Pairing bra straps to strapless bras

"How's your husband?" At first I thought she had stopped talking to me and had shifted her attention to someone's imaginary wife behind me. Unfortunately, she was talking to me. As I said the next words, I braced myself for the predictable pity that would follow. "I'm not married?" (place best fake smile ever and let my mind wander into the flowers). I don't know what it is about the single life, that married women seem to pity. Is it our glowing skin, our ability to go home to silence and tranquility, or it's the big sign on our foreheads that scream, "Pity me,pity me, you happy,married, judgemental woman. PITY ME!!"

She looked quietly at me with her most understanding eyes and said a soft "Oh" and then for good measure added. "I am sure he will come. Maybe when we meet again...." her voice trailed off pitifully. That was a bi* slap moment right there if ever there was one. I had not seen her in almost a decade and she was going to judge my life on the fact that I was single. The only thing that held me back was the fact that across the various tables at lunch, were my seniors in various positions. My reputation was on the line. For a few seconds I wished her all the ill will in the world. Every imaginable evil I could conjure up without annoying karma.

"So what do you do with yourself after work?" Oh, how my thoughts did wander at that moment. "Alot more than you'd expect" I thought and smiled before I said "I pair my bras with missing bra straps." Blank look..... "You see I have these bras with removable bra straps so sometimes when I throw them in the drawer, they separate." More blank look. I smiled, sighed like this child doesn't seem to understand what I was saying and said as slowly as I could master. "It's like when socks become uncoupled. Sometimes bras do the same thing and the bras get misplaced from their straps. No one wants to walk around with a black bra with white straps. Its very unsightly. And Lord knows I could never get a husband that way." That story shut her up quite rightly. Let's see her go tell her other married friends about her sad, single former what-not. I turned around and left her to her thoughts.

Did I treat it rather harshly? Maybe. But it does get tiresome when people act like singlehood is a disease that should be eradicated like polio. Many married women seem to carry their single friends like a burden of love. Hooking them up with all their single friends, their husbands' bachelor friends, mentioning it to their mothers and putting their single friends' lives on prayer requests at their bible study group and in all night prayer chains. I am sure they believe that marriage is a blast and then some. And when we get there, we shall join in the crusade to eradicate "The Spinsterhood Disease" across the corners of the world.

Until then however, I shall continue to arrange my underwear drawer, eat salads infront of the TV, go to work, jog, plan for holidays, visit my relatives and all those other things that many married women think we can't do all our lonely selves. Do I want to get married? Of course. Some day. But I can wait for the right person while still living my life.