Sometimes when loving silently is just not enough

Recently I read, Leonardo da Vinci spent 12 long years just painting Mona Lisa's lips. I admit, though I'm no Mona Lisa look-alike (and thank God for that!), how I wish hubby dear had spent at least 12 whole minutes looking at me romantically... those without-batting-your-eyelids, eye-to-eye lost-in-thoughts kinda gazes, you know...
I admit, I am a sucker for romance... hand-holding during a movie, barefoot walks on the beach by sunset, flowers, 'I love you's, 'I miss you's... I dig all that. And I love being the centre of attention for hubby dear. Aw, c'mon! Just tell me who doesn't enjoy some bit of attention in varying degree, anyway? Initially, those compliments and surprise elements would come from him without any suggestion or prompting from my side. But when I realized even the 'I miss yous' have stopped coming my way for the last 2 months that we are away from each other,
I gave him strong hints on the phone about my 'very happening' life here in my hometown (actually it wasn't so happening, after all), while he was doing a course someplace far off from here. I used to make up stories about how I was part of a very hip and happening party at the swankiest of the recently opened clubs in the town, how I met a certain friend from school days over FB who still happens to be single and was showering me with compliments, etc (you get the picture, right?). Why? You need to do these kind of things to make the love of your life feel jealous at times and make him realize that the person he is married to, can do with a little attention and compliments from him now and then, and that a little reminder of love never hurt anyone, anyway. Us girls like to be courted and wooed all the time like in romantic novels and movies. But the truth is that guys seldom read the books we do, or for that matter, like to watch romantic chick-flicks.
But as expected, hubby dear 'pretended' to be all cool about his wife being the 'new talk-of-the-town' and being almost snatched away from under his nose. One fine evening things went a little further. I did not answer his call and texted him instead that I'd speak to him the next morning as it was very noisy at the friend's place where I was at that time, in the midst of a party. It was 11 p.m. then. He could not go on pretending any more. He texted me back a very jealous and irate message (reminding me that I am married now and have some social responsibilities, whatsoever). The next morning when we spoke, that is when I made him realize how I feel when he gets too busy with his work and life to even take out some time for me and give me his undivided attention. Thankfully, I have noticed a change in him now and a positive one at that.

Note to all: It is not enough to love someone with your whole heart and soul and never express it. Our hearts need to be nurtured with the love and attention they crave for. Or else, they will carry on their searches for that love and attention with the quiet tenacity of the bare branches that waited through a long brittle winter, for the filigree of leaves in spring.