I took a deep breath, and I could see tears filling up Betty’s eyes.
“Last Valentine’s Day, way before I met you, I was very sad, almost suicidal. I moped around work and snapped at whoever spoke to me, and I was even short with Bobby. After I met and fell in love with you, I realized that I would always have sadness surrounding me on this day that’s supposed to belong to lovers. I asked myself, how could I change my feelings so I wouldn’t destroy Valentine’s Day for you?”
I paused for another obligatory deep breath before continuing.
“After the first trip to your parents’ house, something your mother said to me popped into my head. She asked me how I met Marta and what my proposal to her was like, and I confessed that I asked Marta to marry me on Valentine’s Day, but that day would never bring happy thoughts to me ever again. She replied that I needed to add more happy thoughts to February the 14th so the sad memory would be vanquished, forever.”
“Did I really say that?”
“Yes, you did, Kathy, word for word. I thought about it the next week, and I realized the only happy thought that could chase sadness away would be to propose to you today, Valentine’s Day. So from now on, this Valentine’s Day and every other Valentine’s Day will be the day I proposed to both my wives. Betty, how can I ever be sad on such a joyous day?”
Another pause, take another deep breath, and say a Hail Mary before I opened the box, held it up, and asked, “Elizabeth Maria Dalton, will you marry me?”
She started crying and was trying to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out, so she nodded her head, and she continued trying to speak, “Urgh…um…oh…uh-huh…yyyy…YES, I’ll marry you, Lukey.”
And I slid the ring on the correct finger; I hope it’s the right finger because my head was being pulled tight between her breasts.
I didn’t suffocate, but it was a close call. I spotted Bobby, and he was standing with Mom, Kathy, and Miss Lily, the women he would entertain with his wit and charm as his body grew up to fit his mental age. I listened and the wife in my head was silent. I hope she found peace.
***** finito