Interview with My Husband (Debating Whether Or Not It’s Okay for a Man to Cry)

For the first time ever, my husband is going to make an appearance on this blog!  Ready to meet him?  Here he is…

My husband who refuses to show his face. Could it be because he’s crying and doesn’t want anyone to know?

Ruth: Don’t be shy.  Take off your hood and show everyone how good looking you are, sweetie.

Husband: I’m not shy.  I’m embarrassed.

Ruth: Why?

Husband: Because of what I read in Mitch’s Win.

Ruth: But I thought you said the story had some good lessons.

Husband:  Yeah.  Lessons in how not to be a real man.  By the way, I am NOT crying.  I am ashamed my wife’s favorite character in Mitch’s Win is a big sissy.

Ruth: A big sissy?

Husband: Yeah.  Mitch’s brother, Boaz.  He’s super annoying because all he did was cry.  I keep telling you, men don’t cry.

Ruth: Nonsense.  Men do cry.

Husband: I’m a man.  I know how men are.  And they don’t cry.  Ever.

Ruth: Sure, they do.  They can feel sad just like women do.

Boaz cries again and again and again…

Husband: *sighs* You know nothing about men.  There’s a code among us.  Even if we have feel sad, we know better than to show it.  Boaz took it to the extreme.  I mean, just about every single scene had him sobbing like a little girl.  The book – Mitch’s Win – itself was okay.  All you need to do it get rid of Boaz.  I liked Mitch.  I liked Greg.  I even like the scummy Abe.  Abe might have been a bad guy, but at least he didn’t cry all the time.  I swear, after a while, I was hoping one of the other characters was going to off Boaz just to put him out of his misery…and mine.  It was painful to read how wimpy he was.

Ruth: First of all, Boaz doesn’t even look like that.  Second, Boaz watched his wife die in childbirth.  He turned to alcohol to dull the pain.  Then he became an alcoholic.

Husband: Even if he was an alcoholic, I don’t see why he needs to cry.

Ruth: Different personality types will respond to loss and alcohol dependence in different ways.

Husband: I hate it when you put on your Psychology hat.

Ruth: It’s the truth.  People react to situations differently.  Boaz happens to be more sensitive to things than Mitch is.

Husband: I like Mitch.  He was a real man.

Ruth: *groans* Mitch also didn’t lose a wife.

Husband: But this book begins two years after she died.  Two years!

Ruth: Some people stay in pain longer than others.  And quite frankly, alcohol would delay any healing.

How my husband envisions Boaz’s book.

Husband: Good grief.  I wish you never got your Psychology degree.  All you ever do is examine people and why they say or do the things they do.  Sometimes you just got to call a spade a spade.  Boaz is a crybaby.  His book shouldn’t be called “Boaz’s Wager”.  It should be called “Boaz Weeps Again” because we all know this guy is going to see a butterfly flutter across the prairie and cry about it.

Ruth: Oh come on.  He is happy at the end of Mitch’s Win.  He’s no longer drinking and has worked through the past.

Husband: I refuse to believe it.  The guy will cry buckets of tears in his own book.  *shudders*

Ruth: I noticed you entered the giveaway Janet Syas Nitsick and I are running.

Husband: Yes, I did.  I want some flowers or the bath set.  Mother’s Day is coming up in May and I don’t feel like shopping to get you a gift.  Oh wait.  Did I just say that last part aloud?

Ruth: Yes, you did.  And just wait.  I’ll give you something to cry about when we’re done with this interview, pal.

Husband: See what I put up with as Ruth’s husband?

Ruth: Anyway, you can’t win the giveaway because you’re my husband.  It’d be a conflict of interest.

Husband: Conflict of interest….or discrimination?

Ruth: *laughs* Discrimination?

Husband: You have something against men who don’t cry.

Ruth: *rolls eyes* Anyway, I wanted to share your answers with everyone.

Husband: And you wonder why I’m wearing the hood to conceal my identity?

Ruth: *ignores husband* The first question asked in the giveaway is “In Lockets and Lanterns, Red is keeping a secret from his wife.  What do you think the secret is?”  Your answer: “Boaz taught Red that it’s okay for a man to cry, and Red is too ashamed to admit this to his wife.”

Husband: I’d be ashamed, too, if I was Red.  I hope that secret never gets out.  I’d hate for other men to end up like Boaz.

Ruth: And the second question is, “Of all the books you’ve read by Ruth Ann Nordin, which heroine would you be and why?” Your answer: “I wouldn’t be any of them.  I’m a dude.”

Husband: Well, it’s true.

Ruth: Is there anything else you wish to say before we end this interview?

Husband.  Yes, there is.  Someone please tell Boaz to stop crying.  It’s embarrassing to men everywhere.

Ruth: That’s it for this interview.  I have a feeling Boaz will want to come on to give his rebuttal soon.  ;)

Husband: If he does, I hope he brings a handkerchief.  He’ll be sobbing through the whole thing.

Oldest son steps in to say: I didn’t laugh through this entire interview.  I didn’t cry either. Men who cry are babies.

***

Credits for pictures used in this post:

image used for Husband: © Alexey Kovalchuk | Dreamstime.com

image used for a crying Boaz: © Ninamalyna | Dreamstime.com

image used for mock cover of “Boaz Weeps Again”: © Corolanty | Dreamstime.com