Witty Bean

So much of what we know about love, we learn from movies and books. Dashing dudes on motorcycles and sultry femmes in their pastel best. A formula for romance, peppered with grand gestures and heady kisses. Ah, so magical! We yearn for those fireworks and try our hardest to replicate the same formula in our lives.  And yes, sometimes Love is Dazzling. Scary in its intensity, thrilling, all-consuming. Verses of Poetry waiting on our work desk. A dozen roses, simply because. He’s loud, he’s magnetic, and he takes your breath away. You walk around in a daze, drunk on this love.  But sometimes Love is subtle. Unexpressed with words but loud in its own way. He gets home Pizza and a tub of Chocolate ice cream. Surprise breakfasts delivered to your bed, buying Tampons with zero embarrassment. Fueling up your Car to save you time in the morning, seeking your agreement but respecting your ‘NO’s. He may forget to kiss you before leaving for work, but calls at noon ju...

Day 1. My hotel room has funny looking walls. They’re painted an odd color, but I could live with that. The journey has been exhausting, and I ache everywhere. So I lean back and doze off. Shortly after, a soft thrumming from the walls wakes me up. A neighbor, probably. My head bobs to the tempo. Mmmm. Catchy. A few hearty sips of my favorite shake. And before I know it, I’m asleep again. Day 2. The music is louder. The dark walls stare at me. I stretch my body when I feel it. But how? How could I have grown larger? In what 4 hours? I feel the first tendrils of fear. My tummy growls, needing, nagging. Oh well, a voice whispers from inside. A couple of sips won’t hurt. Right? Wrong! I balloon bigger and bigger until I hear a comical pop. Wait, is this a dream? Was my shake spiked? I wait a long minute and peek. Thankfully, I’m still intact. But twice as large as before. There are these weird bumps over me and goddamnit, how can I STILL BE RAVENOUS?! Day 4. I lose track...

I recently had an interesting assignment in one of my writing groups-"Pretend you’re the opposite gender. Write a honest and heartfelt letter to your spouse." It got me thinking really hard about the male (opposite gender) perspective and how he might perceive everyday situations.This is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy this “husband’s letter to his wife”. ------------------------------------------------------------ Hey Wifey, I am a man. Raised in a culture where I wasn’t encouraged to express my innermost thoughts and feelings without risking ridicule. I am supposed to be “Macho” and “Stoic” and bottle up deeper emotions unless they’re about Sports/Politics. If I wanted to profess love/grief/despair or something subtler, I am expected to use few words and fewer tears. For too long, Toxic Masculinity has dictated how I should act and talk. Well… no more. Because I’m bigger than that. And you deserve better. So my dear Wifey, here are some things you should k...