Valentine's Love
Lawrence and Doreen were in love and engaged to be married. They promised each other they would plan their wedding when they had enough money saved up to get an apartment and have a little savings to start their life together.
One Saturday they drove to La Jolla for a picnic with friends and before the picnic they went window shopping. Inside a gallery, Lawrence saw an amazing statue of dolphins in a wave. Both he and Doreen loved dolphins and had met working at a marine mammal park while in school before launching into their careers. He watched as Doreen couldn’t stop staring at the statue.
Although they were saving for their future, he wanted to get her something for Valentine’s Day that would forever remind her of their early time together. After they left for the picnic, he snuck back in and asked the clerk if she could hold the statute until he could call the next day when he figured out how to pay for it. She agreed.
They had a lovely picnic and went home.
Doreen could not stop thinking about the statue and how wonderful it would be to give the statue to Lawrence as a Valentine’s Day gift. The next morning, as soon as the store opened, she called and talked to the same young lady who had helped him. When Doreen told her she wanted to buy and have the dolphin statue shipped to her for Lawrence, she was told that Lawrence was calling back that day to let her know if he could get a loan for the $1,000 from the credit union to buy the statue. Doreen had just received an inheritance of $1,200 from her grandmother and wanted to use that money to buy the statue so she talked the clerk into selling it to her and telling him that someone else in the store had sold it.
Lawrence was so upset that he couldn’t make his Doreen happy with the gift but realized that doing something loving didn’t have to cost money. He spent the next day writing a list of 14 Valentine reasons he loved her. He printed it and then painted a beautiful border of dolphins and made a healthy and delicious swordfish dinner for her to celebrate.
She was delighted and so in love. At the end, she brought out the wrapped dolphin statue. He gasped when he unwrapped it. She said, “Happy Valentine’s Day from your loving fiancée and Grandma.”
Their love grew even more and in six months they had reached their financial goal and planned their wedding. While looking for an apartment, the main consideration was a place of honor for the dolphins in the wave!
If you enjoyed this story, based on a true story, please read “The Gift of the Magi”, a short story by O’Henry. Read it together with your love on Valentine’s Day.