A KISS TO SHOCK

Every other day, I get my fresh vegetables from the market a few blocks away and have become quite pally with the vendor, a woman in her early 50s I imagine. She is a small petite woman and extremely friendly.

So today my significant other had accompanied me on his way to work because he needed to buy some stuff. He walked with me to the vegetable stall before giving me a kiss on the lips and headed off. As I turned, the vendor just stood looking at me as if she had seen a ghost. Then in a mix of broken English and colloquial tongue, she asked if that was my husband. I nodded.

Her next question, how long had we been married? Over 20 years I said.

Then she spotted a curious look of surprise and shock. She then remarked 'Married for so long still kiss'.

Interestingly, she went on to declare proudly that she stopped kissing her husband many many years ago.

For me, it really comes naturally. We do it so often that we don't really notice if we are shocking the people around us. I guess that is just part of the conservative Asian society we live in. When it comes to open expression of affection, we really fall far behind. Not that we are competing or anything like that but the moment we stop expressing ourselves, we run the risk of habitually not taking the effort to demonstrate how we feel about our partners.

Having said that, there are cases when smooching goes on for like the longest time, usually between teens. But why do we bother? Why should we bother?

I read in the papers some weeks back about someone who wrote in complaining about the youths of today kissing on the train. Is it really a matter of being indecent or really, a matter of envy that the viewer ain't getting the same or had ever experienced the same thing.

I still smooch and I like it especially on those wet December nights in front of the telly and under the blankets. Kissing is a great show that the intimacy is alive. Invariably it is sometimes also a prelude to a sweaty workout. That usually depends on how much tongue is involved and the duration of the kiss. I have a weakness for tongue play - once it starts, it won't take long before I get out of my clothes.

Ultimately, the older you are as a couple and still enjoy it, the more likely that you're in a strong relationship. So pucker up!

Missus Singapore out!