There’s obviously no substitute for talking with your spouse about sex, but Sexy Corte and I have found a simple and cute way to communicate without words: a reversible stuffed octopus. Usually the octopus sits on our dresser smiling, but during the down part of Sexy Corte’s cycle she turns the octopus inside-out to let me know that she isn’t feeling receptive to sexual advances. We still talk, of course, but the stuffy helps us baseline.

Sexy Corte wants me to get the octopus a little hat to wear when she’s feeling really horny.