Memoir: I know "you"

We had moved to Boston in 2006.  One summer afternoon, I decided to find a golf course and play 9 holes.  When I showed up, I signed up as a single.  As I was about to tee-off, I saw three guys walk up behind me.  One of them had smiled at me at the pro-shop when we were all paying for the round. 

One of the three said hello to me at the tee box and asked me if I would like to join them so that we could become a foursome and I said ok.

Through the round we got chatting, as golfers do.  They were clearly much better players than I.  Towards the end we exchanged telephone numbers and agreed to stay in touch.

Sure enough we called each other, and we became golfing buddies.  And over the next three years became regular golfing partners.  Of course, each of our respective families knew that we had met and had been playing golf over the weekends for the past several years.

During the winters, we spend the weekends skiing in Vermont.  One weekend, I did not go, and one of my golfing buddies asked me to come over to his house for dinner.  He invited the other two golfing partners as well.

By, the way, in three years, this was the first time I was meeting them outside a golf round.

So, I went to their house and knocked on the door.  And my friend's wife opened the door.  As soon as she saw me, she said, "I knew you were coming."

I found that sentence peculiar.  Of course she knew I was coming.  I was the guest!  So I laughed thinking she was joking.

She looked at me intently, and said, "no, I knew "you" were coming...!"

I was a bit confused and so I did not let on.  My friend asked me to come in and the other two golfing buddies were there too and we started talking and chatting.

But my friend's wife would keep asking me about my background and so on.  Finally he had to intervene and ask his wife to stop asking me questions.

But she persisted anyway!

Finally, somewhere during the evening she said, "Who are you married to?"

I answered.

She goes, may I see a picture?

My friend went, 'aw come, on.  Leave him alone.'

But I pulled out my phone, and show her a picture.

She says, "I knew it.  She has changed over the years.  But I think she was my class mate in high school in India."

She asked me to dial up my wife, who was in Vermont.

My friend again said to his wife, 'hey, you might be wrong.  Why don't you let him go back home, ask and then confirm back to us."

I said, 'don't worry - I can call"

After a complete surprise revelation to my wife as to who I was about to put on the phone, I gave the phone to my friends's wife.  And she disappeared from the main room to chat with my wife for the first time in 25+ years.

When she came back to the room where we were all chatting, she was all smiles.

But lost her smile, when she looked at my friend.  She sternly asked him, "you two guys have been playing golf every weekend for 3 years and you did not once bring up who your wives are?!'

He coughed very loudly and changed the subject to the latest NFL game and we loudly joined him to bail him out.

However, I was not as lucky.

When my wife got back home from Vermont, she asked me the same question.

"You guys have been playing golf every weekend for 3 years and you did not once bring up who your wives are?!"

I tried coughing and changing the subject, but Freddie the pooch was of no help and my son did not care.

So I had to accept my folly and also wisely, I think, gave up the thought of explaining what we usually discussed on the golf course . . .