Fathers, golf, love

My father would have adored Rick2 and would have thoroughly approved of our marriage. Both are ardent golfers and I can picture them putting their clubs in the car and toddling off to the golf course. I imagine Rick2 getting him as involved in using hickory clubs as Rick2. 

I can see them dressed up in the 1920s, 1930s clothes that dedicated hickory players wear driving off together while my stepmom and I go eat at some nice restaurant. 

Of course that's not possible. My father died in 1974 and my stepmom ten years ago.

It wouldn't be just golf that would cause my dad and husband to bond. My father would love how well my husband treats me and how successful our marriage is. He would have loved that although my life before marrying Rick2 was a very happy one, after our marriage it was even better, something I never thought possible before it happened.

I did not realize until after my father died, that he didn't like Rick1, my first husband. My stepmom told me that when we visited they would bite their tongues about Rick1 and how he treated me. Things like sending me out to walk the dog in freezing temperatures and saying I must have taken my stupid pill for all sorts of infringements including a bad bridge play were just two of many examples she gave.

They liked Rick1 even less as we divorced but thought I was better off without him.

I appreciate their lack of interference and try to copy their hands off approach with my daughter and step-daughter. If we can't do or say something helpful, do or say nothing.

My father and Rick2 playing golf together will remain a fantasy, sadly, but then again, I've had these two lovable men in my life just not at the same time.