Some years ago when I was a senior in college, I wanted to get my girlfriend, Gina, something special for Valentine's Day. Gina had a very earthy quality about her. She wasn't blond, bony and plastic like so many mass produced Barbies. Although she was born in New York, her Italian heritage shown through as if she had just stepped off a ship from Milan. Her light brown eyes were a captivating contrast to her rich, long black hair that curled ever so slightly at the ends. She had full, red lips with a smile that could warm the coldest and dreariest of days. Describing her body as sexy and sensual would have been like saying a Stradivarius is a pretty good fiddle. And every single quality of her physical beauty was equaled by some aspect of her inner beauty. No matter how angry, sad or upset I was, she could instantly change my mood for the better simply by holding me her in her arms. As long as I had
her
by my side, the earth was heaven.
I didn't have much money to spend on her gift, but I did have enough for a little heart-shaped locket. It was gold plated and about one inch by one inch. Certainly big enough for a small photo, but instead I had it engraved. The father of a friend of mine was a jeweler and he was nice enough to do it for free. I asked him to engrave the word "love" inside on both sides of the locket, a number of times, in different sizes and fonts, to symbolize the fact that I loved Gina in many different ways. Romantically. Sexually. As a companion. A confidant.
Her parents were kind enough to have dinner out on Valentine's Day, so Gina and I were able to spend a nice, quiet, romantic evening alone at her house. After dinner, I presented her with the locket as well as a card.
"I wanted to get you something very special, so I decided to give you the most precious thing I have," I told her.
She opened up the box and then the locket. She was delighted with my present. Then I told her to look at the card. After opening the envelope, she read the card and began to cry. Through her tears, she read aloud what I had written.
"The most precious gift I could ever give you, is all the love I have in my heart." Seconds later we were making love on her parents' couch. We did finish up before they got home, but it only added to the excitement knowing that they might walk in on us at any time.
I don't think I was ever happier at any time in my entire life. The few months before my graduation could not have been better. Even though I had to go to school in another state for my graduate work while she finished up her senior year in New York, I was sure the few months until winter break, then spring break, then the summer would just fly by.
We phoned each other all the time. I tried to write her at least one love letter a month so that when we were older, she'd always have some romantic, loving and sensually charged words of mine that she could always take out and read whenever she needed a pick-me-up. I was lucky to have Gina and, quite frankly, I thought she was lucky to have me.
