A New Friend

”Boy, you sure look like you had a rough day.” The old man behind the counter says to me as I pull out a crumbled batch of roses from my pocket and shove all of them into the trash bin near the front, tears pooling in my eyes.

“I’m fine. I’m just here to return something.” I mutter as I throw a box of chocolates down on the counter.

“Of course. Do you have your receipt?” He says to me.

I pull it out of my wallet and slam it on the counter.

He returns my money and I head for the door before he stops me.

“Hey son, why don’t you take one of the chocolate bars on display over there. On the house. It looks like you had a bad day.” He says to me.

I nod in response to his friendly gesture and grab myself a chocolate bar and head to the door once more.

”Well I don’t want to send you home crying. It’s cold out there, and it’s warm in here. You want to sit behind the counter with me?” He gestures to a table behind the counter.

I sigh before heading to the counter. “Thank you sir.” I mutter.

He opens the door to the counter and pulls out a chair for me to sit. I take a seat at the table, rub my eyes with my hands and begin opening my chocolate bar. I break off a small piece of it and throw it in my mouth.

“How is it?” He asks. “Those are very special to me.”

I look at him confused. “It tastes good to me. I can see why it’s so special.” I chuckle softly.

The old man goes to the front door to flip the sign around to let everyone know the shop is now closed, then takes a seat across from me and places a box of tissues in front of me.

”I’m ready to listen when you’re ready to talk.” He smiles.

I shake my head and turn my face away to not let him see me cry.

”Come on, you don’t actually want to see me cry, do you?” I say I’m embarrassment. “I’m a grown man.”

”I don’t mind if you cry. It looks like you need to cry.” He says in a sincere voice.

”Look old man. I just came here to return that stupid box of chocolates! I’m having the worst Valentine’s Day ever! What is there to talk about? Don’t you have a wife at home to get to and give her some of your chocolates?” I blow up, throwing my chocolate bar down as it breaks along the lines, sending pieces of chocolate flying to the floor.

The old man shakes his head while his eyes become glassy and his smile drops to a frown. “Would you like to meet my wife?” He asks me.

”Sir, I’m really sorry I made you cry. I can clean it up-“

”Would you like to meet my wife?” He asks once more. Dabbing his eyes with the tissues he placed on the table.

I nod and help him to his feet. I’ve caused him enough trouble tonight already and want to make the rest of his night easier.

I let him hang onto my arm as he escorts me to another room in the back of the store. It looks like a living room. Above the TV there’s a picture of a young man in a tux with his arm around a beautiful woman in a white gown. The two of time are smiling at each other and the man has a lipstick stain on his face that matches the lipstick on the woman’s lips.

”Please, take a seat. Be my guest.” He smiles, patting the couch for me.

I take a seat on the couch as the man goes to fetch his wife. I look around and see pictures of the woman everywhere and framed candy wrappers on the walls. “Wow. He sure likes candy, Huh?” I say quietly to myself.

”Here she is.” He says to me, holding a vase.

I gasp when I realize. “Sir! I’m so sorry for what I said earlier! I had no idea-“

He stops me and smiles. “It’s alright. I know you didn’t know. But I want you to look at what is written here.” He points to a small golden plaque on the vase. It reads “Laura Ambers. My beloved wife. May 21st, 1954 - February 14th, 2009”

My hands drop to my lap as I start crying.

The old man places his hand on my back and hands me a tissue.

”I know. I know. It’s sad. I miss her everyday. She was the love of my life. And every year on Valentine’s Day, I sell her favorite chocolate. The kind we shared when we first met at this candy shop.” He tells me. I look up and see him smiling through his tears.

”What chocolate is that?” I ask him, my vision completely distorted by my tears.

He smiles and holds out something while wiping tears from my eyes with a tissue so I could see what it was. It was the wrapper to the chocolate bar I had been eating at the table, and there were two pieces of chocolate left.

I broke them apart and handed the second one to him. “We can share. In honor of Laura.”

He smiles and takes it and we both bite into our chocolates.

I put my hand in my pocket and am met with a small, sharp pain. I pull my hand out and find I still had one rose in my pocket. I unbend the stem and smile before handing it to the old man. “For Laura.” I smile shyly.

He takes it from me and turns to his wife. “Laura my dear. Happy Valentine’s Day. I miss you everyday, but just know, I’m glad I get to spend it with you.” He turns to me and places his hand over mine. “And I’m happy to spend it with you. My new friend.”