My Dad's Valentine

'Now you're cooking with gas, kiss her, you dummy.'

Was that Marta speaking, but she never said things like that before, although she did climb up in my lap when I was working at home and beg me to take her to bed. Was that a signal?

"Lukey, would you help me put away the groceries?"

"Sure Betty, it would be my pleasure." Then I removed my hands so she wouldn't see how stupid I looked.

'Listen to me, and I'll have you married....'

"Get out of my head," I screamed as Betty turned around and horror.

"Luke! What's wrong?"

I could only think of one excuse, so I blurted out, "Migraine."

"Well, we need to get you into a dark room and put some cold compresses on your head. Let me help you," and she led me into her bedroom, took my shoes off, and laid me down on my back. I felt her leave the room, and the voice returned.

'Sorry Luke, I tried to rush things. Rest now.'

I felt a cool, damp towel being laid across my forehead and eyes, and Betty took my hand in hers and silently lay next to me. Betty waking me up was the next thing I remember.

"Luke, how do you feel?"

"Good, well great, actually. I haven't slept all night since...." I didn't need to finish my sentence because we both knew what I was going to say.

She fixed me breakfast while she told me she'd spoken to my mom about my headache and mom asked me to call after breakfast. I ate and called my mom to convince her I was all right, and then I replaced the tiles in Betty's tub.

"I can come back and grout this afternoon, but I really should go home and clean up."

"Not if you're driving? Let me get some clothes, and I'll drive you home, and we can both shower and clean up at your home."

"Betty, I can wait while you shower here."

"I believe you would sneak out and drive yourself home, and that ain't happening, Lukey."

So I gave in, she drove, and we both cleaned up before I gave her the nickel tour of my condo. Afterward, she took me to lunch before ending up back at her home.

"Lukey, after you finish grouting the tiles, would you like to stay for dinner?"

I stayed until 9:30, and before I could escape, she gave me a soft kiss on the lips.

Later that night, while I was trying to fall asleep while thinking about that kiss, I had a discussion with the wife in my head. I lost that argument.

'Bobby needs a mother and more siblings, and you need a wife to keep you from wearing your underwear three days in a row and make sure you don't wear mismatched socks.'

I couldn't argue with that logic.

*****

Chapter Five - Bobby and Grandma, Conspirators'

*****

"Dad, next week is Phanksgiving. We want to send a card to Miss Dalton from both of us."

"Do you mean Thanksgiving? Do you want me to help you buy it?"

"Uh-huh."

***

"Miss Dalton, next week is Thanksgiving. My dad is really sad about my mom dying."

"Bobby, I don't want to be nosy, but how did she die?"

"My dad forgot to pick up my birthday cake, so my mom went to get it and got hit by a big truck."

"On your birthday? Oh, you poor baby." Miss Dalton hugged me like my mom did when I was sad, and she even cried tears.

"I'm okay. He blames himself. Don't tell him I told you. My mom doesn't blame him. She wants him to move."

"Your mom? But I thought you said she's.... Where does she want him to move?"

"On."

"On? Oh, I get it, move on. Bobby, do you talk to your mom?"

"Uh-huh. She talks to me when I have a question or wants me to do something. She wanted me to ask if you would send him a Thanksgiving card?"

"Of course, Bobby."

***

That Saturday, my grandma and dad took me to buy Miss Dalton a card. He helped me find one, and then I showed him where video games were while Grandma pretended to look at Christmas cards. After eating dinner at their house, dad wrote words on paper but kept tearing them up. When he got it right, he wrote on the card. Then he licked the envelope and wrote her name on it.

He told me, "I'll put it in your book bag when we get home."

Grandma smiled, and her eyes twinkled as dad hugged her.

Sunday, Grandma came over, picked me up, and left Pop with dad to watch football. When we got back to her house, I gave her his card, and we opened it and read what he wrote to Miss Dalton. It had flowers and a turkey on the front.

Miss Dalton,

Thank you so much for all the extra attention you give Bobby. I am amazed at how

much his mood has improved since summer. I have to give you a lot of credit. I'm glad I

could fix your bathroom.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Luke Larson & Bobby

"Your father has forgotten what a charmer he was in high school with the girls. He could talk any girl into his, uh, um, car." Grandma had a funny face when she said that, and she turned red. Then she opened the card she bought at the store. It was red with pictures of food dishes on two sides, leaves scattered around, and a big red heart with gold trim reading Happy Thanksgiving Day. Inside was what grandma wrote.

