Of Mice And Men

I was in the office the other day and we were talking about what we did over the weekend. When it came to me, I said that I had gone to the movies with my wife and 16-year-old daughter. We watched the movie Heaven Is For Real, which is adapted from a true story about a 4-year-old boy who, while on an operating table, went to Heaven and back.

Both my wife and daughter read the book, so they insisted we watch the movie together. While I’m more of a Tarantino kind of guy, I actually enjoyed it. The men in my office, however, started razzing me to no end. I fought back and said that I can go see any movie I want anytime and anywhere, as I’m my own man.

They called me on it and said we would all go to the movies after work and watch Raid 2, which is an ultra-violent martial arts action flick. I boldly announced, “I’m there, no problem!” The reality was I had just gone out for drinks the night before and making it two nights in a row was going to be tough to explain. I excused myself from the presence of the menfolk.

In the privacy of my office, I called my wife and said I was still at work (true) and that I would be home late (also true). When we got to the theater, I didn’t have any cash, so I asked if there was an ATM machine. Surprisingly, there was not.

I couldn’t charge the tickets or refreshments, as that would later show up on a statement, so I asked if someone would cover me and I’d pay them back the next day. My wife is a sharp cookie, so I didn’t want to take any chances. The movie was great, and so I had no regrets about doing what I did – and I proved to the guys that I was still an active member in the “Man Club.”

On the way home, I did stop at the store to buy breath mints so I wouldn’t have telltale popcorn breath. I was pretty much home free. The next evening when I got home, my wife confronted me. “You went to the movies yesterday, didn’t you?” She found the ticket stub in my pocket when sorting out the laundry. I told her the reason for my deception and she laughed about it.

Not that it would ever happen, but who would have thought seeing a movie is harder than having an affair?

rnagasawa@midweek.com