When music is concerned, I've always felt I've known the husband pretty well.
He's never been a Beach Boy. He has, however, been a diehard fan of Pearl Jam. And Dire Straits. And Steely Dan and The Allman Brothers.
Which is why his latest downloads are leaving me scratching my head.
"I found the most awesome music," he told me not long ago. "You pour some wine and I'll light a fire. Prepare to be amazed."
I was expecting Pink Floyd.
I was not expecting Tony Bennett.
"Fly me to the Moon?" I asked.
"Yes!'he said. "I told you it was awesome!" Indeed, it's a rather pretty song.
But let's just say I haven't a clue what has happened to the husband. He hasn't invited me to listen to Dire Straits, oh, for a good decade or two. But The Lady is a Tramp? Hey, he's all over that.
Clearly, I haven't been paying attention. When the husband was stumbling across the likes of Stranger in Paradise, I guess I was doing something else. Like sorting the lights from the darks in the laundry room, perhaps. Or mixing up some cookie dough. Or returning from the dry cleaner.
But heck, he's smitten all right. These days, if the house isn't pumping to The Good Life, it's Anything Goes. Thanks to the husband, I am not likely to soon forget that Tony did not leave his heart in Pittsburgh, L.A. or Chicago, but in San Francisco.
Heaven knows I hear Tony crooning about his misplaced ticker more than a little frequently - not only when we're sipping wine by the fire, but when we're lounging on the deck eating ribs or sitting at the kitchen table playing Scrabble.
Heck, the last time we drove to the nursery to get some more topsoil, the husband had to run back into the house to retrieve his tunes.
Tony, let's just say, is always with us.
No idea how it came to be that the husband made the big Bennett discovery, and no idea who he'll discover next. Bobby Darin? Mel Torme? One never knows, given that the husband's musical tastes are - how do I put it? - evolving.
Where music's concerned, the husband has been something of a surprise recently.
Steely Dan's been shown to the door. It's been eagerly opened for Tony.
