Valentine's Day

This very short piece was written during our ten-minute challenge at the most recent meeting of the Uxbridge Writers' Circle.

The prompt was "Valentine's Day".

Valentine's Day

Flo knew that Jeffrey wouldn't give Valentine's Day a thought and wished that she could forget it too. But she couldn't. The stores were full of hearts and cards and chocolates, which made it impossible to ignore. She tried to avoid shopping but the lead-up to Valentine's Day had lengthened to weeks and weeks, so she had to face the red stuff and put on a brave face.

And she had to endure hearing from Beth and Linda all the details of the plans their husbands had for the day, or a week in Beth's case. A week in Barbados, no less. Linda was getting champagne and roses, a cleaning service, and a dinner out in the CN Tower restaurant.

"What about you?" asked Beth.

"Oh, I expect Jeffrey will surprise me with something."

"I hope you're not disappointed like last year," said Linda.

"And the year before," added Beth.

It was like rubbing salt into the wound to have to participate in these conversations. Flo got so fed up with it that she decided to turn the tables. She bought tickets to the hockey game which she'd hate, bought a case of beer that she had no taste for, and booked a meal at the gourmet pub whish was too noisy and crowded.

Valentine's Day came and went. Jeffrey was thrilled and had a wonderful time. And Flo couldn't help enjoying herself too because Jeffery was so happy.

In March, after their trip to Barbados, Beth and John split up. Apparently, their marriage was on the rocks well before the trip. And in April Linda learned that Mike had another family in Hamilton.

Meanwhile, Flo and Jeffrey are celebrating their first pregnancy.

In their opinion, Valentine's Day is greatly overrated. It should be Valentine's Day every day.

Vicky Earle copyright 2023

Sad News

I'm sorry to end this post with sad news.

Our broodmare, I'm a Kittyhawk, gave birth to her foal very late on February 9.

There were complications, so the mare and foal were shipped to the Veterinary Hospital in Guelph (Ontario Veterinary College) in the early hours of February 10.

Despite valiant efforts by the veterinary staff, the foal's condition worsened on February 12 and he was euthanized.

We are heartbroken.

I'm a Kittyhawk is fine. She was examined carefully by the veterinarians and was discharged on February 13.