How had she celebrated Valentine’s Day?
On Arianna’s lunch break the day after Cupid’s big day she made the rounds of the two main drugstores in Silverdale, where the hospital was located, as well as the dollar store. Her mother blinked in surprise when, after Sophie went to bed, Arianna hauled in three bags filled with everything from candy kisses, peanut butter hearts and large valentine hearts filled with chocolates to small cheap heart-shaped boxes.
“Were you planning on reselling those?” Mia asked. “If so, it’s too late.”
“I’ll put them to good use.” Arianna plopped on the couch and dug out a large box of mixed chocolates.
“And put yourself in a sugar coma.”
“Have one.”
“I’ll pass,” said Mia.
“Your will power is disgusting,” Arianna teased.
She bit into a dark chocolate square and the chocolate danced on her tongue. Oh, yes. The day after Valentine’s Day was even better than the day itself.
“Seriously, what are you going to do with all this?” Mia asked.
“We need treats for Christmas in February.” And wasn’t that the beauty of keeping this whole Christmas spirit thing going? You didn’t need Cupid, you didn’t need a man, you simply needed a joyful heart and a happy attitude.
Arianna showed off her haul with Molly and Sunny when they met at Noah’s Ark, a local favorite burger joint.
“All that chocolate would sure make me happy,” said Sunny, eyeing it.
“I figure we can use it for our Christmas-in-February party,” Arianna said.
“Great idea,” Sunny approved. “We can stuff mini-stockings with a bunch of these.”
“Let’s have it at my house,” Arianna offered. “I want to fill it with love and joy.”
“Fine by me,” Molly said. “I’m too pooped to clean, and I think the dust bunnies ate my Christmas spirit.”
“Your bobbleheads aren’t helping?” Sunny asked.
Molly shrugged. “They are, and not everyone is a jerk. It’s just that I had some real winners in today. I guess it’s put me in a sour mood.”
Arianna handed over one of the big boxes. “Take this. You can pass out candy and sweeten everyone up.”
Molly smiled and took it. “I don’t know about everyone, but it will sweeten me up.”
“So, what can we do for this party?” Sunny asked, returning them to the reason they were meeting.
“Eat,” Molly said.
“Besides eating,” Sunny clarified.
They all fell silent.
At last Sunny spoke. “How about making a rom-com?”
“A rom-com,” Molly repeated.
“Yeah, our own Valentine’s Day movie. We can make something up about...”
“Someone who hates chocolate and learns to love it,” Arianna said, holding up the bag.
Molly snickered. “Why not?”
