True love snapshot #1

February 14, 1998

I was a high school freshman. I had been seeing this guy for a couple of months then. He was very sweet and romantic, not to mention good-looking and athletic. However, he and I had a major fight the week before Valentine's Day and were not on speaking terms, so I wasn't really expecting anything when Valentine's Day rolled around. If anything, I was quite melancholy that morning as I saw couples all over school exchanging flowers, chocolates and love notes.

I was sitting in math class shortly after lunch, bored to death as the teacher droned on about integers when someone knocked on the classroom door. A junior who was on the same basketball varsity team as my boyfriend poked his head in and asked if he could come in and deliver a "songgram" to Pauline.

My math teacher smilingly obliged. My entire math class went crazy, erupting in hoots and teasing. The junior, with four of his friends, entered the classroom carrying a guitar. One of my boyfriend's teammates handed me three red roses and a box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates with a letter rolled up into a scroll. I unrolled it, and it simply said, "I'm sorry and I love you."

My teacher, still smiling, ordered me to sit in front of the class so I could "enjoy the performance" more. I did, blushing like heck because the whole class was smilingly staring at me.

The junior began strumming his guitar and his group broke into the verse of "And I'll always love you." At that moment, my boyfriend entered the room, sat in the empty chair next to mine, and grinned at me. The class was hooting and shrieking so loudly I could barely hear the song. But I was already smiling from ear to ear.

Finally, as the song ended with the lines, "And if you ever change your mind, I'll still always love you..." he leaned over and whispered, "Hope you liked that, and in case you're wondering, I meant every word."

And after class, he and I went out for an early dinner at a diner close to school. The food was cheap, but I've never had a happier Valentine's Day since.

I still smile when I remember.