When Mike Rucker and his partner, John, moved in together, they purchased a sofa they affectionately named Miss Bee. “I didn’t just feel grown up buying this sofa, I felt sophisticated,” Mike wrote in his Modern Love essay. Miss Bee had low arms, wooden legs with brass wheels and a white denim slipcover. Miss Bee was not only a provider of comfort, but also the anchor of Mike and John’s home life. For our season premiere, we listen to Mike’s story about the process of saying goodbye to Miss Bee — and the role she played for him in grieving John’s death. Then, Mike joins our host, Anna Martin, in the studio. He reflects on some of the other physical objects that continue to keep John alive for him. Modern Love is back for the summer: For the next 10 weeks, we’ll be releasing episodes about love in all its messy, complicated forms — including stories about star-crossed lovers in their 60s, the best nanny in all of New York City and an adoptee who overturns her assumptions about her mother. New episodes drop on Wednesday afternoons.
[theme music]
Anna Martin: From The New York Times,
I'm Anna Martin.
This is Modern Love.
And I got to tell you,
I am in a really great mood — a really good mood
because today, we're kicking off a whole new season of the show.
And you're going to meet some incredible people,
like star–crossed lovers in their 60s —
Speaker: I basically hadn't dated in 25 years.
So I'm, like, really rusty.
Anna Martin: A daughter on the brink of discovering the truth
Speaker: And he found a file that was labeled,
Yvonne's Adoption.
Anna Martin: A boyfriend who really messed up and knows it
Speaker: [SPEAKING SPANISH] which means this is a mistake.
Anna Martin: And the very best nanny in all of New York City.
Speaker: What was your popular dinner that I would make you all the time?
Speaker: Spaghetti.
Speaker: Spaghetti and meatballs, and what would we listen to when we ate?