MJ Edmunds
February 14, 2014 — By MJ Edmunds

The luck of the valentine

He realised at once that he had posted his lovingly worded Valentine’s card complete with declarations,  and the many joys he  would bestow, under the wrong door.

Happy Valentines

Valentine Vignettes

A Valentine’s Day card came in the post in an unfamiliar hand. He signed his full name on the card. Since school she had never thought about him …


She sent him, who featured large in her reckonings, a Valentine’s  card with a candle attached, and the hope he might light it under him…


He realised at once that he had posted his lovingly worded Valentine’s card complete with declarations,  and the many joys he  would bestow, under the wrong door. He tried to retrieve it with a wire coat hanger, undone, but pushed the envelope out of reach….

In the grandest restaurant, highly reputed for its game,  he ordered bread and butter pudding then turned to her, took her hands in his and said marry me…

Twice on Valentine’s Day, many years apart, the RL me has been in car accidents.

The first was in a purple Valiant with  bench seats, sitting in the front between two boys. We were all smiles on our way to a party, until we skidded off the road and  came to a crashing halt into a metal pillar. Turned out that pillar was holding up a water tank  but not for long… I was embarrassed about us tanking that tank.

The second was on the way home from the art gallery, a rare mother and son day, where we had sketched like Matisse and  had a  good lunch.  I awoke as we crashed into the central fence on  motorway. Then we bounced across three M1 lanes to the feeder lane before coming to a halt.

In both of those accidents, everyone involved was technically unscathed, yet we changed. Lucky Valentines!

This Valentine’s Day there was no crash, just everyday love. Which is the point.

MJ Edmunds