"Yeah?" Jim gave Romeo a curious little look at that one. "I never really gave much thought to stuff like that before. I mean, my dad left home when I was a little kid, so it was just me and my mom, most of the time. Marriage... girlfriends... things like that?"

He shrugged and settled back into the sand.

"I never really figured I needed them." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "What's it like? I mean... any of it? Being married?"