Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one….
It was requested that I try a Valentine's Day one-shot. So here it is!
Alicia was sitting alone in the campus cafeteria when Will joined her there for lunch. He could tell she was in a bad mood from the way she was picking at her salad. Alicia was usually famished by lunchtime, and attacked her food vigorously.
"I don't ask for much, you know. I don't want chocolate. I don't want flowers. Although a single red rose is nice. That symbolizes more to me than two dozen roses. I just want a f-king phone call on Valentine's Day. That's all. Will, why are you laughing? This is serious."
"I just don't think I've ever heard that word come out of your mouth before. It's only two in the afternoon, Alicia. He'll call later, I'm sure," Will said.
"You hate him. So why are you defending him? You know what? All men suck. He forgot last year too. Then he tried to make amends by buying me diamond earrings two weeks later."
"Alicia, why do you stay with Peter when he upsets you like this?" Will asked her.
"It's complicated, Will. Listen, I have to get to class. I'll see you at home tonight okay?"
"Do you want to go out with me tonight, and drown your sorrows?" he asked.
"No. I think I'll stay home with Doritos, a big bag of peanut M and M's, and some bad TV," she answered.
Alicia smelled food the minute she stepped into her apartment that night. She hoped Will hadn't decided to cook. That would be an unmitigated disaster. The lights were dim. Something was up.
"Will? Where are you?" She shouted.
"In the kitchen. Come on in."
He had found a red and white checkered tablecloth for the kitchen table. There were candles, along with two wine glasses, and two place settings.
"Sit down. Let me pour you some wine" Will said.
"What is all this?" Alicia asked him
I wasn't about to let you spend Valentin'es Day eating junk food, and watching TV. So I ordered from Morelli's. There's fettucini with chicken, linguini with clam sauce, garlic bread, salad, and minestone soup."
"
Alicia noticed the wine bottle on the counter. "Reunite? I see you spared no expense, Will."
"Give me a break. I'm not a wine expert. At least not yet. There's dessert too. Cherry cheesecake and chocolate cannoli. The girl working the counter at Morelli's suggested the cannoli. Said it was to die for."
"Was she cute?" Alicia asked.
"Very. Now let's eat."
They ate their food, drank their wine, and toasted to their friendship. Then Will placed a CD in the boom box on the counter. Billy Joel. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant."
They danced together, humming along with the lyrics.
A bottle of white. A bottle of red. Perhaps we'll have rose instead. You can have anything you want. In our Italian restaurant.
When Alicia went to bed that night, she noticed someone had placed a vase on her dresser containing one single red rose. There was a small card next to it that was simply scrawled "Will."