Valentine

Friday the fourteenth

A number of years ago

In September

Friday the fourteenth was the day after my birthday

Thursday the thirteenth

Neither day unlucky

But both tinged with foreboding

One the sort that strikes you when you wake up on the day of a big test

And it looks much brighter

And much more like the middle of the day

Than it should

The other is the kind of foreboding folks experience in horror movies

When they hear themselves say something like

“Sure, I’ll go see why Rob hasn’t come back yet”

Today

I’m not even mildly suspicious of what is waiting for me in the next room

And I’ve never felt more than five minutes late all day long

Today

Had candy

Cookies

And homemade cards

But no presents to open

Or play with

Or contemplate

Today

It is Friday the fourteenth

Of February