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like fantasies realized,” and
     she says “I think you told me it that very night,” and I say “It was the same with
     my wife, almost same circumstances, but a New Year’s Eve party I met her at.” “Your
     brother invited you?” “No, he was dead by then—I was actually invited by the hosts
     and saw her, my future wife—” “What’s her name?” “Carolyn.” “And your boys’?” “Andrei
     and Daniel, two writers she’s written about and admires and even knew, I think—and
     fell in love at first sight there—I did—In other words, at the party I was immensely
     attracted to her and introduced myself or had someone introduce us—” “Surely you remember,”
     and I say “I introduced myself and asked whom she knew—something dumb like that—woman
     or boy friend giving the party and found out she came with a woman friend, as you
     had twenty years before, and was single.” “What would you have done if she wasn’t?”
     “Probably made a pass at her, which I think I was still doing then—I know I was: if
     I couldn’t get the whole works then maybe just a quick fling. Though looking back
     at it it’s not something I’ve liked in myself and don’t especially care for when men
     do it to Carolyn at parties and gatherings of various sorts.” “It’s happened that
     often with her?” “Four or five times I know of—she’s very pretty with an attractive
     figure besides whatever else she gives off.” “What do you do when it happens?” and
     I say “Well, she tells me it after, but once I overheard it. ‘You’re married?’ the
     guy said, ‘well that’s too bad’—something like that—a sort of wry disappointment,
     which I think is what I used to use, since it doesn’t completely cut you off, but
     with her, you see—this confusion the men have I mean—it’s also because she doesn’t
     wear a wedding band.” “Why not?” and I say “She lost it doing the laundry in our building’s
     laundry room.” “How long ago?” “Three years,” and she says “She should get one because
     then maybe fewer men would make passes and you’d be less agitated by it,” and I say
     “I’m not really agitated by it and I’ve made a couple of passes or approaches or whatever
     you call it to women with wedding bands—before I was married, of course—though truth
     is when I made them I didn’t look at their wedding fingers for a band, and besides,
     some married women wear it on the right hand Russian-style—I just looked at my own
     hands to see which one the band’s normally on—and some unmarried women wear the band
     as a precaution of some sort, a safety device—I’m not getting the right word, but
     some strategy.” “Certainly not a strategy to attract men.” “Well, some men might be
     more attracted to married women, less of a threat.” “The husband could be a threat
     if he’s there,” and I say “True, true, anyway, she wasn’t married, so didn’t have
     a ring and doesn’t now.” “But you seem happily married.” “Very much so,” and she says
     “That’s wonderful—Josh and I were too for a few years but then we should have split
     up ten years ago but didn’t because of the children.” “Must be difficult living with
     someone you don’t want to live with,” and she says “Oh, despite what I might have
     said we remained compatible, we’re still compatible, he’s a dear, fair very decent
     sweet guy—no arguments or complaints, never yells—just he was always uninteresting
     and invariable, if I can speak openly. If you don’t like this, please say so,” and
     I say “No, it’s all right, what?” and she says “No spark is what I mean and little
     to no curiosity outside of his own work and the one thing we were interested and involved
     in together, the well-being of our kids—maybe the first couple of years before we
     married he was interesting or living with him was or seemed to be, but after that,