You Show Me Yours...
Just posted another Advice Goddess column -- "A Breath Of Fresh Affair" -- a response to a woman who worries about her boyfriend's ethical issues (thanks to a discovery she made by snooping in his e-mail). An excerpt from my response:

You make noises about "authentic living," which sounds like one of those really cheesy regional magazines, but I think you mean living so what you do matches what you say you believe. Yet, here you are, somebody who demands fidelity, then gets together with Mr. Zipper Issues. You worry he's been unethical -- and what's a girl to do but violate his privacy in hopes of finding out? And then, upon discovering the guy had his hand in the booty jar, you did what any rational, fidelity-favoring girlfriend would: said absolutely nothing -- unless you count "Sign here, Honey!" as you went in with him to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house.

Some people are happiest knowing the whole truth -- except for any parts that would keep them from being able to live a nice comfortable lie. In France, they have the "cinq à sept" -- the five to seven -- slang for a time between work and dinner when people sneak off to see their lover. Sure, it goes against the way things are supposed to be, but it works for some -- the person gets what they're not getting at home, but without breaking up their home. Something similar goes on over here when the mob guy's wife asks, "Hi, Honey, what did you do at the office today?" The last thing she wants is the truth: "Oh, paperwork, some sales calls, then garrotted a guy and stuffed him in an oil drum."

The rest and comments are at this link.