Love Outside The Box

I was walking back from my lunch break at work today. The sun was shining, the ground beneath my feet was littered with colored fall leaves, the wind blew just sharp enough for me to enjoy the comfort of my sweater vest and just soft enough for me to smile at it tugging at my hair.

Two men walked down the hill in front of me. One tripped and stumbled off the sidewalk. I smiled as his friend reached out and caught his arm before he could fall and then watched him rib his friend good naturedly on how goofy he looked falling off the curb.

They strode on turning to chat at each other along the way then the one who had stumbled reached over and ran a loving hand across and down the other mans back.

How nice, I thought. They obviously care deeply for each other.

My foot crunched down on a brittle pile of leaves and the one who had stroked the other guys back turned sharply at the noise and gave me a quick look.

He stepped further away from the other guy and assumed a more macho walk.

How sad, I thought. That we still live in a time where loving affection for another is smiled or frowned upon depending on the gender.

That we aren't fully free to be who we are without fear of reprisal.

The sunshine dimmed a bit for me and I shuffled back to work with a moody heart.