Several things going on here, and they all blend together.

• She really, really thinks she’s ugly. Nothing debilitating I guess, but enough to scare me off talking about it.

• Apparently braces are a Filipino thing, for young girls. She’s 54. Being Asian, she looks more like 40, still…

• I think the above stems from the vanity of showing, “I’m rich enough to afford dental care and braces make me look young.”

• Her teeth are perfect. When we started dating I asked how much longer she would have to wear them (bottom teeth only). She laughed her ass off like I was so silly! Said it was a fashion thing.

• She’s very fashionable, so I feel like mentioning the thing would be a direct assault on her self esteem. No problem saying this or that does or doesn’t look good on her, but this feels way more personal than talking about a dress.

• Now that we’ve been together a couple of years, I’m scared shitless she will think I found her ugly this whole time. Despite the fact I worship the ground she walks on. Daily.

• No clue on the cost and we’re broke ATM. Maybe wait till I have a good job again?

Before anyone says it, of course we can speak freely to one another, just a sticky case for the reasons outlined. I feel removing her braces is the one thing she could do to be more attractive, and that would be a pretty (heh) big deal. We both put in the effort to be attractive to one another, that’s no big deal. But this one thing feels out-of-bounds, verboten.

Can’t answer till tomorrow. She’s off work in a minute.