Best Valentine

By Emly Forrest

Okay, forget the hearts and flowers. Sometimes, what we really want is something that truly comes from the heart. I’m thinking of one year in particular that He Who Shares My Space really came through. It had been a horrible winter for us leading up to Valentine’s Day. We’d just moved to a new place, had no friends or family there, had new jobs we were unsure about and had a new house that didn’t really feel like home yet.

The day before Valentine’s Day, we came home from work to find that someone had broken into our home and stolen everything that had any value at all (and some stuff that had value only to us). My husband insisted that we both call in sick the next day (bold move for two newbies on the job). He greeted me in bed (before I was fully awake) with mimosas and croissants, a new compact DVD player, and three of our favorite romantic movies. We spent the day getting sloshed, staying in bed and watching the movies. It helped us forget the loss of our stuff. And confirmed to me that the man I’d chosen to spend my life with was always going to make me feel loved and protected.

That was years ago. I don’t even remember what we lost in the break-in. But I do remember how wonderful that Valentine’s Day was. And how much I loved my husband. And still do

Emly Forrest is the author of The Last Resort (2010) and Irish Ice (Coming in March 2011), both available at www.lyricalpress.com. Please visit her website at www.emlyforrest.com or contact her at emlyforrest@gmail.com.