This is a Valentine's Day contest story. Please give me the support of your vote.
There are no underage characters in this story. All characters depicted are over the age of 18-years-old.
"Baby! Baby! Come Back to Me!"
Fed up with him forgetting her birthday and their anniversaries, a woman leaves her man after he forgets that today is Valentine's Day, the day of love.
"Baby! Baby! Come back to Me! Daddy loves you! All is forgiven. Baby!"
With his heart broken on Valentine's Day, of all days, the day of love, the young man emotionally searched the streets for his baby until he turned violently angry that she left him and was gone, seemingly gone for good.
"God damn it! Motherfucker. Dirty bitch. God damn whore of a bitch. Where the fuck are you? Baby! Where are you? Baby!"
Barely 7 am, despondent and desperate, he walked down the middle of the street while looking from one side of the street to the other side of the street while screaming for his baby.
"Baby! Baby! Come back to me! Baby! Where are you Baby? Baby! I love you Baby!"
Not caring who he disturbed, he continued walking while screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Hey man," said an old, black man stepping out from the darkness of a doorway. "What's wrong with you? Have you lost your mind? Are you drunk? Are you on drugs? You can't be screamin' and swearin' like that over some damn bitch. There's kids in this neighborhood. Even though some women are no better than dogs, you can't be disrespectin' dogs like that," said the old man with a laugh.
The old man looked at the young man with curiosity.
"Sorry," said the young man continuing to slowly walk down the middle of the street while looking for his Baby.
The young man looked at the old man with desperation and sadness.
"Unless you're some crack whore just wakin' up after being pounded all night and lookin' for her next fix, it's too early for that shoutin' shit," said the old man. "Calm the fuck down."
The old man crossed the sidewalk and ventured out in the street to walk closer to the young man. Obviously unafraid to approach a stranger, this was his neighborhood after all. This is where he lives and the young man not only invaded his turf but also disturbed the peace and the natural order of his neighborhood by yelling profanity.
"Sorry," said the young man.
Approaching him with caution, the old man walked closer.
"You're gonna wake up the whole damn neighborhood. Someone's gonna call the cops on you and throw your ass in jail or worse, in this neighborhood, someone's gonna stick a gun out their window and cap your white ass," said the old man giving him the once over.
The old man walked along side of the man as the two men continued walking down the middle of the street.
"Sorry," was the only thing the young man had to say.
With the young man looking off in the distance, obviously looking for his Baby, the old man studied the young man with his unbroken stare.
"What the Hell are you doin' in his neighborhood anyway? You don't belong here and you sure as Hell don't live here. I know everyone who lives on this street. This is my neighborhood. Born here, I lived here all my life. This wasn't always a ghetto, it was once a good neighborhood and a safe place to live, until all the white folk left," he said with sadness before turning his focus back to the young man. "Either you're lookin' for smack, crack, blow, or trouble, that's all you'll find here. Best you look for your damn baby somewhere else."
Seemingly not even listening to him talking, the young man looked through the man while searching the street with his eyes for his baby.
"I'm sorry," said the young man again while not looking as apologetic as he should be for disturbing the peace and for waking up the whole neighborhood for the sake of looking for his Baby. "My Baby is gone. I'm looking for my Baby. I need to find my Baby. I can't live without her. Not realizing what I had until she's gone, my Baby is the only good thing in my life."
The old man looked at him with as much confusion as he looked at him with concern.
"What kind of baby are we talkin' about here, a real baby, an infant or a--?"
The old man pulled out his cell phone as if ready to call the police to report a missing child.
"An infant? No, of course not. She's no infant, trust me. She's not a missing child," said the young man looking at him as if he was crazy. "She's fully grown," he said. "She's an adult. We've been together for three years. I love her and she loves me."
Obviously looking as if wishing the old man would mind his own business, the young man looked at the old man as if he was the one who was nuts.
"Take a breath, calm down, and tell me what happened," said the old man.
Continuing to search the street with his eyes, the young man was unresponsive.
"Baby! Where are you? Baby!"
Persistent in obviously wanting to help the young man, the old man asked him again.
"What happened? Tell me what happened. You don't reach my age without being a good listener just as you don't reach my age without knowing what to do in every situation, in every emergency, and with every opportunity that presents itself," said the old man with a wise, little laugh.
The two men stopped walking to talk.
"On of all days, the day of love, it's Valentine's Day and my Baby is gone. She's gone. There one minute and gone the next, she's gone," he said with tears welling up in his eyes and looking as if he was going to collapse in the middle of the street."
