Shannon sighed. The house was quiet now. The children were off to school. Her husband, Ryan, left shortly after the children boarded the school bus. She sat at the dining room table, a cooling cup of coffee beside her and opened the paper. Her eyes skimmed the front page, more bad news. That was the last thing she needed. Shannon flicked the paper open to retrieve the grocery inserts. Her movement was quick and sent the inserts cascading to the floor. She cursed then bent to retrieve them.
She arranged them neatly on the table in front of her by proximity to the house. The last few inserts made her pause. She stared down at a jewelry advertisement. Heart shaped trinkets and semi precious gems gleamed up at her within the Valentine's Day advertisement.
The conversation she had with Ryan the night before came back to her as she looked upon the glossy pamphlet.
"We should probably do something low key this year," Ryan said while pulling his pajama pants on.
"Low key," Shannon repeated with a neutral tone.
Ryan assisted Shannon with removing the accent pillows from the bed. "Yeah. Just you and me. Rent a movie. Kick back at home. Nothing too big or..."
"Too expensive?" Shannon's neutral tone failed.
Ryan stopped and gave his wife a searching look. "Yes. Too expensive. I want to give you the same sort of gifts I've always given you." Ryan's face filled with worry. "The money's so tight right now."
"You're right." Shannon busied herself with tucking the fitted sheet under the mattress.
Ryan pulled back the sheets but didn't climb into bed. He stood at the bedside and looked at his wife. There was silence for a few moments before Shannon spoke.
"Something simple. We can do simple." Her eyes met Ryan's and she smiled. Ryan returned the smile then climbed into bed.
Shannon tossed the jewelry ad aside then began to work on her grocery list.
***
Shannon never thought she'd be a "bargain shopper". It was an adjustment living on a budget. She'd grown far too accustomed to buying what she wanted. Now she was going up and down grocery aisles with a folder of coupons and a calculator. Shannon sighed but decided to look on the bright side. She and Ryan had food to eat and a home. The situation could be far worse.
Ryan had only been out of work three months and was diligently pounding the pavement to find a new job. Ryan was a hard worker. When Shannon thought of their conversation about Valentine's Day her heart sank at the realization that she was being selfish and petty.
She put the last items on her list into the cart and reminded herself she had a very good man in her life. Shannon smiled at his desire to give her what they couldn't afford. She should have told him in that moment how much more valuable and precious that was than anything he could have purchased at a store.
Shannon was filled with a determination to show Ryan how much she did appreciate him. She guided the cart to the shortest line. The checker called into the loud speaker for a price check. Everyone in front of her groaned but Shannon simply smiled. She was in a good mood now. She pulled a magazine off the shelf. The cover story was: 20 Do's and Don'ts for Your Man This Valentine's. Shannon added the magazine to the cart.
***
While the laundry ran Shannon read the Valentine's Day article. The majority of the suggestions Shannon scoffed at. She either couldn't see Ryan liking them or they were too outrageous. The few that were sensible and budget friendly Shannon starred. She tucked the magazine into her purse and planned to make this Valentine's Day as special as their meager budget could manage.
The three days leading up to Valentine's Day passed as usual but Shannon found herself gazing upon her husband sweetly more often and squeezing him close from time to time. The first few times she did Ryan gave her a confused looked but the more she did these things the more he embraced her warmly in response. Shannon was giddy, if not from the affection but from the bubbling excitement of her surprise.
***
Shannon made breakfast on Valentine's Day morning as she did every morning. She and Ryan walked the children to the corner like they did on every school day but as the two of them stood at the end of the street and watched the bus pull away Shannon pulled Ryan to her.
"We have the house to ourselves tonight."
"We do?" Ryan looked down at Shannon. His smile grew when he took notice of the impish grin on his wife's face.
