Unlikely Valentine
by Rob Warr
Chapter 5
Saturday at last
Saturday, I slept till around ten, then peed, washed up a bit, slipped on some shorts and a tee and went downstairs. Mom and dad were still asleep and Kenny never rose before noon on Saturday if he could help it.
I sat at the breakfast bar and ate Poptarts and drank milk as I thought about what lay ahead that day. I was nervous, yet excited but I was looking forward to being alone with Dylan for all that time.
I finished my breakfast and went back upstairs to pack for the sleepover and spent a few minutes deciding what to wear. Casual, of course, since we'd most likely be riding bikes or shooting hoops in the park, but I wanted to look nice just the same. I decided on a pair of black jeans that fit me nicely, and one of my favorite shirts, a striped polo with a white collar.
I debated on which socks to wear, white, black, no, white ankle length, I finally decided, then laid everything out on my bed. Then I grabbed my backpack and began removing my books and stuff to make room for my change of clothes and other things for the sleepover.
It was then that I found the card I'd placed in there yesterday and somehow forgotten about completely. I pulled it out and stared at it, not sure if I dared open it or not, but curiosity soon got the better of me.
I'd found it in my locker yesterday after my last class, but had decided to wait till I got home to look inside the envelope, then had forgotten about it completely. I assumed whoever the sender was had just shoved it through one of the vents in the locker cause it looked a little wrinkled. An anonymous admirer? I wondered, or a prank?
With shaky hands I held the card and looked at the little hearts drawn on each corner and the words neatly hand written between them.
To Josh, Happy Valentine's Day
The flap wasn't sealed, just tucked in, so I pulled it out and easily slid the card out. It appeared to be handmade, and when I got it out completely I was surprised to find there was a rather well drawn picture on the front.
The picture was of a boy in a tree, his heart appearing to beat wildly in his chest as he watched, not a girl, but a boy walking along a path underneath him. The picture had apparently been drawn with colored pencils and was really good, almost professional looking. Whoever drew this picture was very talented. Was it Dylan? I wondered. As far as I knew he wasn't an artist on top of everything else, but then again I didn't know everything about him.
Opening the card, I found more writing inside, this time in a neat script. Happy Valentine's Day....Wish you were my Valentine.
But there was no signature, no clue as to who had sent it. Was it real or a joke? The only two people I could think of capable of such a thing was Dylan and Nicky. Dylan, hopefully because he really felt that way, or Nicky who would probably do something like that as a joke.
I tucked the card back into the envelope and stuffed it back in my backpack and finished packing for the sleepover. When I was finished I went to my desk and fished the item from the desk drawer that I'd hidden there two days ago.
It was a Valentine Card. I'd bought it on impulse, for Dylan, then lost my nerve and stuck it in my desk drawer. But now that I'd received a card, possibly from Dylan, I decided to go ahead and give it to him. I couldn't do it anonymously as he or whoever had, but if I found the nerve I could hand it to him sometime during the sleepover, when the moment was right.
Now, how to sign it? I thought. I sat down and looked at the card. It was a drawing of two boys on skateboards rolling down a hill, and below it it said, Happy Valentine's Day, dude. The two guys were fist-bumping in the drawing, and the card seemed safe enough for one guy to give to another guy. Corny, but not too mushy.
I opened the card, and inside it just said, Happy Valentine's Day, with plenty of space for some hand written sentiment. Now, the question was: what do I write?
I thought about it long and hard and then grabbed a pen and began before I changed my mind.
Dude, thanks for being my friend, you rock.
Fist bump, Josh
Ugh, but too late to change it now. I sighed and placed it in my backpack along with the other card and hoped for the best.
I showered, brushed my teeth, styled my hair, applied deodorant and body spray, and got dressed. My folks were up by then but Kenny was still snoozing as I came downstairs with my backpack and jacket.
We exchanged greetings and mom asked if I'd eaten and I told her yeah, and that Mrs. Hanes was fixing lunch for us. I sat and talked with my folks for a while but I was too nervous to sit for long, so I finally told them I was going to go check on my bike and maybe ride around a bit before going to Dylan's.
I wound up putting a little air in my back tire, but otherwise the bike was fine and ready to roll. I strapped my backpack on, and I was off. I rode to the park nearby, and the through it, and came onto Dylan's street from the opposite end. I was till fifteen minutes early, but when I got up to his house I could see him in his open garage as if he was waiting for me.
