"Can't we just treat today as any other Saturday?" Charlie grumbled as Reba cooked him breakfast at the stove.

"Sure we can, honey." She said in a fake sympathetic tone as she turned off the burner on the stove.

"I just don't get this whole Valentine's Day deal crap. I mean who comes up with this garbage anyways?" He asked flipping through all the Valentine's Day ads in the newspaper.

Reba shrugged flipping the scrambled eggs onto his plate, along with the bacon and toasts she had made for him.

"I don't know, but don't ruin today." She said sitting the plate in front of him.

"Reba." He groaned, holding up the piece of toast she had cut into a heart shape.

"Oh come on Charlie! Today's supposed to be a day to show love for the people you love."

He shook his head biting into the toast. "I just don't get it."

Reba rolled her eyes.

"We didn't expect you too."

"Get me some salt." He said taking a bite of his eggs.

"You have two feet." She said sarcastically getting some food for herself.

"I thought today was a day to show love for the people you love?" He said mocking her.

"Well you haven't showed me any love yet today!" She said slamming the salt shaker in front of him.

"You haven't given me a chance too."

"I didn't have too, I know you're not going to. You're gonna be nothin but a mean ole' man today."

"I don't see the point of havin to make a big deal out of somethin we do everyday. We're married, we don't need some stupid holiday to remind us."

"We don't have to make a big deal out of it. Let's just have a little fun. We're always so busy, when's the last time we got to do somethin nice for each other?"

"Reba I provide a salary. That's nice enough."

"Well I do too!"

"See, we're already nice to each other."

Reba frowned, resting her chin her hand as she watched him scarf down his food. "Can we at least go out to a nice restaurant or somethin?"

"A snowball's chance in hell." He grunted out with a full mouth, not tearing his eyes away from the paper. "Every place in town is goin to be packed wall to wall with couples."

"Well then how about a romantic dinner here? Right at home."

"You cookin?"

She sighed in disappointment, standing up and taking her plate. "Just forget it." She dumped her dish in the sink, no longer hungry. She grabbed her mug, heading for the front porch.

"Reba?"

"Yeah?" She looked back at him hopefully.

"Have you started the laundry yet?"

...

Reba wrapped her arms around herself, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited in line at the pick counter. Her entire day had consisted of chores and Charlie screaming at a television set drinking beer. How romantic.

And now her she was, picking up Chinese food on Valentine's Day. She sighed, stepping forward when it was finally her turn. Charlie was right, every restaurant in town seemed to be packed. "Hey Reba." The cashier smiled.

"Hey Tommy."

"No Charlie tonight?"

"Nah, he's at home sick."

"Oh man, on Valentine's Day too. Well, I hope he feels better."

"Thanks." She gave him a polite smile, paying for the food and heading off. She tossed the bag into the passenger seat, starting her car. She looked up, pausing when she spotted a couple across the street, holding hands and laughing. She sighed, pulling out of her parking space, flipping on the radio.

Patsy Cline's sorrowful voice filled the car and Reba quickly changed the station. Although a favorite, she wasn't exactly in the mood to hear about heartache. She rolled her eyes when another tear jerking song came on. She changed the station again, holding back a scream when for the third time another depressing song played. "When did country become the most depressing genre known to man!" She scoffed to herself, sighing as she propped her arm against the window, holding her head in her hand.

The front door practically slammed open and Charlie glanced at his wife. Only for a mere second before he turned his attention back to the football game on tv.

She rolled her eyes, shrugging off her coat. She stomped over, tossing the bag full of food on the side table next to him. "Here."

"What's this?" He questioned, poking at the bag.

"Dinner."

Charlie opened it, scrunching up his nose. "You couldn't make somethin?"

"No Charlie." She gritted her teeth, heading over to the dining table and picking up the messy stack of mail. "I couldn't just make somethin. Because I've been bustin my hump all day cleaning this house top to bottom. The last thing I wanna do is slave over a hot stove for a man who wouldn't even appreciate it."

"Don't be such a baby."

