When we first met he was a step-father to two boys, 7 and 8 years of age. He was living common-law with their mother, a bright and pretty woman quite a bit younger than him. He'd had no previous intimate relationship, while hers had come asunder. Ten years after we had first become friends and neighbours they married. Those two young boys now have children of their own, and our friend is grandfather to boys the same age as their fathers were away back when we first moved into our then-new house.

He's been living alone for a decade, now. And he doesn't quite like it. He misses his wife. But she's someone else's wife now. She was adamant, she would not return once she'd finally left. He tried on a number of occasions to persuade her that he saw now how wrong he had been. Nothing worked, not when he was humble and pleaded for forgiveness, not when he held out the carrot of world travel to her; together, of course. She'd had more than enough humiliations visited upon her by her husband's philandering. It was as though he just couldn't help himself.

He's a very nice fellow and we value his friendship.

He told me once that despite his loneliness he has certain standards. He wouldn't look twice at any women who had 'sloven' written about her, nor one who wasn't blessed with an attractive facade. Any woman who was overweight would just automatically be discounted. And, he has discovered, a 'good woman' is a scarce commodity. At least any such woman who might be interested in a long-term relationship with him. Many might consider him a 'catch', since he has ample financial resources, looks young for his age, is very energetic, and represents altogether a neat bundle of masculinity. But no takers.

Not that he didn't try. We met a succession of woman, very attractive with professional demeanours, friendly and outgoing, through his loquacious introduction of them to us on occasion. He even lived with a few of them, both briefly and for a longer period; one woman even moved her furniture and other possessions into his house. Nothing seemed to work out. In the end, he decided to ease  his loneliness by bring a cat into his house to share his home, and he does dote on that cat.

In the succeeding years he's been on countless trips around the world. He now knows Europe quite well, and the Caribbean as well as the Middle East. He left yesterday for a ten-day trip to South Africa, talking animatedly about how he was looking forward to seeing Victoria Falls.