Unexpected Love

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any stories. The last year has been trying, to say the least, with family stuff and a couple surgeries for me. My writing got put on the back burner, but I’m happy to say…I’M BACK. The creative juices are flowing and I’m thrilled to share the following short story with you. I know Valentine’s Day was weeks ago, but that’s what inspired this story. When I was in high school I absolutely hated Valentine’s Day. There was one Valentine’s Day that stood out, though. That year Valentine’s fell on a Sunday and the following Monday morning my dad came into my room and handed me an envelope. “This was on your car,” he said. Inside was a note from a secret admirer. I can’t even begin to tell you how special that note made me feel. Sadly, I never did find out who left it. I held on to that note for many years, but eventually decided to let it go. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please leave a comment and share.

The beautiful picture I used as the feature image for this story was taken by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash. You can check out his work at:  https://unsplash.com/@jonathanborba/portfolio

Valentine’s Day was by far Jenna’s least favorite day of the year. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get behind a commercially-created “holiday” sponsored by the greeting card industry. In her eyes, love should be celebrated every day. It boggled her mind and drove her crazy how some people put so much importance on this one day. Come February 14th you could buy the sappiest card, the biggest flower arrangement, the richest chocolate, or the finest diamond, but if you didn’t put the work into your relationship daily, that one day didn’t amount to much in her book. This was the spiel she gave her friends and family every year. The truth of the matter was — though she’d never admit it to them — she was horrible at love and dating. If there was a bad-boy within a twenty-mile radius, she’d find him. She’d give him 100% of herself and seldom get anything in return. She was tired of being used and then tossed aside when someone better came along, and that always seemed to happen the moment she even thought about the word commitment.

This Valentine’s was going to be different. Two weeks ago, she tossed her latest bad boy to the curb. She wasn’t playing this year. No cards. No flowers. No candy. From anyone. Her family and friends had been warned. It was time for a hiatus from dating. Some serious soul-searching was on the horizon — there had to be a reason she was always picking the wrong men and she was bound and determined to figure out why.

Her personal boycott of everything Valentine’s related was her jumping off point.

She had survived the day by locking herself in her office and burying herself in work. She bypassed the office Valentine’s Potluck by eating a granola bar at her desk. Dinner consisted of a burger and fries from the drive-through of her favorite fast food joint. So far, the day had been a complete success.

Only one hour left, she thought as she surfed through the channels. She was dying for a pint of ice-cream. After tossing around the idea of making a late-night grocery store run for the past ten minutes, she decided it was probably safe. At this hour, she was sure to miss all the last-minute love-struck shoppers.

She threw on her favorite over-sized sweat shirt, the one she had swiped from her best friend. Her hair was up in a messy bun and on her feet were an old pair of slippers she couldn’t part with. Comfort was the theme for tonight and she owned it. She grabbed her keys off the counter and headed out to her car. The cool night air was refreshing. A breeze blew behind her, causing the loose tendrils of hair to brush against her neck, giving her goosebumps. As her car came into view, she noticed something tucked underneath the windshield wiper. Her head tilted to the side and she squinted trying to get a better look. Curiosity turned to anger as she got closer and saw the card.

A Valentine’s Day card.

She rolled her eyes, slid a perfectly manicured nail beneath the seal, and opened it. She pulled out a beautifully typed letter on thick vellum paper and another envelope.

She read the letter out loud.

“I’ve loved you from afar for too long. Take a chance on love, open the second envelope. This is how I see you. How I’ve always seen you. If you recognize the place, I will be there waiting.”

She opened the second envelope, unfolding the paper with trembling hands. She pulled out a drawing of a woman. It was her. She recognized the location but the woman staring back at her was not the woman she saw in the mirror every day. This version of her was beautiful. This was how she looked through the eyes of someone who loved her.

Tears blurred her vision.

She ran back to her building, forgetting all about her ice-cream. She entered the stairwell, raced up six flights of stairs, and burst out onto the roof. The roof top paradise that he had created for her. There was a gazebo with twinkle lights, beautiful flowers and plants as far as the eye could see, and two lawn chairs. Butterflies flitted around her stomach, carrying her the twenty feet separating them.

She sat down next to him and gazed up at the star-filled sky he was admiring. This was their spot. They had spent countless hours sitting up here watching the stars. Sometimes they’d talk about their day, but often they’d just sit in silence. Without speaking, he took her hand in his, lifted it to his lips, and kissed it. He moved his gaze from the evening sky to her.

She blushed.

For the first time, she noticed his eyes were deep brown with flecks of gold and they were filled with love. It took her breath away. And his smile. How had she never noticed the smile lighting up his face was so incredibly brilliant? It was a smile he reserved only for her. How had she missed it? Memories of the last ten years flashed through her mind like a silent movie. Had she taken the time to notice, she would have seen. Everything he had ever done, was for her. Because he loved her. She could see it now, clear as day. She ached with a need she never imagined she could feel…for her best friend.

“I have loved you for every minute of every day since I first laid eyes on you,” he confessed.

His words danced around her like a warm breeze, tugging at her heartstrings. Nothing had ever sounded sweeter. This was the moment she had been waiting her entire life for. He was the man she had been waiting her entire life for.

“I can’t believe it’s you. All this time, all these years, and you’re the one. Can you ever forgive me for keeping you waiting so long?”

Tears trickled down her cheek.

He wiped them away and then brushed her lip ever so slightly with his thumb. He slowly weaved his hands behind her neck, pulling her towards him. She closed her eyes in anticipation, but nothing could have ever prepared her for the mind-blowing kiss that was about to happen. It was like her birthday, Christmas, and everything good in the world all rolled into one. It was perfect. So perfect, in fact, she might have even whimpered when his lips left hers. His response was a boyish grin.

He leaned his forehead against hers, “You were worth the wait.”