Did you ever love me? she asked. I mean, really love me. Like you couldn’t go a day without me? That kind of love, she looked at him, sitting next to her on the porch swing. He nodded his head without a word. Most of their marriage, he did not say a word. ‘Cause, if you did, you never showed it, she said. We didn’t even write our own vows. Just repeated whatever the preacher said. And you were drunk, she laughed. Everyone could smell it. I sure did, he looked at her. She smiled.

Sorry, he told her. I’m truly sorry, he said. In my mind I knew it would never last.

Our marriage?

Right. Just too young. I still needed to go off and look for new adventures, he turned his head down.

Did you find them?

New adventures? No. I did not.

You just found new women, she laughed.

Yeah. That’s true.

For the short time we were married, did you ever cheat on me?

Not physically, he said. But, in my mind? I did. In my head, I cheated all the time. I never gave it a second thought. In Fool For Love, the old man says, In my mind I was married to Barbara Mandrell. In my mind, they both laughed. In my mind, I cheated on you. Sorry about that.

That’s OK. For years, I’ve been sleeping with George Clooney, she smiled.

You take care of yourself.

You too.