Like Father Part Five

I have a fever. He's sitting with me in my bedroom. I try to remember the last time we were both in here together.

"What's wrong with you, kid?"

"I can't decide."

"Women are always like that."

I turn towards him.

"What do you think the main differences are between men and women?"

"A poet put it best. For women love is everything, for men, it's a thing apart."

I nod.

"What does that mean?"

"That men are cold. Women are tender."

That makes me sad.

"Do you think that's true?"

"Just look at the beast in the field. Lions, once the woman has her cubs, she stops paying attention to the man all together, and only fends for her babies. Male lions will eat their cubs, if they have to. They'll do whatever it takes to survive. Then, if the male lions eat the cubs, within three days the female lion will be getting it on with them again. What does that tell you?"

"I hope that's not true."

"It is. For centuries, men have had an advantage. They've had brute force on their side. So women have had to develop other skills to get along. Do you know what that is?"

He points to his head.

"My mother was quicker witted than any woman I've ever met. I learnt what women are like at her knee. Women will say things to you that you would deck a man in the street for. And they know it, that's why they say it. All women, your mother, every woman I've ever met, has tried to cut me in two with her words. I learned to be sharper than them with my tongue."

I think of myself. "Do you really believe all women are like that?"

He looks like he wishes he hadn't said that.

"Most. It's always a power struggle," he shrugs.

"That's true. There is always a push-pull."

"Exactly right. Why do people say it should be fifty-fifty, when everyone is just trying to win in the end?"