The Club

I like to sit on the front step of the building I live in and smoke cigarettes. Sometimes my neighbour is out there, too. He's an older guy, clean cut, probably wears a suit at work, and he talks about sports all the time. Almost all the time. Sometimes he talks about his wife and how much she bugs him.
"It never fails. As soon as I sit down to watch a game, she's got something that needs doing." he said one night.
"Yeah?" I said in that way that one does when you have no particular interest in someone's story.
"You gotta a woman?" he asked me. I was happy that the darkness covered my smile.
"Yeah, I suppose." I answered. He might have been asking me if I owned some golf clubs.
"Women, eh?"

I hate these conversations. I know that I'm supposed to agree with him and affirm my membership in the most secret of societies, the Men Who Put Up With Women For Sex club, but I just can't do it. With a look, a nod, a wink or a roll of the eyes I could be a member but the truth of the matter is that I'm a traitor. I love women.

The door he sat in front of cracked an inch or two and a voice said, "Dan, can you put out the garbage before you come in?"
He looked at me with a 'see what I mean' look and said, "Yeah, in a minute."
Then to me, with a smile and after the door closed, he said, "It never ends." And, in the light of the single bare bulb that hung above his head, I suddenly understood him. He was a pretender.
"What's she like?" he asked.
"She's beautiful. Smart, too." I said. I decided I would play along with him for the time being and added, "She keeps me in line."
"Good for you." he said as he stood up. "Have a good night."

I sat out for a while longer, wondering what life must be like in that house. A long slow dance with familiar patterns and repeating steps performed with a half smile of concentration and a tender commitment to the outcome.

I finally stood up and shook off the chill and with one last look around I went inside. She was under a blanket on the couch and nearly asleep while the final minutes of her movie played out. She looked up at me and said, "You missed it."
"Was it any good?"
"It was alright, I guess." she said sleepily, "It's garbage night. Can you put it out before you come to bed?"
I smiled at her as she turned out the lights and said, "It never ends, does it?"
"Not if I can help it." came her voice out of the darkness.