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“Okay class. It’s time to make your Valentine gifts,” said fourth grade teacher Mrs. Johnson.

The children ran to the back of the classroom and sat at the long wooden table. Each child talked excitedly about what they were going to make for their mom or dad or grandmother. One little boy sat quietly watching the others then smiled as he looked at one particular little girl.

There is always that one little girl in the class. And Judy is that little girl. All the little boys do things to impress her. She plays the role of Princess extremely well. She holds court at one end of the table while Tommy stands by himself at the other end. His eyes follow her every movement as though he is being charmed by a snake.

“Tommy, are you okay?” asked Mrs. Johnson.

“Huh?” replied Tommy. “Oh. I’m okay Mrs. Johnson. I was, umm, trying to think of what to make my mom.”

“Okay. Don’t think too long, or class will be over,” she said with a smile.

“Yes, Mrs. Johnson.”

Tommy grabbed three strands of cord and looked through the assortment of charms and beads in boxes along the table. He made a necklace for his mom with a dove as the center piece. The one for his grandmother featured a little angel with a halo. The third necklace displayed a red heart with gold colored trim. Tommy quickly made cards for his mother and grandmother then shoved them in envelopes.

It was close to dismissal and he still had one last thing to do.

Judy stood at her desk with a group of girls comparing the valentine presents they made. Tommy looked at her. Then at the necklace with the red heart and gold trim. He smiled as he looked up at her and timidly walked over to the group.

“Umm, Judy. I made this for you.”

He handed her the necklace and was greeted with giggles from the girls. Judy smiled as she accepted the necklace.

“Thank you, Tommy. See what Tommy gave me?” She let the other girls see it. “It even has a J on the heart.”

“Well, umm, happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Tommy. Thank you.” She gave him a hug and placed the necklace on her desk.

Tommy walked to his desk glowing. Then he heard the group of girls laughing hysterically.

“Okay class. Time to back your things,” said Mrs. Johnson. “The bell will be ringing soon. Don’t forget your valentine presents.”

Some of the girls sitting around Judy laughed. She put her finger up to her lips and looked at them.

The class quickly parted at the first note from the bell. Tommy gathered his things, cleaning up scraps of paper from his hand-made valentine cards, and headed to the door.

“Happy Valentine’s Day Mrs. Johnson.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day Tommy.”

Just as he was about to drop the paper scraps in the trash, he saw a necklace in the can. It was the one he gave Judy. He stood there staring at it.

“Tommy, are you okay?” asked Mrs. Johnson.

He did not answer her. He picked up the necklace and walked out the room.

As Tommy walked home, he could not believe Judy threw away his necklace. She was so nice. She smiled. She showed it to her friends. She said, “Thank you, Tommy” and “Happy Valentine’s Day Tommy.” Why did she say and do all that, then throw it in the trash?

A stray dog followed him, but he did not notice until it walked beside him.

“You know something dog? I hate girls.” The golden brown Labrador Retriever looked up at him then looked at his hand holding the necklace. “Yeah, I made this stupid necklace for a girl and she threw it away. Stupid girl.” The dog looked at him again.

“You’re lucky. You don’t have to worry about stuff like that. Why are you following me anyway? I don’t have any food.”

The dog looked at him, at the ground then straight ahead and kept walking beside him.

“Stupid girls. I hate ‘em. I’m not making another thing for a girl.” He looked at the necklace and tossed it away. The dog stopped and looked in the direction Tommy threw the necklace. After looking at Tommy, the dog ran over, picked up the necklace, and caught up with Tommy at the corner. The dog barked and dropped the necklace at Tommy’s feet. Tommy looked down and was surprised to see it.

“I don’t want that stupid thing.” He kicked it away and crossed the street.

The dog looked at Tommy, looked at the necklace, then at Tommy again. Grabbing the necklace again, the dog followed a ways behind Tommy.

When Tommy got home, he sat on the porch steps with his chin resting in his hands. The dog came up the walkway holding the necklace.

“Why do you keep picking up that necklace? And why did you follow me home? I can’t have a dog, so you may as well go away.”

The dog sat in front of Tommy for a minute. The dog’s head butted Tommy’s hand then dropped the necklace between Tommy’s legs. The dog looked at Tommy, the necklace, Tommy, the necklace, then stared at Tommy. Tommy finally took a hard look at the dog and realized it was a female dog. He smiled as he picked up the necklace and placed it around her neck.

“It looks better on you than stinky face Judy anyway,” said Tommy, flicking at the heart. The dog barked and started trying to lick Tommy’s face. “Okay. Calm down.” He looked at her for a moment. “I guess this means you’re my valentine.”

©Michael Roles Jan. 25, 2012

It’s a rainy day, but I don’t feel like staying inside. I work indoors all week without being able to look outside. So this Saturday afternoon, I can handle a little rain. I put on my jacket, grab an umbrella, pick up my keys, and start my journey into the great outdoors.

The rain is light and steady as it bounces off my umbrella. The neighborhood is relatively quiet except for an occasional bird singing a tune. There are a few people out. Most of them elderly, sitting on the porch watching the cars go by. I wave hello to the Normans. They have been married forty years and still hold hands. They smile and wave back. Must be nice to have a love like that.

I enter Lincoln Heights Community Park and walk along the concrete trail. It’s a beautiful park. Plenty of trees and lush green grass. A bike trail and a separate one for joggers circles the park. There is a beach volleyball area, two softball fields, six tennis courts, and four basketball courts. Children have three play areas to choose from with swings, slides, see-saws, and monkey bars. I see a few people riding bikes and jogging.

As I come upon one of the children play areas, I’m surprise to see a boy and girl playing. The rain is now a very light drizzle. They are wearing hooded nylon jackets, but neither one has the hood covering their head. They are probably age ten at the most. I laugh to myself because nowadays children spend so much time indoors playing video games, on the Internet, or watching movies that I hardly see children their age playing over here. And the fact that it’s raining adds to my amazement.

As I watch them, I think back to my own childhood. Being a product of the 70’s, we had more fun outdoors than inside. Playing board games was nice when it was raining outside. But we would rather be running up and down the street making noise. Playing baseball, tag, hide-go-seek, or football was an average day for us. Riding our bike on the sidewalk and jumping make shift ramps, trying to be Evil Knievel, was a thrill for us. Sure, there were a few tumbles. You went home, cleaned it up, covered it with a Band-Aid and tried it again. When the street lights came on, we would sit on a friend’s porch steps and talk about all the fun we had. The same type of fun these two are having.

I shake my head and smile as I continue to enjoy my walk on this beautiful rainy day.