Typical daily chores? Yes and no. These are my 'gifts of love' to my husband. He's a lucky man don't you think? I do, especially since I should have dumped him after our first Valentine's Day together 16 years ago.
It was 1995, our senior year, right at the end of an extremely successful boy's basketball season. I was a cheerleader and Ben was the star player of our state-ranked high school team. After years of being best friends, we had just crossed the threshold into 'more' with a first kiss just two weeks previous.
It was tricky because I really liked him 'in that way', but didn't want to scare him off with some psycho Valentine's display. I got him tape of Trisha Yearwood's single "I've Been Thinking About You", along with school sponsored pink and white carnations (meaning like and friendship) and a giant cookie baked by the home-ec class for a fundraiser. After receiving the flowers and cookies at school (he did the same for me except a RED carnation which meant 'love'!) he picked me up for the basketball game leaving my car at home. He would HAVE to take me home that night after the game, just as he had been doing for well over a month. I would then give him the tape. It was setting up to be the perfect first Valentine's.
The boy's team had a win that Tuesday night at home. It was a wonderful night and I was so excited to see Ben. There was pizza for the cheerleaders afterwards sponsored by a local pervert, I mean sponsor. After eating a few pieces I went to the restroom to freshen up my hair and make-up hoping to have the star of the basketball team mess it up soon after. I can say that now, we're married.
When I emerged in a cloud of hairspray, some of the basketball players (waiting on their own girlfriends) were polishing off the cheerleaders' pizza, but Ben was not with them. I figured he was down in the gym waiting. But when I got there, the only souls there were the janitors cleaning up after the sold-out crowd. I asked, but no one had seen Ben. Blah, blah, blah, fast forward about 15 minutes and I did the unthinkable, I called his house from the weight room phone. It's unthinkable because no amount of perfumed hairspray can beat the stench of a high school weight room.
When his Mom answered, in almost a chipper voice, she told me Ben had been at home for about 10 minutes (she wasn't a big fan of me). When he got on the line he said he thought I had gotten a ride and he was tired. 'Good night, see ya tomorrow.' Click. He didn't even offer to come back and get me... in fact, he didn't even wait for me to respond at all. WHAT?!?!
Thank goodness my favorite teacher who lived down the road from my house, was just leaving and gave me a lift. I loved that guy. 'Hot Rod', as we called him, let me bawl my eyes out about my botched Valentine's Day as his extremely patient 5 year old whispered from the backseat... "Daddy, can we go home now?"
I sent the tape with a friend to drop off at Ben's house, thinking it would make him feel bad. He was a teenage boy though, which meant he had no clue. He didn't call that night. He made no apologies the next day. In fact, 16 years later he still smirks and rolls his eyes about it.
I guess he knew something I didn't at that point. If he had gotten all sweet on me that first Valentine's Day, he would have set a precedent for which he would have to live up to and top every February 14th. Bravo Honey, way to set the bar low. Here's to many more years of understating our love.
Happy Valentine's Day all :)
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