It is almost Valentine’s Day,” said
seven-year old Mandy to her mother, Mona, as they strolled along the sandy
oceanfront. They had driven to Florida
Suddenly, they spotted a tall,
dark-haired, chubby man wearing an old, worn-out, navy sweat suit. He was
gathering seashells. As they approached him, he looked up, smiled and waved at
them. He seemed to be quite shy.
“Mommy, I like him!” said Mandy
to her mother. “Maybe that guy in the sweat suit would like to be your
valentine?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. He is
grubby looking and needs a haircut. He has a smile any mother could love, but
his physique leaves a lot to be desired,” she replied, with a smile. There was
no doubt the man in the sweat suit was a bit on the pudgy side. “Are you
playing matchmaker, again?”
“Why not, but now we have scared him
away. He is heading for the cabins,” replied Mandy. “Just imagine, Mommy, if he
was your valentine, you would not be so lonely.”
“I’d have to put him on a
weight loss program and get him exercising,” she said, with a smile. Mona
promptly dismissed the thought of any further encounters with the man in the
sweat suit, but Mandy did not.
“Go and play, sweetie, while I
will figure out where we are going for dinner tonight.”
“He would be perfect as my
father,” Mandy thought to herself. She watched closely, to see which cabin he
entered. “He is in cabin number nine. I really need a new daddy,”
she thought to herself. “Mommy is not doing anything about finding one for me,
so I may have to take things into my own hands. Anyhow, kids should be able to
decide who their fathers will be.”
At age seven, Mandy had lost
her father in a tragic, motor vehicle accident. She missed him and was
determined to find a new husband for her mother, who she frequently heard
crying during the night. By nature, she was a fun
loving, outspoken child, bold for her age and quite mischievous. Suddenly, she
had an idea.
“If only I could make something
happen between them!”
Moments later, using a stick,
Mandy drew a huge valentine in the sand, right in front of the man’s cabin and
put an arrow through the center of the valentine. It pointed directly at their
cabin. Then, using a branch, she erased her footprints.
“That will get him guessing!”
she thought to herself. “He will never know who drew that.”
Mandy headed down to the water,
picking up some brightly colored stones along the way. She found a large, white
seashell that she decided to keep. Sitting on the trunk of a tree that had
fallen over into the water, she played quietly, while basking in the early
evening sunshine.
“Whatever
will be, will be,” she hummed
softly to herself.
“I’d better call Mandy to get
ready for dinner,” thought Mona, who had changed and was ready to go out.
“It
will be seafood tonight. She likes that.”
Moments later, she heard a
gentle knock on the cabin door. When she opened it, she saw the
man who had been dressed in a sweat suit, standing there holding a bouquet of
wild flowers in his hand. She barely recognized him.
“Hi, I am Brandon
“Thanks for the valentine. I
have been on holidays here by myself, for the past two weeks and do appreciate
it.”
“Valentine?” wondered Mona,
taking a closer look at him. “He is a rather attractive man,” she thought to
herself. “His dark hair and deep brown eyes are enticing, too.”
“Would you be my valentine?” Brandon
“Thank you for the wild
flowers,” replied Mona, with a nervous grin. She was uncertain as to how to
reply. “My daughter and I are just going out for dinner.”
“I was just thinking about
seafood,” replied Brandon
“No, Mommy does not have a
date. We would love to have dinner with you, but first I have to get washed up
and changed,” said Mandy, as she ran through the doorway and into her room. “I
will only be a few minutes, Mommy.”
“Mandy, you and I will have a
chat, later!” said Mona, as she placed the wild flowers in a vase. “Perhaps you
should tell me about the valentine,” she whispered to Brandon
“I’ll never tell,” replied Brandon
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