A Valentine's Day Story by Norma Deer Imhof

Michael stood in front of Valley Green Floral Designs looking into the window. Hearts and flowers were as deep as a cliché. Valentine’s Day, he harrumphed to himself. What a waste of energy…not to mention money. He leaned closer to read the price tag hanging limply from the stem of one of a dozen roses in a generic glass vase. “Eighty-five dollars!” he exclaimed rather loudly. “What a bunch of crooks!”

Walking toward her townhouse, Michael couldn’t shake his thoughts of revenge.

* * *
A year ago he proposed to Mary giving her a dozen red carnations from Wal-Mart and an inexpensive ring from Sam’s Club. She was beaming with happiness and stated she didn’t need a diamond because their love meant more than a high priced symbol.

Mary herself was frugal. Her wardrobe was all hand-me-downs in drab colors of brown and gray and she never went to the hairdresser or wore a speck of make-up. Being a shy person kept her away from dating. Meeting Michael in her check-out line at Giant Eagle was the highlight of her life. As his container of Wesson oil was jumping down the conveyor belt it fell spilling out its contents all over the rubbery surface. She immediately grabbed some paper towels to sop up the spatter.
“Don’t worry miss; it will only make your hands softer.”

Mary’s heart melted as her eyes met Michael’s. He reached over and squeezed her hand offering to help and asking her out once her shift was over.

Their flirtatious relationship blossomed into a marriage proposal in only six months, but last week, Michael put an end to this Romeo and Juliet romance when he saw Mary kissing her boss in the frozen food aisle at the store. She pleaded with Michael that she was just wishing him happy birthday, but he refused to

believe she didn’t have intentions of wanting more.

* * *
Michael unlocked her front door with the key she had given him. At her computer he typed in the words magazine subscriptions. He ordered every subscription he could using her address and credit card number. It was easy to place an ad in the classifieds of the local paper which would read, For Sale: 1966 Corvette, Mint Condition, Must Sacrifice $6,000, call after midnight only 555-766-3129. He quickly dialed the pizza shop and ordered ten pizzas for dinner and then called for the weather report in China and laid the receiver down on her desk without hanging up to accumulate charges on her phone bill.

He noticed the red flag up on her mailbox and pulled out the awaiting envelopes. Addressed to J C Penney, Macy’s and the IRS for taxes, he frantically ripped them into pieces and placed the shredded remnants in his pocket. It was easy to pour the water out of his bottle onto the frigid sidewalk so it would freeze causing her to slip when she returned home from the bus stop. He placed sugar in her gas tank, a potato in her tail pipe and removed the caps on her tires and put black paper in the holes so the air would leak out at a slow pace. In her freezer was vanilla ice cream so he replaced it with Crisco, put itching powder in her panties, bleach in the bottom of her washing machine and then he turned to her medicine cabinet. No drugs; only a toothbrush, toothpaste, a gathering of Q-tips and no make-up. It was then he realized how simple she was and how much he loved her. Michael fell to his knees and wept. It was then he noticed Mary lying in the blood-filled tub with her wrists slashed.

The note read:

My darling Michael;
You were right; I have betrayed you and I can’t live with this lie.
I truly did love you!

* * *
Later, Michael was in Valley Green Floral purchasing flowers for the funeral home at a price of $170.00; twice the amount of the dozen Valentine roses.

March assignment

This is a challenging assignment, but I think it will make us all more aware of the importance of a comma, a semi-colon, etc.

You are to write one, two or three paragraphs (which may or may not be related), and then you will rewrite it/them, changing the punctuation to create a new message altogether. Since we'll be meeting the week of St. Patrick's Day, include a St. Patty's Day theme somehow (i.e. leprechauns, shamrocks, rainbows, pots of gold, etc.). And, again, remember to keep the total word count under 600 (including the original and rewrite(s)).


Here are some examples from Lynne Truss's EATS SHOOTS & LEAVES:


Dear Jack,

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy – will you let me be yours?

Jill

Dear Jack,

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men I yearn! For you I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?

Yours,
Jill

Do you see the difference? That's your challenge. To try to do the same!

May the luck o' the Irish be with you!

Hana

Assignment for February 14th meeting

Yes, the meeting is on Valentine's Day! Invite your sweetheart to join in the fun at the 6:30 meeting or afterwards at Fiddler's at 9!


• Assignment:

Abby looked at the clock. It was five minutes to five and still no delivery. She did not need to look around the office to know that dozens of roses had been delivered that day – she could smell them. Still, she could not resist peeking around the soft gray divider of her cubicle. Susan’s desk was graced with not one dozen, but two dozen of the longest-stemmed red roses Abby had ever seen. Down the hall, she spotted bursts of colorful Mylar’s hovering over various workspaces. Even Ellen Tineman had one…Ellen Magellen Tineman! And as the clock ticked the final moments of the workday, Abby sighed, the hope of yet another Valentine’s Day surprise all but destroyed.

Or

Michael stood in front of Valley Green Floral Designs looking into the window. Hearts and flowers were as deep as a cliché. Valentine’s Day, he harrumphed to himself. What a waste of energy…not to mention money. He leaned closer to read the price tag hanging limply from the stem of one of a dozen roses in a generic glass vase. “Eighty-five dollars!” he exclaimed rather loudly. “What a bunch of crooks!”

• 600 words or less, in addition to one of the above paragraphs.

Assignment for January 10th meeting

• Monday, January 10, 2011 6:30 – 9:00 PM

• Assignment: It is a new year! Choose one of your characters from the last year (or from a novel you are currently working on) and write about New Year’s Resolutions from their POV. This can be in list form, a narrative, a journal entry, a blog post…whatever format you choose. Just focus on your character’s voice and stick to resolutions.

600 words or less.

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed
is more important than any other.

Abraham Lincoln