We exchanged greetings and I parked my bike in the garage next to his and we went inside. Dylan said his dad was off playing golf and it was just the three of us for lunch. I thought how ironic it was that a former hippie was playing golf with his corporate buddies and I almost laughed.
He led me to the kitchen where his mom was making tacos, and burritos and soon she had lunch on the table. There were chips and queso and salsa, too, and everything was delicious. I thanked her and complimented her cooking and she said she'd learned how to cook when she was a teen and living in a commune in California. Cool, I said.
After we ate, Dylan and I offered to help with cleanup but his mom said we should go enjoy the sunshine and fresh air while we could. Dylan led me to this room then, and as we went up the stairs I couldn't help but stare as his cute butt...he he.
I parked my backpack in his room and I suggested we go shoot some hoops in the park, but he said he had a better idea and he wanted to show me something.
We went down to the garage then and got our bikes and I followed Dylan as he started up the sidewalk. We rode to the park, but didn't stop there. Instead he led me past the park and into a neighborhood I was unfamiliar with. At last we came to a dead-end street and he led me down it to the end.
I was surprised to see a trail leading off into a wooded area and Dylan rode onto the trail and I followed. There were lots of intersecting trails along the way and all of them looked well used. I wondered how Dylan knew which way to go and how he kept from getting lost, but he seemed to know exactly what he was doing.
We eventually came to a little creek intersecting the trail but we didn't cross it. Instead Dylan parked his bike off the trail and I did the same.
"Come on, let's sit a while," he said pointing to a large rock overhanging the creek.
The rock was large enough for at least four kids our age, but Dylan sat as close to me as possible, as if he was afraid I'd fall off if he wasn't there to save me.
"I come here a lot and just sit and think."
"How did you find this place?"
"Oh, well...when we first moved here I didn't know anyone and I spent a lot of time exploring the area. One day I happened upon this place and it became my favorite place to go. Sometimes there are guys on dirt bikes here and it's cool to watch them."
"Yeah, I can't believe I never knew about this place before, thanks for showing me."
"You're welcome. So, today is Valentine's Day," he said surprising me, "Did you get any cards this year?"
I chuckled, "Yeah, one, did you"
"A couple, from girls that I'm kind of friends with."
"None from boys?" I teased.
"Not so far," he said grinning.
"Well, the day isn't over yet," I said grinning back.
"Oh, yeah...well...who sent you the card you got?"
"I don't know. I found it in my locker after last period yesterday. I stuck it in my backpack and kinda forgot about it till today and I finally opened it."
"And...?"
"It was kind of cool. Had a nice picture that someone had drawn."
"What kind of picture?"
"Oh, you know, some hearts and stuff," I said trying to rattle him. If he'd sent the card he knew exactly what kind of picture.
"Did you bring it with you?"
"Yeah, it's in my backpack. Why?"
"Just curious, that's all," he said, then he was quiet for a while before speaking again, "Come on, tell me what was in the card."
"Well, it might sound weird, but I'm pretty sure it was from a boy."
"A boy, why do you say that?"
"Because the picture was of a boy sitting in a tree watching another boy walk along a path. And whoever drew it made it look like the boy in the tree's heart was beating out of his chest."
"What else?"
"Well, whoever sent the card, inside they wrote, Wish you were my Valentine."
"Oh wow, that's cool."
"But it was from a boy."
"Yeah, is that bad?"
"Nah, I guess not. But I never thought about anyone having a crush on me, not a boy anyway."
"Why not? You're a cool dude."
"Thanks, but not everyone shares that opinion."
"Well, they're nuts then."
I giggled, "What about their nuts?"
He giggled, too, and the tension in the air seemed to melt away.
We talked about other things then, as if the other stuff we'd talked about hadn't happened. Soon it was time to start back, and though I was a little disappointed, I still had the evening to look forward to and whatever it brought with it.
When we got to his house, no one was home. His mom had left a note saying she was out doing some shopping but would be home by six, and I guessed his dad was still playing golf.
We grabbed a drink then I followed him upstairs and I couldn't help but stare at his butt again. We took turns using the bathroom then he suggested we sit and cool off a while in his room.
After a few minutes he asked if I wanted to play a video game or watch a movie, but I had another idea.
"Why don't we just sit and talk some more? I suggested, and he agreed.
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