The prettiest girl I ever dated had perfected the art of laughing without smiling so we broke up and I passed through the young man’s rite of passage of realizing that the important things about women aren’t things you can see.

When I was young I wanted the shapeliest woman in the world with jewel lips who understood demure seduction but since then I’ve learned that the best woman is one who is intrigued by sitting on the patio listening to Coltrane and talking about the rising stars as we all remove our veils.