This year it’s “Island Paradise.” Angele gave it to me for Christmas with a wink and a nod. She said we needed a vacation, and besides, it was more sophisticated than the lingerie calendar I had used the previous year. I suppose it is, but lingerie is cheaper than a week in the Bahamas. I told her she might have to settle for a 12x12 glossy color photograph of a different beach each month this year. “You’re more than welcome to step into my office any time and dream away,” I said. That did not go over very well. As a couple, Angele and I fall somewhere between the stages of “dating” and “engaged.” She refers to it as the “Zesty Pre-committed Juncture.” As far as I can tell, there is no longer any widely acceptable euphemism for the period between dating and being engaged. A generation ago it was called “going steady,” but that phrase has disappeared from the idiomatic dictionary. Even if it were still in vogue, “steady” would not apply to Angele and me. A number of more appropriate adjectives rise from the cauldron of our relationship, which is why I mentioned the calendar in the first place.
