Young Love
By Audrey W.
February 13th
The dishwater-blond boy sat at the kitchen table sorting through an open box of Valentines. With a list of his classmates’ names in front of him, the nine-year-old placed his favorite cards in a stack reserved for friends. The Valentines he considered duds were in another pile for the other kids and the class bully. He wouldn’t even bother with the rest, but the teacher had made it clear no one was to be left out.
After printing the names in the ‘to/from’ respectively and placing each Valentine in its own envelope with the recipient’s name also on the outside, the boy held up the one special card he’d set aside for her. She was the only girl in the class he didn’t consider goofy or giggly and he wanted her to know how much he liked her.
As he stared at the cartoon drawing of the white poodle in a pink glittery tutu on the Valentine card, the boy imagined a day in their life if the two were ever married.
He was an executive in a big company. After work, he came in the door with a briefcase in hand. Taking off his suit jacket, he laid it over the back of the couch and put his arms around his wife. She motioned for him to sit down while she brought him a cup of coffee. As they sat and talked, the phone rang. It was work calling him to come back for an important meeting. Stressed from too much paperwork already, he slammed the door behind him as he had to leave his wife and put in the fifth twelve-hour day in a row, just like his dad did so many times.
Snapping out of his
daydream, the boy decided he’d have to find another line of work if they really
did get married. An office job was
definitely out of the question.
He picked up the pen on
the table and carefully printed on the card, To: Joanne From: Roy, and drew a heart between their names.
I hope she likes me, too.
Roy gathered up the cards and placed them back in the box for safe keeping until the class Valentine party the following day. Smiling, he put Joanne’s on top. The boy sighed, carefully placing the lid back on the box. He didn’t know what the future held for sure, but with a girl like Joanne around, it could be pretty cool.
Joanne shuffled through the pile of Valentines on her bedroom floor. She was trying to find just the right one for a special boy in class, but none seemed good enough. She decided to pick the ones for the rest of her classmates first, starting with the least favorite. Maybe by the time she was to the better Valentine cards being the only ones left, the right one for him would be obvious.
The nine-year-old had five Valentines remaining when she eyed the one that was perfect. Staring at the cartoon drawing of the gray tabby kitten with a big red heart on its collar, the little girl imagined Valentines Day with the boy if they were married.
He came into the kitchen with a big heart-shaped box of chocolates. She was so excited; she pulled him by arm to the livingroom, where they both sat down on the couch. He placed the box of candy on her lap and she opened it, eyes wide at the assortment inside. Suddenly five extra hands reached in and grabbed pieces, leaving none behind for her. Joanne looked up from the empty box at their five children stuffing chocolate into their mouths.
The girl snapped out of her daydream. If she and the boy
ever got married when they were older, she would have to make sure they agreed
on only having one kid. . .well, maybe two – a boy first, then a little
girl.
Picking the pen up off the floor, she wrote on the back of the kitten Valentine, To: Roy From: Joanne. She drew a heart between their names.
I hope he likes me as much as I like him.
The girl with the long brown hair sighed as she placed the card in a box on top of the others. She had no idea what the future held, but with a boy like Roy around, life could be pretty cool.
And the rest is history. . . :o)
Thanks
to Jill H. and Kenda for the beta reads! Happy Valentines Day!
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