Copyright © 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.
It was a little after nine by the time Linda and Jim got their two excited offsprings tucked under the covers for the night. There was still plenty of evening left, and Jim was determined to make the best of it.
"Honey, I'm so sorry our plans didn't work out. I know all the bad weather has gotten on our nerves lately, and I know how much you've been looking forward to tonight."
"Yeah, you mean man, why did you order all this snow?" she chuckled. "Honey, there'll be other nights we can go out for dinner. We'll make our own Valentine's Day when the weather gets better. Four days off with you and the kids is a great consolation prize, honey, believe me... besides," she added, "I still got a great new party dress and a beautiful bouquet of roses out of it. Who could ask for better than that?"
"Well," he said in his most seductive voice, "why don't you go put your new party dress on while I open the wine. I'll put some soft, romantic music on the stereo, and we'll have our own private Valentine's date right here."
"Mmmm," she hummed with delight, "that sounds great, except you don't get to see the party dress until you take me out for the evening."
"That's fine," he replied. "You go put it on and I'll take you out of it later this evening."
She giggled. "That's not what I said, but I do like your plan. I'll run up and find something appropriate. I'll be down in a few," she said, reaching up and kissing him on the lips before running upstairs.
Jim was thinking, if he did this right, he might be able to start a whole new tradition. He opened a bottle of semi-dry Port to let it breathe, stuck it in an ice bucket, and put it on the coffee table along with two wine flutes.
Okay, he asked himself, what next? Ah, nothing says romance like a warm, crackling fire in the fireplace. Within minutes, he had it going, but there was still something missing. He looked to his prise LP selection of vinyl for the answer.
He dimmed the lights, allowing the flickering glow of the fire to set the ambiance, poured the wine, then with a gentle lowering of the needle, filled the air with the voices of love.
Each was astounded when Linda made her entrance, Jim with her beauty, and Linda by the romance shown by her husband. For a while, they simply sat in front of the fire, cuddled together, sharing ten years of memories together.
When the time was right, Jim asked his love to dance. As he took her in his arms, Linda closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest. "Honey, this is incredible, thank you."
"You're very welcome, honey. Happy Valentines Day, babe."
"The same to you, hon. I was going to get a card for you on the way home today, but with all the commotion, I didn't get a chance. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it, honey. I don't need a card to know I'm your valentine," he replied with a smile.
They danced a little longer, drank a little more wine, then silently snuck up the stairs to be sure they didn't wake the kids. By the time Jim quietly closed the bedroom door behind him and turned around, Linda was almost out of her dress already. She made a show of slipping out of her panties. "Well," she asked, while standing there in her birthday suit.
That's when Jim realized he was still dressed. A problem he solved in record time. He was naked by the time she slipped under the sheet. There were times when Linda liked it rough and hard, but this wasn't going to be one of those times.