A/N: In re-reading one of my earlier stories "My Forever Valentine", I was surprised that I had neglected to include a key scene and although it seems to have gone unnoticed, I felt that it should be included somewhere. So instead of rewriting the entire story, I have written this alternate version, in Niles' point of view.
My first thought when I saw the vibrant red envelope among the stack of bills and important letters in my mailbox was that it had to be a joke. The envelope looked so out of place that it was the only explanation.
It wouldn't be the first time I'd gotten my neighbor's mail by mistake. It happened quite often. In fact, the most memorable time begin when Phyllis came by with some of my mail which led Daphne to think that this was the infamous Phyllis that I was in love with.
I should have just told Daphne the truth. That I had planned on asking her to dinner because she was the woman I loved above all others. But as usual I couldn't bring myself to divulge my feelings.
It was a scenario that was becoming more and more common.
And now that Daphne was engaged and I was with Mel, I knew that my angel and I were simply not to be.
I sighed deeply willing the thought away. It was simply too depressing. Ironic that Valentine's Day was only one day away and although I had a woman in my life, I'd never been quite as miserable.
I cared for Mel a great deal but we hadn't gotten along in months. In fact, I hadn't even bothered to buy her a Valentine's Day gift, much less call to ask her out.
And frankly I didn't care.
I glanced at the envelope which was sealed with a gold heart-shaped sticker and the faintest outline of lipstick. And I realized that I had better get this envelope to its proper owner. No doubt some lucky person would be very happy to receive something so unexpected.
I turned the envelope over and was stunned to see my name and address written in neat block print. It was most definitely the handwriting of a woman.
But whom?
And then it occurred to me... could this be from Mel? An unusually romantic gesture on her part to let me know that she loved me and perhaps to apologize for the hurtful things she'd said in the all too recent past? It didn't seem likely.
Mel wasn't romantic in any sense of the word. Sure, she willingly followed my romantic advances and we spent many blissful romantic moments together. But most of the time it was I who initiated such moments. Mel preferred to have in depth conversations about her patients or my eccentric ways. At first I found our conversations intriguing but now it occurred to me how much she was like Maris. And the thought made me shudder.
I continued to stare at the envelope which had no return address and when my curiosity got the better of me, I hurried to my apartment grateful to be alone. But just to afford myself more privacy, I locked the front door and retreated to the library where I made myself a glass of sherry and sank into my plush leather sofa.
Putting the bills aside I carefully opened the envelope. The color practically screamed romance, along with the stamp which was emblazoned with a pink heart and the letters
L-O-V-E.
This was most definitely not from Mel.