Shelagh was setting the table for dinner that Sunday evening when she heard the front door open. She looked up to see Patrick carrying red roses and a package of her favorite biscuits.
"Happy Valentine's Day my love" he told her and kissed her on the cheek
"Oh Patrick this is lovely, thank you so much" she replied
"You're welcome" he said
"You came home just in time for dinner, once I get these flowers in a vase we can all eat" said Shelagh
They decided earlier that it would be best considering it was a weeknight to have a special family dinner at home with the children as opposed to going on a date night at a restaurant. Shelagh made sure that their dinner would be a special one completed with folded serviettes that sat beside everyone's plate. Laughter filled the kitchen as they ate their meal and Shelagh felt blessed to have so much love in their family.
Later that night after she put Angela to sleep with Timothy finishing his nightly reading to wind down before bed, Shelagh's realized that her plan was about to come to life. Earlier today she baked Patrick's favorite cake, vanilla with chocolate icing, and was going to surprise him with it over a candlelit table. She was hoping that it would lead to entirely different type of dessert. Patrick was in the shower when Timothy closed his book and put it back on the shelf.
"Goodnight Mum" he told her
"Goodnight Timothy, I love you" she said
"Love you too" he replied and retreated to his room after telling Patrick goodnight from the closed bathroom door.
She had just enough time to cut two slices of cake and put them on plates, make the tea, set out the new tablecloth she had bought and light the candles before Patrick came out of the bathroom in his dark red pajamas. He walked towards the master bedroom first, but after realizing she was not in there she watched him make his way to the kitchen.
She watched as he took everything in and the smile that crossed his face when he asked "What's all this?"
"I wanted to do something special for our first Valentine's Day married, I know it's not much, but—"
"No, this is wonderful and it means a lot to me that you did this Shelagh, thank you so much" he said
"You're welcome" she replied as they sat down at the table
Patrick took a bite of his cake and said "It's very good"
"Thank you" she replied
"I'm just wondering how you baked this without Timothy seeing you and wanting some" he told her
"I offered him a piece before dinner and told him that it was for your lunches this week. I told him not to tell you because I wanted you to be surprised and I just had to hope that he wouldn't say anything" she said
"I'm glad that everything worked out" he replied
"Me too" she stated
As they continued to eat their cake, Shelagh added "I know we all eat together as a family most nights, but tonight was special and reminded me how blessed that we are"
"We are lucky. We have been through so much since this time last year and we have gotten through it together" he said as he grabbed her hand and held it over the table
"You are such a great wife and mother and I just love you so much" he added
"And you are a wonderful husband and father that serves the community very well. I love you too dearest" she told him and smiled.
She now understood why candlelit meals were so romantic, the way the candlelight illuminated on his face was pretty attractive. She could tell that he was speeding up to finish his tea and cake and she was pretty sure she knew why. When they were both finished, she blew out the candles and took the dishes to the sink. As she was about to walk back to the dining room table, Patrick grabbed her and started kissing her with a hunger that could not be fixed by cake. The kiss deepened swiftly as he ran his hands up and down her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck to cling to him as her knees went weak at his embrace.
He broke the kiss and whispered while trying to catch his breath " , it appears that you have given me enough sustenance to go all night long"
"Well aren't I just the little vixen" she replied in a whisper with a hint of sarcasm. They giggled as they hurried to their bedroom to enjoy the gift of one another that night.