09. The one
Sandra was the office beauty and she knew it. She expected a dozen cards on Valentine's Day and usually received at least that many. She knew they had been sent by men who meant nothing by them. But Don's card WAS there. That one card she cherished.
10. Diva
Tens of thousands love her singing and her performances on stage. Bouquets of flowers shower down at the end of every production. She is mobbed by admirers wherever she goes. What she appreciates is her husband's after curtain call cup of tea and his annual single rose on Valentine's Day.
11. Inarticulate
He doesn't tell her his love. Sometimes she wishes he would, just once or twice. But she knows how much he loves her. He will do anything for a fleeting kiss. His face brightens each time he sees her. His arms wrapped around her show the love he cannot speak.
12. Married Love
He is her carer. She relies on him for every bodily need. He feeds, washes and changes her. Without him she can do nothing. They married for better or worse, in sickness and in health. His daily care shows that he meant his marriage vows. He loves her, always will.
13. Faithful
She knows she is dying. Her flashing memories cover all her past lovers. Some were passionate, demanding, hectic, wonderful and delightfully arousing. She had lived dangerously as a young woman. She married patient David who had waited for her. His love had been constant. It still is, faithful until death.
14. Oration
No one expected the widower to cry at her funeral. It wouldn't be like him to show so much emotion. Instead he stood in front of the congregation to tell them of his love, her love, and what they had shared together. His words were carefully measured. Our tears weren't.
15. Past
Wrapped in a red ribbon carefully preserved in a drawer were the Valentine cards he had sent her, from the first much thumbed one. His carefully crafted poetry reminded her of his promise fulfilled to love her all his life. On Valentine's Day she laid red roses on his grave.
