Anthony glanced over at his card. A white circle had a face drawn on it with yellow yarn glued to the top for hair. “How come your card has a ghost on the front?”
“That’s my mom!”
“Then why does she look so pale? Like a vampire.”
The little boy looked down at his card, his face starting to crumple. “She needs color,” Anthony said. “Give her some blush on those cheeks so we can tell she’s still breathing.”
“Some what?” the boy asked.
“I can do it!” the girl said, moving over to help him.
That bought Anthony some time. Although when he folded a pale-green piece of paper and began cutting out tiny diamonds, it attracted the attention of the kids again.
“Are you making a snowflake?” the girl asked.
“They aren’t supposed to be green,” the little boy said.
“Watch and learn.” Anthony swept the tiny green diamonds into piles. He swiped a bottle from glue from a toddler who was slowly eating it and squeezed little dots all over the branches of the willow tree. Then he gathered up the green slivers of paper and stood, holding them above the card. “Are you ready for this?” he asked as the kids pressed closer around him. “Confetti time!”
He let the green paper diamonds rain down on the card, most of them striking glue dots and becoming leaves. He blew off the rest, causing scraps of paper to spiral through the air, some of them clinging to the toddler’s sticky cheeks. The kids around him cheered.
“Never forget what you’ve witnessed on this day,” Anthony said as he stood. “Your life may depend on it.”
He stood and turned around, surprised to see Cameron standing not far away while wearing a bemused smile.
Anthony walked over to join him. “I made you something.”
“A valentine?” Cameron said when accepting it. “But I thought you hated—”
“This isn’t about me,” Anthony interrupted. He nodded at the card. “It’s about us.”
He watched as Cameron read the front, which said, You won’t be-leaf how much I love you. His boyfriend looked up and already seemed on the verge of tears. “I always liked the dumb puns.”
“Me too,” Anthony admitted, feeling nervous about the inside.
Cameron opened it. He saw the willow tree first—their special place where they had first kissed, confessed feelings, and still cuddled up under to stay warm. Then his eyes moved to the left panel of the card, where Anthony had written more.
In my heart, I’m always celebrating Valentine’s Day with you.
The line was cheesy, but also reflected how he truly felt. The holiday didn’t make him believe in love. Cameron did. His boyfriend moved close. They both glanced around, relieved to see that nobody was paying attention to them. Anthony leaned forward to accept his kiss.
“I love it,” Cameron said, pressing the card to his chest before he examined it again. “I’m surprised how good it is!”
“You can thank the local public library for that,” Anthony said with a laugh. “And my mom for taking me there whenever they had an arts and crafts day.”
“You know what my favorite part is?” Cameron asked. “Seeing how good you are with kids.” His eyes darted to the side. “Although their parents might not thank you.”
Anthony followed his gaze. Most of the kids were making their own confetti now and tossing it into the air. The garden employees were exhausting themselves trying to contain the mess. “I’m sure it’s biodegradable,” he said with a smirk.
Cameron was still smiling at him. “You’ll make a great father.”
“Remind me to take another pregnancy test,” Anthony joked as they walked away. “Hey, I want to give you something else besides that card. What’s your idea of romantic? That uh… doesn’t cost money. I’m broke.”
Cameron thought about it a moment. “A massage would be nice.”
“You like those?”
His boyfriend shrugged. “I’ve never gotten one before. It just sounds good. And maybe a foot rub? For the same reason. I don’t know what I’m missing.”
Anthony laughed. “I’m not touching your feet unless they’re freshly washed.”
Cameron grinned. “What about the rest of me?”
Anthony pictured getting to squeeze and rub Cameron’s entire body. Even his feet. “Yeah,” he said, his voice squeaking. “I think we can manage that.”
And if the day kept going like this, Anthony would have to reevaluate his opinion of Valentine’s Day, because he was beginning to see more pros than cons.
CHAPTER 2
February 14th, 1993
Mindy nudged her friend and pointed, which would have been rude under other circumstances, but the mall corridor was busy enough that nobody would notice. “Right there!” she said excitedly. “He’s desperate.”
Keisha leaned closer, as if using Mindy’s arm as a targeting sight, before she laughed. “He probably works here. In one of the department stores. He’s got an ‘I hate my job, but at least I’m on break’ expression.”
“He’s a last-minute shopper,” Mindy said, shaking her head. “You can tell from the way his dress shirt is partially untucked and his hair is messed up on one side.”
“Almost like he rolled out of bed and realized what day it is.” She narrowed her eyes when the man stopped in front of a jewelry store. “The only question is whose bed.”
“Even from here, you can smell his mistress on him,” Mindy said before covering her mouth. “Either that, or he’s been snuggling a bucket of old seafood.”
Keisha laughed. “Girl, you are bad!”
They watched the man enter the store and point at different items on display. He kept shaking his head each time the clerk checked the price. They couldn’t help laughing when he rubbed his temples wearily while his purchase was ringed up.
“I hope he spent enough to get himself out of trouble,” Keisha said.
“If he’s really two-timing, I hope he didn’t!” Mindy countered.
This had easily been the best Valentine’s Day of her life. She usually stayed at home and felt sorry for herself. Not this year. Thanks to the terrible date she’d gone on with Troy Mitchell, Mindy knew there were worse fates than being single. So she had decided to spend the holiday with one of her only friends who hadn’t paired up recently. They’d had a blast so far, first by window shopping for clothes together. Keisha had such an amazing fashion sense—seemingly able to make anything work, from the bold bright colors that popped against her ebony skin, to the grungy faded flannels she sometimes borrowed from her brothers. Keisha had found a woven headband on sale that she currently wore in her buzzed hair. Mindy had tried it on while attempting to affect the same level of confidence but had grimaced when looking in the mirror. Once they tired of shopping, they treated themselves to ice cream and finished it while watching the various couples on display. Like they were doing now.
“That home is about to be wrecked,” Keisha said, nodding toward two couples strolling together. The girl from one pair was talking enthusiastically to the guy from the other while their respective partners appeared bored.