As if he was his grandfather and the young man was his grandson, the old man patted the young man on the shoulder before gently rubbing his back.
"It's okay. Everythin' will be alright. Take a breath. Let it out and relax. Breath. Do that a few times and you'll feel better. We'll find your baby. Don't worry," said the old man. "Tell me what happened so that I can help you."
As if he was ready to kill someone, the young man suddenly looked at the old man with anger.
"I forgot that it was fucking Valentine's Day. Okay? She made me breakfast in bed and gave me a card and a gift, this watch," said the man holding up his watch for the old man to see.
The old man stared at the watch before staring at the young man.
"That's a mighty fine watch. What kind of watch is that?"
The young man stared at the watch with the old man.
"It's a Rolex Submariner," said the young man looking from the old man to look at his watch before looking at the old man.
The old man suddenly seemed impressed by the young man's new watch.
"A Rolex, huh?" The old man rubbed the whiskers on his chin. "How much does a watch like that cost?"
The young man held up his watch to look at the black face and the silver, metal band.
"Oh, I don't know, around seven-thousand-dollars," he said returning the conversation to what happened with Baby. "I felt like such a shit heel that I had nothing to give her for Valentine's Day but for my erection," he said.
The old man nodded his head as if he was thinking about his past relationships sexual and otherwise.
"Been there, done that," said the old man giving him a knowing nod while still staring at his watch. "Damn, seven-thousand-dollars for a watch, I can't believe that watch cost seven big ones. The best watch I ever had was a Timex. I had that watch for years until I lost it, put it down somewhere and someone took it," he said with sadness. "I, um, happened upon a Hamilton and a Bulova once, years ago, but I hawked those watches to buy food, liquor actually, the medication I use for to ease the pain from my arthritis."
He fell silent as if remembering his old Timex before he returned his focus to staring at the Rolex.
"When I pulled her to me for a kiss me and for us to make love, she wanted none of that and nothing to do with me," said the young man with sadness. "Tired of me forgetting her birthdays, our anniversaries, and now Valentine's Day, she grabbed her things, along with some of my things, and stormed out. Before I could get out of bed and get dressed, she was gone, long gone," he said looking at the old man. "My Baby was gone."
The young man looked at the old man with sorrow and the old man looked at him with opportunity.
"Wow Man, no wonder why you're baby is gone. You're fucked when you forget a woman's birthday or an anniversary but you're double fucked when you forget the day of love, Valentine's Day," said the old man shaking his head. "With you having a woman in bed, how could you forget Valentine's Day?"
The young man put his head down as if he had been a bad dog.
"I know. You're right," said the young man. "It was all my fault."
As if he was chastising himself for forgetting Valentine's Day over the years, the old man admonished the young man with the attitude of a grandfather scolding and advising his grandson.
"What's wrong with you forgettin' that today is Valentine's Day? What's wrong with you for not givin' your baby flowers, candy, perfume, and/or some shiny bling? Especially with her buying you that mighty fine watch, if I was your baby, I'd leave your honky ass too."
The old man looked at him with disbelief while shaking his head.
"I don't know. I'm just spread too thin, I guess," he said hanging his head in sadness. "I've been trying to make a name for myself at work. I've been thinking more about money than I have about love. I've been thinking more about money than thinking about my Baby. Now with my Baby gone, I realize what I lost. I'm nothing without her in my life," he said looking at the old man as if he was about to cry. "I'm nothing and no one without my Baby!"
The old man looked at the young man with as much disbelief as he looked at him with displeasure.
"There, there now," said the old man patting the young man's shoulder. We'll find her. Trust me. I've forgotten enough birthdays and anniversaries to know how important they are to women but I ain't never forgotten no Valentine's Day, especially if I was hopin' to get me some later that night. You just messed up is all. Everyone makes mistakes," said the old man.
The young man hung his head is sorrow and in shame.
"It's all my fault. I've been so busy with work and too preoccupied with making money. I've been distracted lately by the sudden economic surge and the positive gains in the stock market," he said.
Obviously by his disheveled appearance and with him living in this depressed neighborhood, without remotely knowing what it's like to be that busy making money, the old man nodded his head with a sympathetic look.
"Stock market? I can't say that I've ever been that busy makin' money but I hear ya," said the old man. "I have what little money I have stashed in a sock in the back of my drawer. I ain't never owned any stocks."
The young man looked up to give him a sad smile.
"If only I had remembered Valentine's Day. If only I had remembered to buy her a card, send her some flowers, and to have a piece of jewelry squirreled away somewhere, diamond earrings or a diamond tennis bracelet, everything would have been fine," he said.