Reba clenched her hands, seething. "You know what I've had-" She was cut off by the phone ringing. She tossed the mail at him frustrated. "Sort through the bills and see what needs to be paid first." She headed into the kitchen, grabbing the phone off it's cradle. "Hello?"

"Hey, Reba it's me. Narvel."

"Hi Narvel what can I do for ya?"

"Sorry to call you on Valentine's, I just needed to double check if we were leaving on Saturday or Monday?"

"I think we all agreed on Monday, that way we'll have the weekend to get the bus and everythin ready."

"Ok. Great. Sorry." She heard the nervousness in his voice and couldn't help but laugh.

"Narvel you're fine."

"I'm your tour manager, I should know this stuff."

"You're doin great. Relax." She heard him take a deep breath.

"How's your day goin?"

Reba glanced around the corner at Charlie, rolling her eyes as she watched him stuffing his face. "It's goin alright." She left the kitchen, walking down the short hallway to her bedroom. "Yours?"

He let out a small chuckle. "Pretty uneventful."

"Don't you and Lisa have anything planned?" She sank down onto her bed, leaning against the headboard.

"She's out of town with the kids."

"Why didn't you go with em?"

"I had to get something's done around the house. Plus peace and quiet is pretty rare here, gotta take advantage of it when you can."

"Oh."

"What about you? Any big plans with Charlie?"

"No. He's... sick."

"Sorry to hear that. Well if you have some free time, I had this great idea for your next show."

A smile appeared on her face for the first time that day. "I'd love to hear it."

...

Charlie raised a questioning eyebrow as he walked into their bedroom, seeing his wife still on the phone. Reba glanced up at him, clicking her tongue. "I've got to go... Yeah it was nice talkin to you too... Ok, bye." She hung up with a smile on her face.

"Who was that?"

"Mama." She quickly responded, setting the phone down on her night stand.

"Really? You guys were talkin for a while."

She shrugged. "Not really."

"Reba you were on the phone for almost two hours."

She looked at him shocked. "Really?" He nodded. "Huh. I didn't realize it was that long."

Charlie rolled his eyes, kicking off his shoes and un tucking his shirt. "You gonna eat somethin?"

"I'm not hungry."

"You gotta eat."

"Later." She reassured him. "Game over?" She watched as he took off his belt, tossing it onto the floor, she rolled her eyes.

"Yup."

"Who won?"

"Do you really care?"

She shrugged. "Not really." She watched as he rounded the bed, sitting down next to her. He leaned in to kiss her and she pulled away, glaring at him. "What are you doin?"

"What does it look like?" He leaned in to kiss her again, only to have her push him away.

"Cut it out! I'm still mad at you."

"Oh come on darlin." He cupped her face. "It's Valentine's Day." He pressed his lips against hers before she could protest, pushing her onto her back.

Her head hit the pillow and she pushed at him. He didn't budge and she slapped his chest. He ignored her, his hands making their way to her hips as he tore his lips from hers, kissing along her neck. "Charlie stop it!" She pushed at him again, smacking the back of his head this time.

He pushed himself up, hovering over her as he glared down. "What the hell is your problem?"

Reba glared back at him. "My 'problem' is that you've been sittin on your ass all day drinkin beer. You never once helped me with the cleanin, or even offered to. You've paid no attention to me, you haven't even told me you loved me once today. So i'm not gonna lay here and let you do whatever you want just because it's 'Valentine's Day'." She sneered at him, trying to sit up. "Stop bein a jackass, let me up."

Charlie pushed her back down and Reba gasped as he took her hands in his and pinned them down to the bed. "You will NOT talk to me that way do you hear me?"

Reba shrank back against the pillow at his harsh stare. "Charlie-

"I'm not going to be ridiculed by my own wife. You will treat me with respect and nothing else. You got it?" She remained silent and he tightened his grip around her wrists, making her gasp. "I said do you got it?"

"Yes, yes I got it." She nodded her head frantically, trying to pull herself out of his grip. "Charlie you're hurting me."

He smirked, loosening his grip but still keeping her pinned down. "Good. Now where were we?" He moved down to her neck again, letting go of her wrists. She gasped, gripping his shoulders when he bit down on her skin roughly, a tear slipping from her eye.