”

I laughed.

“You don’t agree that a man needs a woman in his life?”

(Another setup).

“You mean at 25 or at 60?” I asked.

“You needed one at all stages of your life. If I hadn’t saved you, you’d have been Jack Nicholson’s character in that movie.”

She was talking ‘As Good As it Gets’ when Jack was miserable, lived alone, and was rude. 

A societal misfit.

“Probably,” I said.

“One good woman,” Kathy said. “All men need that.”

Maybe.

But I’d still go golfing and the Hall.

Every time.