Spinning by Michael Baron

be around me. I didn’t know why, but I figured that was part of it.
We didn’t have to do anything or go anywhere, she just wanted to be around.”
    “I want Diane around.”
    “See, that’s not it.”
    “I figured it was more complicated than that.”
    “Way more complicated, D-Man. We saw more of each other, time goes by, sometimes we go out, sometimes we stay at my place and order pizza. We just hang out on the couch. The sex is great. I’m getting laid, she’s happy, and then one day she says, ‘Jimmy, do you love me?’ Is that what Diane did?”
    “No.”
    “Gina did. So I sit there for a minute and think, you know, because time’s a tickin.’ If I say no, she’s gonna hate my guts and leave. If I say I don’t know, it’s gonna be no sex and she still might leave. But if I say yes, I love her, she’s gonna stay.”
    “Did you love her?”
    Jim set his beer down. “I’ll tell you, D-Man, it was like somebody flipped a switch. As soon as I told Gina I loved her, everything changed.”
    He went to the fridge to retrieve two more Buds.
    “Now she wants to do more, we fight less, and things are pretty good. You know, we say I love you’ on a regular basis sometimes in public when no one is listening and I start to feel like I really do love her. This is the trap.”
    “The trap?”
    “The trap. See, right now, everything is good. She only does the things you like and you ignore the other stuff.”
    “Like…”
    “Stuff, you know, like gabbing to her sister about you getting drunk and falling asleep during sex. Stuff like that… Remember, I’ll deny all of this.”

    “Yeah, yeah. That’s why you got divorced?”
    “Hell no. That’s why I got married.”
    “You lost me.”
    “I wasn’t paying attention to the things I didn’t like. Just the good stuff like the sex, do you follow me?”
    “Yeah. So, why did you get divorced?”
    “I got divorced because my girlfriend didn’t like me being married all the time.”
    He took a drag from the bottle.
    “Dylan, when I split from Gina, I left with three great boys and this knowledge, which I will impart on you for free… or a couple beers the next time we’re out.”
    “Deal.”
    “It’s easy to see only the good stuff in a relationship, especially this early in the game. So ask yourself if you can live with the things you don’t like.”
    “Isn’t that settling?”
    “No,” he said, pointing at me. “You are not settling for anything. It’s a compromise. D-Man. If you’re thinking about Diane and who wouldn’t, you lucky bastard and Spring, remember she’s a pre-fab. I can say that without prejudice because I’m also a pre-fab. Remember how you felt about pre-fabs before she knocked on your door? Gotta keep that in mind, while you’re sorting things out.”
    “Thanks.” I downed the rest of the beer and left with Jim’s wisdom and a slight buzz.
    When I got back to my apartment, I removed the small, robin’s-egg blue box from the countertop and opened it. The ring was expensive, but if I was ever going to get married, I wanted a rock my wife would be proud to show off for the rest of her life.
    I went to the hall closet, put the ring in my overcoat, and somewhere, a plate fell to the floor.

    Friday morning, I sat in my office staring at the picture, which had now been on my desktop for the last few weeks. With the exception of Laurel, who’d gotten chillier the longer my relationship with Diane continued, I was starting to enjoy how everyone was treating me. It might have all been in my mind, but I sensed a new respect; the impression that I had to be responsible if I was dating a woman with a child.
    Lunch came and went, and I stayed in my office. My stomach churned as I thought about what I planned to do that night.
    “Hey. It was Billie.
    “Come on in, close the door.”
    “Why?”
    “Would you tell me if I was about to do something stupid?”
    “Always do. What did you do this time?”
    “Would you be