Valentine


 
A poor man's gift from the heart is worth far more than anything a rich man can give

 

Valentine


It had been a long, hard day, and all Catherine wanted to do was to get home, shower, eat, curl up with a book, and as Vincent had said he was unable to see her that night, she would go to bed early and catch up on some sleep.
By the time she arrived at her apartment block it was well after dark and she was surprised to find a sleek black Mercedes waiting outside, which she thought she recognised, and sure enough as she alighted from the taxi, the door of the Mercedes opened, and Elliott Burch got out. “Cathy”, he called softly, coming over to lighten her load by offering to carry her briefcase and shoulder bag, “You look wonderful.”
“Hello Elliott, its okay I can manage the bags. Is everything all right?”
“Nothing can ever be all right Cathy without you in my life, you know that.” he smiled sadly, knowing her answer, “but before you speak, let me just say, I couldn’t possibly let Valentine’s Day pass without bestowing you with gifts and flowers, you are, after all the love of my life.”
Catherine sighed, “I had hoped that by now, you would have found someone else to light up your life. You know how it is with me, I just don’t share your feelings. Elliot I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is, and the sooner you accept that fact the better it will be for you.”
“Cathy how can I. I love you. I need you, if only you knew what it was to want someone desperately and not have them respond, Cathy, it breaks my heart.”
“Elliott, I do know these feelings, but they are not for you. You know that, however, I guess we are both in the same boat, for we both desire desperately what we cannot have.”
Drawing his brows together, he told her, “I thought there was someone?”
“There is”, she told him, “and he is everything to me, but there are some things Elliott that one just cannot have, and one has to learn to live around that, and come to accept it. Just as you must accept that you and I have no future together.”
Elliott sighed deeply, “Well at least accept my gifts Cathy. I had them brought up to your apartment earlier, I’m afraid I went a little mad, but then you are worth every penny and more. If you find there is too much, perhaps you know of someone you would like to share them with. Despite what you say Cathy, I won’t give up. Know that I am always here for you,” with that, he bent his head, and kissed her lips softly, looked into her eyes for a long moment and got back into the Mercedes, watching her until she went inside her apartment before driving away.

Getting out of the lift at the eighteeth floor, Catherine gasped. Elliott hadn’t been joking. The whole of the corridor was blocked leading right up to her door, with gift wrapped boxes, bouquets and cards. She had even collected another arm load of pink envelopes from the mail box on the way up. Clambering over the assortment of boxes, she fumbled for her key, and then opening the door wide, shuffled everything inside as quickly as possible.

Standing amid all the presents moments later she knew it would take most of, if not all of, the evening to unpack them, so much for her early night! How glad she was that Vincent wouldn’t be coming that night to see all those gifts. Finding out they were from Elliott would grieve him terribly. Opening the cards later she found that not all were from Elliott. There was one that she was certain was from Joe, she recognised his handwriting, but even if she hadn’t he had given the game away, when he had written Dear Rad. then crossed it through to put Catherine, a dead give away, even though he hadn’t signed his name!
There were some with crude verses from anonymous people, these she tore in shreds before she had reached the second line, and there was one from Peter. Catherine laughed out loud, dear Peter, ever since she had entered her teens he had sent her a Valentine card, from the very first year she had complained that she hadn’t received any.
The rest of quite a large bundle were all from Elliott, with varying poetic verses, some of them quite lovely, and she wondered how long it had taken him to write them. Knowing Elliott he had been planning it all year, and it had taken him as long.
Blowing upwards so that her hair tousled over her eyes, Catherine looked around the huge array of gifts. There were chocolates, scarves, dresses, ornaments, sexy lingerie, satin pyjamas, and a dozen bouquets, in the main containing red roses.
She knew she couldn’t accept any of them. To have anything from Elliott would need explaining to Vincent, and she couldn’t allow him to suffer such pain. It had taken her a long time to convince Vincent that she wanted nothing from Elliott, and if he were to see any one of these gifts, well she didn’t like to think how he would take it.
Certainly she would find their every, one step forward, two steps back relationship, take a definite backward slide.
Elliott had said she could share the gifts with someone if she wanted, and so Catherine telephoned a helper to take the gifts Below, asking him not to tell anyone from where they came. While she waited for him, she tore off the picture sides of the cards, for someone Below could no doubt make something pretty from them, and the verse sides she put into a large rubbish sack. That done she walked across the room to open the balcony doors to let in some cool night air.
Her eyes lit up, as soon as she saw it a long stem of red rose still in bud, and a small white envelope with her name on it in Vincent’s handwriting, propped upon the table. Opening the envelope her fingers pulled out the tiny card, and carefully lifting it open, she found the simple message which delighted her, “I Love You.” while beneath the three words, was written “Vincent”.
Lifting the satiny rose bud to her lips she walked with it to her kitchen where she placed it in a slim vase of water and took it to her bedroom, propping the card against it on her bedside table. For all the elaborate gifts Elliott had bestowed on her, nothing had moved her more than Vincent’s simple gift, it was the greatest gift of all, because it came from the one she loved.
And as Catherine closed her weary eyes that night, she whispered softly on the wings of a breath, “I Love You Too Vincent.” And that night as Catherine slept the rose bud opened and bloomed.

                   

 


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