Chapter Fifteen: A Valentine Promise

Okay. Sorry. This one's not a funny story. Not even close.

I started off my morning tired and not extremely excited to get out of bed and into the cold winter weather. I got to work and realized I had mistaken someone else's hours for my own. It was a whirlwind of a day and it was only 830AM.

I was flustered and found myself in a bad mood, when I noticed an older 'regular' couple standing next to my supervisor. I would guess the two are in their late seventies at least. And the husband was whispering to my supervisor. He called me over and told me that the woman needed help finding a Valentine's card for her husband. I was super excited. Unfortunately, I never get to do fun stuff like this on the job because it's too hard to leave the front area for an extended period of time.

I walked the woman (with her husband close behind us) to the greeting card aisle. I led her to the wide selection of Valentine cards and took the first one that caught my eye.

"Would you like me to read it to you?" I asked.

"If you wouldn't mind," she replied.

So, with the woman on my right, and her husband less than three feet away on my left (looking at his own share of cards), I began reading the card. I spoke as soft as I could, so her husband wouldn't hear too much of it before he received it from his wife on Monday.

The card read:

"My Valentine Promise. I promise we'll never stop laughing and having fun together, and that even through the ups and downs, we'll still be best friends. I promise to keep learning new things about you, to give you room to grow, and to appreciate the wonderful man you are. I promise to grow old with you, to love you with all my heart, and never to take for granted the wonderful life we share...Because you and your love mean more to me than anything in this world. Happy Valentine's Day."

Now - ever since a film class where I watched every depressing movie available to mankind, I have been unusually emotional in any situation. But for reals, this one would get anyone.

Immediately after I was finished reading the card aloud, the woman said "I like this one. This is the one I want."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to read anymore?"

"No. It's perfect. It's exactly what I want."

Okay. More fighting back of the tears.

We all three headed back to the counter.

She purchased her card first.

Then he approached the counter and purchased his card along with a box of chocolates for them to share.

They were out the door and on their way. But that made my day. I needed to see something like that. With the massive amounts of crazy people that walk through our doors on a regular basis, I was relieved to find a couple that have probably been married for decades. And even though she can't drive herself or read her own card, she finds a way to find the perfect card for her husband for Valentine's Day... even if he's only a few feet away from her looking for his own perfect card. Beautiful.