Real Valentine Candy
A tall, lean bald man sitting ahead of me on the plane has the most beautiful eyes, almost like a drawing of eyes, perfect V-shapes from the sides with glowing violet-blue irises warm with sympathic wit. Next to him, his plump wife with Mixmaster brown hair flying everywhere, searches clumsily for her coat. As they leave, he helps her into it and stands back to let her pass.
He said, "I love you, my sweetheart."
She says, "Did you take your vitamins?"
At the grocery store, a freckled-face young mom pushes a cart full of kids and a Valentine cake. A young dad in a grey business suit goes through the check out stand with a gallon of two percent and a package of Huggies, size four. It's five o'clock and the light outside is grey at the end of the day. The houses we pass on the way home are warm with evening light and the smells of dinner.
She says, "Hey, you guys, get in your carseats."
They say, "I hate the carseat," and jump into the way-back with the dog.
A widow waits in line with her box of cereal on the way home from work. Her neighbor's six-year-old shows up with sugar cookies and comes in to tell her about all the "Valentimes" he got and and how they're going to get a dog, this summer, when they can train it to go outside.
He says, "How're you doing, Mrs. Richins?"
She says, "I'm fine, honey, how are your mom and dad?"
At the pancake house, two old friends are preparing to leave. They wear matching beige car coats and their grey hair bunches around their faces in matching crimped styles. Their purses are clutched up close as they take a moment to take stock, making sure they haven't left anything. They've eaten here once a week for a long time. It's their favorite restaurant.
She says, "'Did you leave your scarf?"
She says, "I sure like their biscuits."
A father calls his son to find out if he got the job. He remembers when he was six months out of college and nothing had come up yet. They had a baby boy, their first, and they were living in her parents' basement. He sent letters everywhere and he kept hearing back: "Position filled" or "We really liked your resume but we gave the job to someone from upstairs" or "We needed a little more experience."
He says, "You want to shoot some hoops?"
He says, "I heard from the place in Minnesota, Dad. They want me to move right away!"
We're out in the garage cleaning. My husband isn't exactly a fanatic for having things organized but it seems like the mood strikes sometimes when I least expect and I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, someday it would be nice to park the car under a roof and not have to get the middle of my shirts all wet scraping snow off the windshield. But we've been after it all Saturday morning.
I say, "Kiss me, baby, make my hair stand on end.
He says, "Here, grab the other end of this box. Be careful, it's heavy, don't drop it"
The card says, "You are my Helen of Troy, my Paris, my trip to the moon,
My shining star, my dreams come true.
You are my rainbow, my silver and gold, my heart, my soul.
You are my everyday and my future.
I will love you forever."
He said, "I love you, my sweetheart."
She says, "Did you take your vitamins?"
At the grocery store, a freckled-face young mom pushes a cart full of kids and a Valentine cake. A young dad in a grey business suit goes through the check out stand with a gallon of two percent and a package of Huggies, size four. It's five o'clock and the light outside is grey at the end of the day. The houses we pass on the way home are warm with evening light and the smells of dinner.
She says, "Hey, you guys, get in your carseats."
They say, "I hate the carseat," and jump into the way-back with the dog.
A widow waits in line with her box of cereal on the way home from work. Her neighbor's six-year-old shows up with sugar cookies and comes in to tell her about all the "Valentimes" he got and and how they're going to get a dog, this summer, when they can train it to go outside.
He says, "How're you doing, Mrs. Richins?"
She says, "I'm fine, honey, how are your mom and dad?"
At the pancake house, two old friends are preparing to leave. They wear matching beige car coats and their grey hair bunches around their faces in matching crimped styles. Their purses are clutched up close as they take a moment to take stock, making sure they haven't left anything. They've eaten here once a week for a long time. It's their favorite restaurant.
She says, "'Did you leave your scarf?"
She says, "I sure like their biscuits."
A father calls his son to find out if he got the job. He remembers when he was six months out of college and nothing had come up yet. They had a baby boy, their first, and they were living in her parents' basement. He sent letters everywhere and he kept hearing back: "Position filled" or "We really liked your resume but we gave the job to someone from upstairs" or "We needed a little more experience."
He says, "You want to shoot some hoops?"
He says, "I heard from the place in Minnesota, Dad. They want me to move right away!"
We're out in the garage cleaning. My husband isn't exactly a fanatic for having things organized but it seems like the mood strikes sometimes when I least expect and I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, someday it would be nice to park the car under a roof and not have to get the middle of my shirts all wet scraping snow off the windshield. But we've been after it all Saturday morning.
I say, "Kiss me, baby, make my hair stand on end.
He says, "Here, grab the other end of this box. Be careful, it's heavy, don't drop it"
The card says, "You are my Helen of Troy, my Paris, my trip to the moon,
My shining star, my dreams come true.
You are my rainbow, my silver and gold, my heart, my soul.
You are my everyday and my future.
I will love you forever."
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