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"Three writers tackle the romantic significance of a seemingly mundane toiletry.\nPinterestFacebookA brush with love.\n1.\nAlthough a diamond has become associated with the highest level of commitment in a relationship, there is another, more modest symbol that deserves attention: the toothbrush.\nBecause it&amp;#39;s this object that symbolizes the first step. You know what I&amp;#39;m talking about: how after that third or fourth sleepover, you begin to wonder if those nights are going to become a regular thing. Casually, one of you suggests, &amp;quot;You know, if you&amp;#39;d like to bring a toothbrush over\u2026&amp;quot; Or, better, one is purchased and stored for the right time: &amp;quot;Hey, I might have an extra if you want it.&amp;quot;\nWhenever the nostalgia for old relationships hits, those are the moments I think of: lying awake in a somewhat familiar bed, knowing the girl beside me has just hinted that she wants more than a fling&amp;#8212;the first act of showing our cards, a brief vulnerability bundled into the gifting of a four-dollar piece of plastic.\nBut even now, married, years since my last date, I still discover sentiment in that humble tool: My wife recently took a trip to visit some friends, and I stayed home. As I washed up before bed that first night, I couldn&amp;#39;t help but notice mine tilted there all by itself. It looked sad and lonely, a little pathetic. Almost like a drunk leaning against a lamppost. I could tell that it was eager for its companion to come home.\n&amp;#8212;Ben Cake\n2.\nTo be fair, he started it.\nWaking up in his apartment one morning, my mouth felt particularly grimy, a feeling I&amp;#39;d have to endure the hour-long trip home.\n&amp;quot;No worries, I got you some Listerine,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I&amp;#39;ll have to get you a toothbrush too.&amp;quot;\nWe&amp;#39;re told this gift of a small plastic rod with bristles means &amp;quot;I see a future with you.&amp;quot; I don&amp;#39;t know if it really means that, but I did want to reciprocate the clean-mouth courtesy to someone I cared for. I set out to buy him a toothbrush.\nGiven the cultural implications of said purchase and my dating history (checkered at best), heading to the drugstore to buy my first toothbrush for another person didn&amp;#39;t scare me. I searched for one in his favorite color (green), and Goldilocks-ed my way through the aisle. Some were too big, too many gadgets; some too small, too cheap&amp;#8212;he was worth more than some lame, generic instrument. Then I found the perfect one, ridged blue-and-white bristles on a lime green frame.\nThat weekend, he stayed over. &amp;quot;I got you a toothbrush,&amp;quot; I said sheepishly. He smiled big and kissed me. &amp;quot;You are so sweet!&amp;quot; he said, and kissed me again. He likes when we brush our teeth together.\nNow, opening my medicine cabinet, I see this bristled reminder and smile. I don&amp;#39;t know what the cultural implications of that are. I just like knowing that, even in some small way, he&amp;#39;s there.\n&amp;#8212;Elyssa Goodman\n3.\nAccording to The 5 Love Languages, the ways people express affection are: quality time, words of affirmation, physical touch, giving gifts, and acts of service.\nMy dad, the pediatric dentist, adheres to the last two. That means every time I see him, he gives me a bag of toothbrushes benevolently embezzled from his practice.\n&amp;quot;Use them well,&amp;quot; he advises earnestly, which I never really understand. Maybe he means &amp;quot;often.&amp;quot; Or maybe it&amp;#39;s just something he says.\nRegardless, I always appreciate the gesture and its underlying message: &amp;quot;I&amp;#39;m not sure how else to say this, but I really love you.&amp;quot;\nThose toothbrushes&amp;#39; initial significance evolves when I give one to a girl who makes the rather questionable, rather surprising decision to sleep at my apartment.\nConvincing her to stay over is a weakness. Once she&amp;#39;s there, however, I can exemplify two of my greatest strengths: hospitality and oral hygiene.\n&amp;quot;Welcome! I&amp;#39;m happy to offer you a bed for the evening\u2026along with a brand-new Colgate 360 equipped with interdental bristles and a cleaning tip! Why, take any color you please!&amp;quot;\nGiving her a toothbrush is the least I could do, considering I have enough to last till I&amp;#39;m 40.\n&amp;quot;Use it well!&amp;quot; I call eagerly as she scurries, equally eagerly, out the door in the morning.\nWhat am I even talking about?\n&amp;#8212;Ben Kassoy\nAny toothbrush stories of your own to share? What do toothbrushes say about your relationship? Let me know below."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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