Dear Prudence: I want to kiss him on the lips and not through a piece of fabric.

Dear Prudence,

I have been married to a great guy for five and a half years. He is handsome, sexy, funny, and kind. It’s true that he has always been a little “prissy” about illnesses, but I never thought it was a real problem. However, during the pandemic, his terror about getting sick has reached new levels. For the last year, he has refused to take off his face mask, even when we are at home — just the two of us. This is true even now that he is fully vaccinated for the virus. He wears it to sleep, to do most of his bathroom activities, and, yes, even during lovemaking. To eat, he pulls it up to expose his mouth, and then quickly pulls it back down between bites. While he does not insist that I do the same, I can tell it bothers him that I don’t — especially because I have now started going maskless outside, per the CDC guidelines, and plan on restaurant dining inside soon for a girls’ night out.

A couple of possible explanations:

1) He is simply following David Hogg’s lead and feels the need to continue wearing his mask because the inconvenience of having to wear a mask is more than worth it to have people not think he’s a conservative.

2) His breath stinks and he doesn’t want to offend her.

3) She stinks, and he’s protecting himself (and others?)

4) He’s been a loyal follower of the C.C.P., I mean CDC, and will wear his face covering “until it’s safe. Safe means when 80–85% of the 7 billion people on planet earth are fully vaccinated.

5) He is trolling Trump supporters.

Should she just let him keep wearing it and not mask shame him?

What do you think?