The Nose (Fiction, Abt 2006)

She was beautiful but not in a conventional sense. The distance between her eyes was wider than that of the average woman, and her mouth, while hardly unattractive, drooped downward slightly, giving off the impression of a perpetual frown. Her shoulder length hair was straight, but looked like a hand could easily comb through it. But as I stood in line at the local IGA, what caused me to look more than once was her nose.

There were no classical elements to describe it. It didn't descend prominently to a sharp point, nor would you describe it, "as cute as a button." It wasn't aquiline like a Roman, nor was it broad like that of a Native African. It didn't conform, nor was it uniform to her face. It declined inward gracefully and at a distance greater than most women. The tactful would have called it, "prominent," while the cruel would have simply declared it a, "ski nose".

Those who first looked at her were struck by two incongruous views...her beauty and her salient nose. A common thought would then be, "She's pretty but would be even prettier if it weren't for that nose." But what they didn't realize is, the nose was what made her beauty what it was. Give her the nose of a movie star and she would cease to be anything more than another ordinary, attractive woman. Certainly not someone who a middle aged man would stare at and wish he were 20 years younger!

It was her nose, and as she looked at the objects she was scanning I couldn't help but stare at the middle of her face. It was beautiful. I wanted to reach out and touch it, to kiss it, but mainly to possess it. I felt a strong urge to just tell her how beautiful her nose was, but I knew she'd either think I was mad or that I was coming on to her, so I just stood there, staring, and looking away whenever she glanced in my direction.

Her nose suddenly reminded me of my beautiful wife Jennifer. When we met three years ago, she possessed (and still does) the most beautiful mouth I'd ever seen. She thought I was mad, how I'd just look at her and tell jokes, just to see her smile. I could get lost in that smile and sometimes she could even disrobe and I'd still only notice those wonderful lips.

Certainly the situation was different here. I love Jen, not just her mouth, but her mind, her kindness and what people generally refer to as body and soul. But this girl, I didn't love her, it wasn't about loving her...it was her nose...I was in love (at first sight) with her nose!

I continued to stare, for a brief moment I wished I'd had a camera. It would have been unthinkable, but I would have done it...I'd have snapped a shot of that glorious proboscis. But, alas, no camera; all I had was a few fleeting moments and my fallible memory. And so I stared; a long hard penetrating gaze that she must have subconsciously felt.

I remember her looking up, and I saw her mouth move but didn't hear the words, I was so lost in her nose's beauty. Finally it broke through,

"Sir, sir! $14.95...sir...?"

I shook my head and apologized, half-lying,

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was...ummm, thinking about something."

She didn't smile, just put out her hand while I placed a ten and a five dollar bill in it.

I can only guess that my face became red, and I quickly turned and made for the door. I stumbled near the exit and noticed that one of my shoe laces was untied. I put down the bag of groceries and bent over to tie the lace. I noticed the young lady with the nose walk over to a co-worker and speak in a low, confidential tone. I have exceptional hearing and could just make out her words,

"Did you see how that dirty old man was leering at me...like I'd ever!"

I picked up my bag without tying the lace and stumbled out the door.

"What a conceited little twist!" I rationalized. I have a woman 100 times better than her at home!

And indeed I do. I love Jen with a passion and monogamy that I never knew possible, And she has, in return fulfilled my every desire as a man. And yet, despite that deep promise and commitment between us,  I still find myself, weeks later, thinking about that nose!