Betty,

Thank you so much for all the extra attention you give Bobby. He is a special little

boy, and you are an exceptional woman. I was happy to help you fix your plumbing leak,

but I was even happier getting to spend time talking with you. I'd forgotten how wonderful

it is to inhale the fragrance of a beautiful woman again. Plus, you are a great cook, and I am

not. Please forgive me if I have gone over the line. Bobby says I'm smiling now, and he's

happy again. Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope we can see each other again. Maybe we could go to dinner and a movie, my treat.

Luv,

Luke

"Grandma, it's great, and your writing looks like his."

"No, his handwriting looks like mine."

She dropped the 1^st card into the trashcan.

***

The day before Thanksgiving, I had a half-day of school. Dad was picking me up, so instead of sitting in the lunchroom, Miss Dalton said I could sit with her in class.

"Bobby, tell your dad I said thank you for the card he sent. It is beautiful, and I was surprised by what he wrote."

"You aren't upset, are you?"

"Oh, no, I think he likes me, and that makes me happy."

"He likes you a lot."

"Oh, does he, Bobby?"

"Uh-huh. Dad and me are going to eat turkey at grandmas'. What are you doing?"

"Well, my parents are on a trip out of the country, so I have a little turkey roast, and I'll eat by myself."

"Well, you could come to eat with us and thank him for the card."

"Oh, I couldn't dream of intruding."

"Grandma said I can vite you."

"Do you mean invite?"

"Uh-huh, invite you. She said you could call her after eight in the morning. She eats her oatmeal and reads the paper at 7:30. I have her number on my phone, Grandma is #1."

Miss Dalton took my phone and punched grandma's number into her phone.

Just then, the intercom blared out, "Bobby Larson, please report to the traffic circle. Your father is here."

"Bye, Miss Dalton."

***

The next morning I was outside grandma's kitchen when the phone rang at 9:30, and Grandma answered it.

"Hello?"

. . . . .

"Oh, hello Betty, how are you?"

. . . . .

"Of course, you can come. I've wanted to meet the woman who has helped my boys smile again. You can help me in the kitchen while the men watch football, and we can talk."

. . . . .

"I'll send Luke to get you. Is noon okay?"

. . . . .

"Okay, see you then."

I threw my arms up like Rocky did and said, "What do I do next, Momma?"

***

Later, Dad and Miss Dalton came in laughing, and dad was carrying an apple pie. I heard him tell Pop about Betty while she went into the kitchen and hugged grandma. Grandma said, "Hi Betty, call me Greta. Bobby, why don't you go watch football with your dad and pops?"

"Okay, grandma." She didn't want me to ears drop, whatever that means.

I sat in my dad's lap and watched football, but I fell asleep before the end.

Grandma and Miss Dalton talked. Then we ate.

We had pie and whipped cream, and then dad took her home. I was spending the night with grandma.

*****

Chapter Six - Luke Dares to Love Again

*****

I escorted Betty to her door, and she invited me in. I accepted, and after hanging up our coats, she joined me on the sofa, sitting close to me.

"Luke, thank you for inviting me to share Thanksgiving with your family. Your mother is a pistol and is so much fun to cook with, and your dad is the straight man until somebody gives him a gold-plated invitation to jump into the conversation with both feet and bring the curtains down with everyone cracking up."

"Thank you, Betty. I think they're special too, and I owe them my life for saving me from the bottle when Marta died. They still keep an eye on me, but I don't need a kick in the butt anymore, and Bobby is my little mind reader who always has the right question to ask or the only reasonable answer they can be given."

"Bobby is a sweetheart in school, always happy and willing to help the other kids that have problems with their letters or words."

"He handled his mother passing away better than I did, but I must confess that most of my recovery came from being around you. I hope I'm not being too forward, but I find myself thinking about you every day. I tried expressing my feelings in the card Bobby gave you, but I couldn't come up with words and just wrote a generic thank you."

"Wow, Luke. If what you wrote was a generic thank you, I'd better be sitting down if you ever wrote me a romantic card."

"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?"

"Wait here," and she got up and walked to her bedroom. She returned with the card a minute later, handing it to me before sitting down closer to me.

"That's not the card I bought, but I wish I had."

"Read it."

"Betty? I addressed it to Miss Dalton. Hmm, Exceptional woman, inhale and fragrance, beautiful woman, see each other. Oh my, I didn't write this; my Mom did. That's her handwriting."

Betty looked sad when she said, "You didn't write this, Luke?"

