Copyright Β© 2020
My sincerest thank you to GeorgeAnderson for his permission to plagiarize his work. Although I've thought about it on a few other occasions, I've never written my version of someone else's story before, but this had such an intriguing plot, I had to try it.
Although this is obviously based on George's story, "February Sucks," I still wrote it my way. I hope you enjoy my version and as always, I love hearing that feedback.
My hat's off to George for stirring the imagination of so many writers with his brilliant concept.
*****
Midwest winters are notorious for cold north winds, freezing temperatures, and snow, lots and lots of snow, so it really should have been no surprise to anyone that February had been a really, really rotten month. For the first two weeks, no one had even seen the sun, just a dull- gray, wintery sky, and on top of it, it was leap year. Everyone was hoping for March to come in like a lamb, so nobody was looking forward to an extra day of February.
Jim stood at his office window looking out at the winter wonderland that was the city of Chicago. By midafternoon, the predicted two inches of overnight snowfall was twelve inches deep, with apparently no end in sight. In Illinois and Indiana, they call it, "lake effect." At times during the morning, it had come down so hard and fast, he could barely see across the street, and now the weather guys were forecasting another twelve inches by morning.
It was about half-past one when his secretary walked in. "Jim, I just got word from the top, we're closing early. I'm taking off now if that's okay with you."
"Yes, of course, Shirley, thanks. I'm going to call Linda, then I'll be right behind you. Drive careful," he added as she started to leave.
"I will, Jim, you too. I doubt that all this will be cleaned up by tomorrow, so I'll probably see you on Monday," she replied, on her way out.
He walked over to his sport jacket hanging over the back of his chair and took his phone out from the side pocket. His wife answered on the second ring.
"Hi, honey, are you still at work?" she asked right away.
"Yeah, but I'm getting ready to leave now. I wanted to call and see if you want me to pick up you and the kids on the way home. I know you don't like driving in crap like this."
"You're sweet, honey, but a little late. They let us out of the office more than an hour ago. I picked the kids up already and just walked into the house. Please drive carefully, the roads are miserable."
"Will do, honey. I'll see you as soon as I can, love you, bye." Well, knowing Linda and the kids were home safe and sound was a big load off his mind. He felt bad, though. It was February fourteenth, Valentine's Day. Every year, he and Linda celebrated in style. Of course, he always came home with the mandatory card and flowers, which was followed by a romantic candlelit dinner in a fine restaurant, some cheek to cheek dancing, and culminated with a night of passionate whoopee while Linda's mom and dad kept the kids overnight.
Well, the fine dining and dancing was out of the question. By that evening, no one was going to be going anywhere, but he wondered about the florist. By the time he got the snow brushed off his car, he had decided to give it a try. It was only four or five blocks out of his way. He had ordered a beautiful bouquet two weeks prior and hated to show up at home empty-handed.
"Thank God you're still open," he said, greeting the man behind the counter.
"Yeah, I'm going to stay as long as I can. I figure a lot of people will be getting off early and stopping here to pick up their orders on the way home."
"Well, your instincts are right on. That's exactly why I'm here. Jim gave him his last name, and a minute later the florist pulled a beautiful bouquet of red, yellow, and white roses from the refrigerator. "Damn, that's gorgeous," Jim told him. "What're the purple flowers in there?"
"Sweet Peas," he replied. "I threw a few in as an accent, you like?"
"It's absolutely striking," Jim answered. He took a pen and signed the card while sticking his debit card in the machine.
It was almost five o'clock by the time Jim pulled into his drive. He lost time going to the florist, but it was worth it. Jim knew how disappointed his wife was going to be with having to stay home on their special night and hoped the flowers would cheer her up.
If Jim needed cheering up, he only had to look into the two angelic faces of his kids. "Daddy's home," yelled six-year-old Emma. Along with her four-year-old little brother, Tommy, they jumped off the couch and ran to their proud papa the moment he walked in the door. Jim knelt and set the flowers behind him so they wouldn't get crushed before opening his arms to the onslaught of hugs and kisses.
He looked up and saw his beautiful smiling wife watching the happy reunion. "Finally, I was getting worried," she said.
"Well, you were right, the roads are miserable. I'm afraid we won't be going anywhere tonight, hon."
"Oh, I know," she acknowledged with a twinge of sadness. "I already called mom and dad to let them know we wouldn't be dropping the kids off. I didn't have anything defrosted, so the kids talked me into homemade pizza for tonight. I hope that's okay."
"That sounds wonderful," he replied. He waited until Linda turned to go back into the kitchen before picking up the flowers and hiding them behind his back. Both Emma and Tommy returned to the couch and their TV show.
Linda knew he was sneaking up behind her, but she just smiled and kept her back to him, wondering what he was up to. She felt his left hand slide around her waist, then his lips kissing her neck. Suddenly, a beautiful bouquet of mixed roses appeared in front of her as she heard...
"Happy Valentines Day, honey."
"Oh, Jim, they're gorgeous!" She turned, put her arms around his neck, and gave her thoughtful husband a big, passionate kiss, tongue and all. She chuckled when she felt his cock stir against her stomach. "That's going to have to wait," she said, patting the front of his trousers with the back of her hand.
She took the flowers and set them on the table, then slid the card from its envelope. "Oh, honey, what did I ever do to deserve you," she said before giving him another quick kiss.
Well, it wasn't the romantic evening they had planned, but seeing the excitement when the kids realized they'd have a four-day weekend with Mom and Dad made it a little easier to take. Emma and Tommy already had plans for several snowmen, a couple of snow forts and an ongoing snowball fight, all starting early the next morning.