It's The Thought That Counts
John was still sleepy when he wandered into the kitchen but fully dressed, boots laced tightly. Always be ready to fight or run. It was drummed into his head since he learned to walk. He smiled when he saw that Cameron was fixing the pancakes. At least Mom wasn't destroying his breakfast. Sarah was nowhere in sight. Probably double checking her armory. As soon as John sat at the table, Cameron picked up a large envelope off the counter and handed it to him.
"What's this?" he checked out the envelope curiously. It had his name printed out in the big block letters that Cameron wrote with.
Cameron's face remained blank. "It's a Valentine's Day card. It is customary to give Valentine's Day cards to those close to you. Happy Valentine's Day."
John smiled as he opened the envelope. He opened the folded card and his smile turned into a puzzled expression. "Cameron, it's a picture of a Roman soldier hacking some dude's head off with a sword."
"Yes, I painted it myself."
"Yeah, I didn't think you picked it up at the Hallmark store." John took another look at the card. Cameron was a pretty good artist, perhaps too good. "This is really gross, there's an awful lot of blood and it looks like they beat the hell out of this guy."
Cameron brought over a stack of pancakes. "The amount of hemoraging for a decapitation of that type is appropriate."
"Nothing about this thing is appropriate! Why would you even think of something like this for Valentine's Day?"
Sarah came in and looked over John's shoulder. "That's really cute! What is it?"
"It's John's Valentine's Day card." Cameron replied. "Today is Saint Valentine's Day. In the calendars of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, saint's feast days are celebrated on the days of their deaths. On the 14th of February, circa 270AD, exact year unknown, a Roman priest named Valentine was beaten with clubs and decapitated with a sword. Decapitation with a sword was the proper method of execution for Roman citizens. He is now a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church. This is the event we're celebrating today."
Sarah nodded her head as she pulled a jug of milk out of the refrigerator. "She does have a point."
John sighed. "Cameron, Valentine's Day is not about decapitations. It's a celebration of friendship and romance. It's about love, not death."
"There was a Roman fertility holiday named Lupercalia that was celebrated from the 13th to the 15th of February." Cameron stated. "Many of it's customs were grafted onto Saint Valentine's Day but we are not celebrating Lupercalia. We are celebrating Saint Valentines Day."
"Then let's celebrate his life, not his death." John said. "A Valentine's card should have hearts, flowers and cupids, stuff like that."
Cameron snatched the card back, opened a drawer, pulled out some colored markers and rapidly sketched on the card. She then handed it back. "Is this better?"
"Now it's a picture of a guy being beheaded surrounded by hearts, flowers and cupids. That's just plain wrong."
"Then you are displeased?"
John shook his head, "No, I'm very happy with it. Thank you Cameron." He tried to think of something he could do for her. What would a terminator want to do? She wasn't interested in fancy dinners or movies. Clothing, Cameron always wore attractive, fashionable clothing. Apparently she had a bit of vanity programed into her and most of her nicest outfits had recently been shot up. "Cameron, let's go clothes shopping. You could use a few new outfits."
Her expression remained unchanged. "Very well, I'm sorry if the card wasn't what you expected."
John grinned, "That's okay, it's the thought that counts."
