Availability. That is his only criteria when pursuing a woman. There is little or no quality control. There can’t be. It is all about quantity – not quality. He has never married. No woman ever trusted him enough to make that type of commitment. In truth, no woman has ever loved him enough to want to marry him. He is not that type of person. Too selfish. Too egotistical. Too dishonest. ‘All right for a quick fling,’ as they said in his younger years. They looked elsewhere when seeking marriage material. He could have broken a lot of hearts – but they would never let him.
As a young man, his male friends and work colleagues could never understand his success with the ladies. ‘He is no Robert Redford,’ they used to say. They were missing the point. Robert Redford was all very well for the big screen. In real life, women would settle for a lot less. He had self confidence. He dressed well, had a nice apartment, and owned a car. Most importantly, he was interested in girls and was comfortable in their company. The motivation was always sex but, at least, he was prepared to make an effort. Ironically, the sex was never great. He lacked the imagination to ever attempt anything but the conventional. It didn’t matter. He was successful with girls. That was enough to make him attractive to other girls.
His success continued right through his thirties. He looked a good bit younger than his years. He was still able to attract woman in their early and mid-twenties. He had a bit of money and appeared sophisticated to them. He was a good catch compared to the lads of their own age. His reputation as a ladies man did him no harm. There was always the curiosity factor.
Things started to go pear shaped in his early forties. His opportunities were now much more limited. It did not help that he had let himself go a bit. The belly and jowls he could be blamed for – the receding hairline he could not. Younger woman were now off limits. His chat up lines sounded sleazy, not cheeky. ‘That creep,’ he overheard himself being called at work by a woman half his age. He had to be more careful. The future looked bleak.
Fortunately, he has found a new lease of life in his fifties. A whole new market has opened up for him. The available middle aged woman. The divorced, separated, widowed, or just plain bored. They are his new dating pool. The woman are no fools, of course, they know what they are dealing with. A good time without any commitment – that is the arrangement. It is not unlike the golden era of his late teens and early twenties.
There he goes now, heading out for another evening’s entertainment. Looking dandy in his dark pin-stripe suit and navy shirt. Fit, toned, and re-energised. The silver fox is back in town. No better man. The ladies man.