Reuzeit Emporium: My Funny Valentine

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

My Funny Valentine

It was our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. We had no money and my husband was laid off from his job that winter. Our only income was his small unemployment check, but occasionally my he was able to pick up a little extra money plowing snow.

That winter we had a lot of snow. On the
eve of Valentine’s Day there had been a heavy snowfall so my husband had been out all Valentine’s Day plowing. I worked that day making a special dinner, his favorite cake, and creating a Valentine card. The dinner was in the oven, done, ready to eat, but no husband. I turned the oven down and waited and waited, but still no husband.

   Finally, I decided to eat by myself. I put the leftovers away, watched TV, and began to worry. Maybe there had been a terrible accident. Did he remember it was Valentine’s Day? Was he celebrating somewhere without me? I fluctuated between worried and angry.
   About nine that evening I heard a car pull up outside and minutes later a wet, cold, snow-covered man walked through the door. There were ice crystals on his eyebrows and eyelashes and he was so tired that
he could hardly remove his heavy winter clothes. He looked around and saw the candles, the table setting, the decorated cake, the homemade card, and said, “What’s for supper? I’m starved.”

I started to warm up the food, which wasn't as easy as it is today, no microwave ovens, they hadn’t been invented yet. I didn’t say much. It disappointed me that our very first Valentine’s Day as husband and wife had turned out as such a failure. He shoveled his food into his mouth to my silence. When he finished eating, he looked lovingly at the cake. “That cake sure looks good.” I cut off a large slice. “Aren’t you going to have some?” I was pouting. “No, I don’t feel like having any cake now.”

After he finished eating he said: “Happy Valentines Day, honey.” He gave me a long lingering kiss and pulled out an enormous Valentine card. “By the time I finished plowing the stores were just getting ready to close. This was the only card left……I want you to know I tried.”

Off and on throughout the years, this huge slightly strange Valentine card has occasionally reappeared on Valentine’s Day. I keep it in a special place. The card has survived through our many moves. It has yellowed with age, but it is a special reminder of a time long ago, when we were young, poor and very much in love.