My Valentine
No flowers, no chocolates, no following the crowd on this day. Not for my lady. She wants flowers and chocolates but not because of a holiday-card mandate. Like all women, she wants to be cherished and adored yet she finds Valentine's Day a contrivance and unnecessary.
Things she values far more than Valentine's Day: flowers on a Saturday morning, a neck rub in the evening, keeping her laptop running, holding her close, a touch on the cheek, holding hands, and simply being near each other.
I've had seventeen more years with her than expected since she diced with Death and won. Every day her talents become greater and she discovers another ability she didn't know she had. Every day is a bonus.
She is a lady and a little girl, sometimes within seconds. Her joy is irrepressible yet she cries at sad stories. She dances when nobody is looking, loves puppies beyond reason and, most incredible of all, she loves me, which defies explanation.
All I can do is everything I can to deserve her love, to keep the joy in her eyes and the smile on her face when I come through the door at the end of the day.
I would do anything for that, anything for her.