Before everything fell apart on Christmas, I’d been looking forward to our first Valentine’s Day together. To add insult to injury, it fell on a Saturday which meant that I wouldn’t get to see him at all and we wouldn’t get to speak to one another until around ten that night. Deanna and Karl had plans set already; meaning that hanging with her wasn’t an option. So that left me two choices. I could either sit in my room and pout, or I could paint. After changing into some old clothes that I didn’t mind ruining, I was on my way up to the attic, locking the door behind me. My parents were long gone, but I wanted to insure that they wouldn’t bother me if they returned before I finished.
I smeared a bunch of dark colors on the canvas. By the time I finished, the picture resembled army camouflage. Needless to say I scrapped it and started over. My eyes were fixed on the blank surface for a long time while I searched for some sort of inspiration, but it didn’t come to me. Frustrated, I tossed my brushes and paints into the sink and went back down to my room. The one day that I was wishing would pass by quickly was lingering like a bad rash. I lay across my bed and prayed for sleep to come.
At 9:30 pm I heard my parents come home. As soon as the garage door began to hum, I ran to wait for them on the steps. I was desperate for some sort of human contact. Mom was holding a carryout container and a box of chocolates in her hands. She was surprised to see me sitting there pitifully. “Oh, hey sweetie. These are for you,” she said as she handed me the red box of candy and the food she’d brought me. They quickly moved past me headed up the stairs toward their bedroom.
“Goodnight, Baby Girl.” Daddy said as he patted me on my head.
“But you guys just got here. You’re going to bed already?” I whined.
A smile crossed his face. “Your mother and I are feeling a little…..tired,” he said as he made googly eyes at her. Gross! I knew what that meant. Realizing that they weren’t going to be much company tonight, I sat in daddy’s study while I waited for AJ’s call. At 10:13 my phone finally rang.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” I answered.
He laughed quietly on the other end. “You too. How was your day?” He asked with just a hint of sadness.
“Fine I guess. I tried to paint and the picture sucked, so I threw it away, and then I just sat in my room the rest of the day until my parents got home. What’d you do?” I asked.
“Played video games mostly,” he sighed. “I hate this. My dad went from having zero rules to turning my house into freakin’ Alcatraz.”
“Yeah, I definitely know what it’s like to be on lockdown,” I replied. “But your mom seems to be ok with our relationship. Has she said anything about how your dad’s acting?”
“She thinks he’s being stupid about it too.” He sighed. “Well, maybe those weren’t her words, but she may as well have said it that way. She feels like he, of all people, should understand how it feels to fall in love with someone and not want to let them go. I guess she was talking about how quickly he decided that he wanted to marry her.” He paused another minute. “I hope you don’t mind, but I talked to her about some of the things you’ve been through to be with me. It reminded her of how she felt about leaving her family. Once she finally made up her mind that she felt as strongly about my dad as he felt about her, nothing was going to stop her from being with him. No matter how hard it was.”
His comparison made me smile. I liked that Mrs. Hahn saw a little of herself in me. It was nice to know that she was on our side and that she understood that I couldn’t leave AJ. No matter what price I had to pay. “Tell her that I said thank you for being so understanding. It’s nice to know that she’s routing for us…..even if your dad doesn’t like it.”
He was silent for a few seconds. “So……are you looking forward to us going to Charleston together?” He asked. I could tell he was up to something, but I wasn’t sure what it was.
“Yeah, you already know that. What made you ask?” I inquired.
“I just wanted to be sure……because I got my acceptance letter today.” If he’d been here I would have squeezed the life out of him. His good news was right on time, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he had something else to tell me.