Valentine’s Day 2010
It’s my first Valentine’s Day with Kai. I can’t help but feel a flutter of excitement mixed with nervousness. I smile, rubbing my belly. “I guess it’s our little bean’s first Valentine’s Day, too,” I say, talking to the baby growing inside me. This is my first Valentine’s Day with a boyfriend. Kai has been my first with almost everything so far.
Kai had told me this morning, before he left for work, to be ready for dinner tonight. With my growing belly, fitting into my old clothes has become a little hard. I also wanted to look nice for him, so I headed to the store and found a red mini-dress. It was stretchy enough to accommodate my bump and made me feel like my old self. Back at home, I paired the dress with my black leggings and layered a black cardigan over the top. Slipping into my black ballet flats, I take a moment to admire my reflection in the mirror. This outfit is perfect for our night out.
The sound of the front door opens, and I head over to the living room, still excited and nervous. When I see Kai, my cheeks blush and my smile grows wide. He’s holding a bouquet of red roses and a pink-and-white striped Victoria’s Secret bag.
I kiss him on the lips, overly excited for our night.
“These are for you,” he says as he hands me the flowers.
I inhale the sweet, rich floral scent. “Thank you.”
“I also got you this.” He raises the bag.
“What is it?”
“Open it.”
I pull the tissue paper out, and I take out the Love Spell bodywash, lotion, and body spray. The vibrant purple-and-gold packaging catches the light, and I can’t help but smile. I’m so excited; I love this scent. It’s a blend of peach, cherry blossom, and white jasmine. I can’t wait to try it on. Removing the cap from the body spray, I spray the fine mist all over myself, inhaling the scent. “I love it. Thank you. I got you something too.” I head for our room. I went to the store earlier today to get Kai a present. Since it’s our first Valentine’s together, I wanted to get him something.
“You didn’t have to buy me anything,” he says behind me as we walk into the room. “You’re all I need. You and our precious little girl.” He places his hands around my belly, softly rubbing it.
We found out a couple of weeks ago that we were having a girl. I was so thrilled because I’ve always dreamed of having a little mini-me and being best friends with her. I know I’m young, but at least we can both grow up together. It might make us closer.
Kai was excited when we found out, but also nervous. Like any typical guy, he’s worried about when she gets older and starts dating. I told him we'd have to be good examples, so she finds a good guy. With Kai being so attentive and caring throughout my pregnancy, I have no doubt that he will be a great father to our daughter.
“Here, open it.” I hand him his present.
He unwraps the box, opens it up, and says, “Nice. How’d you know I needed new ones?”
I look over at our closet and there lie his old black Vans that are so worn out, holes are coming through the sides of the shoes.
He chuckles. “Yeah, they’re pretty bad.” He kisses me on the lips. “Let me get ready so we can get to our dinner. Reservations are at eight.
“Oh, wow, you made reservations.” I feel fancy.
He winks and heads for the bathroom.
We walk into Tucanos,and we’re immediately enveloped by an energetic atmosphere. All the waiters are carrying skewers and rush from table to table, serving a variety of meats. The aroma of sizzling meat soars through the air while the waiter walks us to our seats. I love this place. It’s my favorite restaurant that my mom used to take us to on special occasions. I mentioned it to Kai once and he must have remembered. Their Brazilian cheese bread and fried bananas are to die for. I always fill up half a plate with just that.
“Thank you for taking me to my favorite restaurant. I’m so excited to eat.” I giggle.
“You’re welcome. Anything for you.”
The waiter comes and takes our drink orders before we serve ourselves at the salad bar. I ordered a Brazilian lemonade and Kai ordered his regular drink, Coke.
After going to the salad bar, both of us sit back down and turn the wooden sign green to show we are ready to be served meat.
“Are you going to eat all of those?” he asks, eyeing half my plate of cheese bread and fried bananas.
“It’s not that much.”
“Kind of.”
“Shush. Don’t judge. I’m eating for two.” Even if I wasn’t, I still eat this much.
After a few rounds of meat being served to us, we have a full plate, but we still keep the wooden sign on the green.
