At midnight I felt him join me in bed as I lay half asleep. He kissed my shoulder and whispered
“Happy anniversary, baby, I love you.”
My eyes filled with tears, I was being ridiculous. Mike loved me just as much as he ever did, and I just had to support him. I drifted off to sleep having comfort in his warmth beside me.
The next morning, I woke up and the bed was filled with rose petals.
I looked at the time, it was 8:20am, the girls were already on the bus for school and Mike must have turned off my alarm. There was a single rose lying in Mike’s spot on the bed, and attached to it was a note that read:
"Go to the bathroom, then meet me downstairs"
I opened the door to our bathroom and the mirror was filled with pictures of Mike and I. There must have been a hundred photos covering the entire mirror, some were from when we started dating in grade 12, some from our prom together, others from our wedding, our kids’ birthdays, and vacations.
Every picture showed us arm in arm, smiling at the camera, and I realized how deeply I loved him. I could have spent hours looking at all the pictures, but stuck on top of all the photos was a post-it note that read:
"You don’t need to get ready, you’re beautiful just the way you are"
I ran my fingers through my hair and walked down the stairs to our kitchen. There was Mike, in a suit at tie, at 8:35am in the morning. He was making crepes, and there was already a plate ready for me next to another long stem rose.
I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around him. I kissed him the way I did fifteen years ago at the altar. He was the only man I’d ever loved, and I wanted to have him, to feel the warmth of his lips against mine, every day for the rest of my life.
“Don’t you want to know what’s going on?” he asked with a smile after our passionate kiss.
“Of course, I’ve been dying to know,” I answered.
“Okay sit down and eat,” he insisted. So I sat down at the table and started to nibble on my crepe when he began to speak.
“Celebrating our anniversary with the girls has been great the last few years, but I can count on one hand the number of nights we have alone together since they were born. Fifteen is a big year for us and I wanted to show you how important you really are to me, not just as the mother of my kids but at the most beautiful and important person in my life.”
I blushed and felt a knot building in my throat.
“I decided a while ago that I wanted to do something special with you for Valentine’s this year, but I wanted the girls to have a good time too. I didn’t want to just drop the kids off with our parents or their friends, I wanted the whole day together. I got this idea of a school dance.
“I talked with the principal and the teachers about having a dance for the kids so parents could have a day to themselves. I called all the volunteers, teachers, and organizers of the school to see who was willing to chaperone. They’ve set up extended after school hours so kids can stay at school and get ready together over dinner.
“They’re ordering pizza for everyone. I’ve even arranged with some of the other moms to have carpools ready after the dance and Britt and Sarah both have sleepovers planned tonight. They let me organize everything if I agreed to help out with the other activities as well, so I’ve been spending most of my time there to make sure that tonight worked out for us.”
At this point tears were streaming down my cheeks. I wanted something romantic but I never imagined this. He planned every detail. I was in shock. I was still too amazed to speak.
“I have a few reservations and activities planned if you want to go out, or we can just stay in and enjoy the house if you want,” he said.
“We’re not going anywhere except upstairs” I answered.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” he said. He scooped me up and slowly carried me up the stairs.
He laid me down in the bed full of rose petals then took off his...
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