Dear Reader, I wrote the following little story and posted it on Facebook for the first time back in 2013. Since then, I have reshared it on Facebook but now for the first time, I am sharing it with the rest of the universe through my blog. (Insert evil laugh here.)

A Valentine Story… As I was making cinnamon French toast for Shawn this morning, I was reminded of another time and another place…

It was our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple.

Like most newlyweds, we didn’t have much, but I was determined to make do.

I scurried around our studio apartment like a little mouse.

My saving grace, Shawn is a heavy sleeper and so it didn’t matter that the kitchen light was blaring in his face.

I made cinnamon French toast in heart shapes.

There was no milk or orange juice, but we had tangerines.

And so, we had tangerine juice! (Orange juice tastes better!)

I walked over to where Sleeping Beauty lay and set his drink and food on a TV tray.

But something was amiss, something lacking.

AHA! What can I use from that naughty gift set Shawn received from one of my brothers to help spruce things up?

At the time, I was mortified that my brother had given Shawn this gift but now I was glad we kept it.

I took out the heart shaped candle, lit it and set it on the TV tray.

Then I took out the gel and drew all over his face. (Not a creature was stirring…)

I turned off the kitchen light, walked over to the bed with a fist full of confetti and waited for his alarm to go off.

The alarm went off and when Shawn opened his eyes, I threw confetti all over him and whispered loudly (so as not to wake our neighbors), Happy Valentine’s Day!

I will never forget the look of horror on Shawn’s face as confetti fell all over him at 4:30 that morning. One would have thought I held a knife in my hand!

~missy salcido wead