Valentine's Day Nostalgia

Charlie set up room for one of his favorite dates. It seemed silly, a man liking to celebrate Valentine’s Day. He knew the “holiday” was a bit of a racket, with hearts and chocolate and stuffed bears taking over, but he liked the idea behind it. Being able to show the person you love extra love you have for them makes up for the days and moments in the past years that you may have forgotten to.

So, he planned the entire evening out, just how it was done every year since their first Valentine’s Day. It was a sort of nostalgic reminder of how their relationship was in the beginning compared to where they were every year.

The kids out with their grandparents for a bit, going on some errands and keeping them company. The boy, Michael, came first. They had been trying to have a baby for a while, and almost gave up until Michael came out. A spitting image of Charlie. Melissa came three years later, almost identical to her mom. Samantha was one of the best moms he had ever met and his family was Charlie’s entire life. Everything he did was for them, and he never would want it to be any other way.

He went into the kitchen to grab mismatched plates and forks, going to the living room coffee table and laid out the tableware on the corner, so they could both face the TV. Next were napkins, he folded them in half and placed them to the left side of the plate; gently, he placed the fork on top. His attempt at being fancy made him chuckle as he put the Red Solo cup filled with boxed wine at the top of the plate.

Being so young, they lived the beginning of their relationship as the stereotypical broke 20-somethings. No dining room table to sit and eat at. They never ate out to try to save money. The only dishware they had was the ones they piece-parted from thrift shops. But none of that ever bothered them. Over the years, money became less and less of a problem, as they were both lucky with having decent-paying jobs. Now, the house was big and beautiful. A modest cape cod-style home that was cozy for four people. They had sets of tableware, a dinning table was filled with family at holidays and special events, and they were able to give their kids a beautiful life.

Out came the containers of Chinese food straight from their favorite place in town. Charlie ordered all of their favorite foods. Pork dumplings, egg rolls, wonton soup, and shrimp fried rice (with egg). He even got the fried wonton strips and never could forgot the fortune cookies. Their first Valentine’s Day, her fortune read “The love of your life is right in front of your eyes.” That night was their first kiss… among other things.

The feast was only one of the best parts of the day. When they were done, they passed the only gifts the other ever wanted to get: the cheesiest Valentine’s Day-themed gift they could find. Although they both believe it was a made-up “holiday,” they still took any chance they could to truly spend quality time. Plus, they both had the same sense of humor. They shared lots of things together, their humor, passions, hobbies, thoughts, opinions, beliefs. Fighting never really happened, or at least never stuck. They always understood what the other was saying or thinking and it always mended things faster than they could start.

This year, Charlie got those chalky candy hearts. The container was a realistic-shaped heart and the hearts were all personalized to say “I heart you.” But the word “heart” was replaced with a picture of a realistic heart. Walking down the aisle of CVS, he immediately knew that was the gift and was eager to bring that home for dinner. The first year, he had just gotten a stuffed bear that said “You are BEARY special” on the stomach. That bear still sat on her nightstand to this day. Samantha gave him a six-pack of his favorite bear in a case that had said “Six ways that I love you.” She even dropped in those corny love coupons with things like “one free backrub” or “you get to pick a movie and I won’t complain.”

Charlie had a little bit more of a hop in his step as he got the last details together. A glass beer bottle with one fake tulip in it, her favorite flower. A candle in banana nut muffin, the only candle she had. The TV set to Greys Anatomy, their favorite show. Finally, the gifts on the table, so they can laugh and joke about them. He put on a pair of black basketball shirts and his favorite t-shirt, freshly out of the wash. The only thing he had to do was sit down on the floor. So he made sure to grab a pillow before taking a seat at the coffee table.

He turned to his left with the biggest smile on his face. He thought long about their past. Their relationship saw all the major milestones of a human. College graduations, moving into their first apartment together, an engagement, a wedding, children. Love and loss, laughing and crying, anger and happiness all flowed through their relationship throughout the years. They both knew they were soulmates from the first day, and their whirlwind relationship never lost its beautiful soul. Thank you for having been in my life and making it so much better. I love you so much Samantha. I will never stop loving you and having love for you.” Charlie picked up a frame of all their best moments. A picture of the family of four at the beach, Samantha pregnant with Michael, Charlie graduating from college. In the middle was their wedding day. Samantha had styled her long brown hair was pulled back and filled with loose curls. Her wedding dress was the whitest color he had every seen. It was simply and flowed freely, wrapping her frame beautifully. Charlie was picking her up and they both looked into each other’s eyes. That memory was almost burned in his mind, and he could still feel that exact feeling.

“I miss you Samantha and I can’t wait to see you again one day.” He glanced up at her urn on the shelf against the wall and smiled. The first Valentine’s Day without her was the hardest, but Charlie knew that in a way, she was still there with him. At that moment Michael and Melissa walked in followed by Samantha’s parents. The kids chatted with their dad, recounting the day as they ran over to give Charlie hugs and sit down at the coffee table. His in-laws followed suit, dropping bags on the kitchen counter filled with the kid’s findings. They sat down on the couch next to the table and chatted with everyone. They were just as much his parents as they were his, always having lived close allowed for a strong bond between them as well as the kids. Melissa got everyone’s attention and raised her cup filled with grape juice. “I just wanted all of you to know, I love you BEARY much!”