"No, but I wish I did because every word is true. You are an exceptional woman, Betty, a great cook, a wonderful conversationalist, beautiful and intelligent, and I want to see more of you, literally and figuratively."

Now tears of joy were pouring out of her eyes, and she kissed me, and I kissed her back.

'Go for it, dear. Once you make love to her, it's all over; she's yours forever. That's the way it was for me.'

Now, for all you Puritans out there, I did not spend the night with Betty or even get undressed, even though the wife in the head was urging me along. Betty and I agreed that we needed to date, and I needed to meet her parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts and brothers and sisters. But I was definitely happy when I crawled under the covers that night and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next night we went out on our first actual date, to dinner and then dancing. Saturday, Betty and I took Bobby to the movies.

***

Betty and I began calling each other during the week before we went to bed. Friday nights, Bobby spent the night with my parents, and Betty cooked me dinner, and we watched TV for three hours, sitting six feet away from each other. I own a vacant lot for sale on Fifth Avenue if you believe that one. We didn't explore the final frontier together, but we did do many things that both of us enjoyed.

***

Two weeks before Christmas, Betty told me her parents, Katherine and Walter (but they go by Kathy and Walt), invited the three of us to spend next weekend with them. Since this included Bobby, I asked Betty why did they invite my son.

"I've talked to my parents and grandmother about you and Bobby and how I feel about you and...."

"How do you feel about me, Betty Boop?" I called her that sometimes when I wanted a kiss.

The first kiss she gave me I'll never forget, but the kiss she gave me now curled every hair from my feet to the top of my head, and her words whispered to me made me think I needed to start shopping for a ring.

"I've dated and kissed other boys, one I even liked enough to neck with, but I've never been close to anyone whose bones I wanted to jump except you, Lukey."

"I'll shut up so you can finish, um, uh, what were we talking about?"

"I was telling you about talking with my parents and grandmother, and they want to meet you, and grandmother wants to meet Bobby. I'm not worried about my parents, but grandmother hasn't liked any little kids since I was a child, and that worries me."

***

A week later, with our suitcases under my Cadillac Escalade's hard bed cover, we left New York City to drive to her parents' house an hour away in Monroe County. The roads were pretty clear until we turned onto a two-lane road covered with snow. Betty directed me through an open gate onto a long driveway that went up to a big house built with white bricks. A man and woman dressed like servants came out and carried our luggage into the house while Betty's father greeted us.

"Betty! You look wonderful," and he hugged her before turning toward me. "You must be Luke, welcome to our home, and call me Walt," as he shook my hand and gave me a big bear hug. At least they're not afraid of touching people.

"Walt, this is my son, Bobby."

Before Walt could move, Bobby walked up to him, stuck out his hand, and said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Dalton. Miss Dalton said you were very tall and had a nice thick beard. I like the beard; it looks very soft, but you're so tall I can't reach it."

Walt was speechless for a second or two, then he burst into laughter and snatched Bobby up from the ground and said, "Is it close enough now?"

He headed into the house carrying Bobby, and Betty grabbed my arm as we followed them in.

We passed through the front door into a mudroom, where we hung up our coats and took off our rubber boots. The next room had a high ceiling and many tall windows. It was all decorated with Christmas lights and had a big tree in one corner. I went into another large room with another decorated tree filled with a crowd of people, all her family, and everyone was shaking my hand or hugging me while introductions were made. I saw Bobby whisper in Walt's ear, and Walt set him down on his feet.

The room got progressively quiet as Bobby walked toward a lady sitting in a chair at the back of the room.

*****

Chapter Seven - Bobby Takes Center Stage

*****

I walked over to her chair, held my hand out, and said, "Hi, I'm Bobby Larson, I'm six years old and Miss Dalton is my teacher. How are you, ma'am?"

"Well, knock me over with a feather, a young man with manners. Bobby, I am Betty's grandmother, and if what I'm hearing is true, I'll be your great-grandmother. Sit by me and tell me about yourself."

I climbed up in the chair next to her and said, "I would like that, being your great-grandson and telling you all about myself. My mommy has been telling me about your family, and I think I know everyone's name, but I don't have a face to match with it."

"Maybe I was misinformed, but I thought your mother died last year on your birthday."

"Yes, ma'am, that's right, but she talks to me and tells me things," and I leaned over and whispered, "She brought my dad and Betty, oops, is it okay if I call her Betty between you and me until she's my mom?"

She gave me a funny look and then smiled, saying, "No more ma'am's, call me Miss Lily, and it's okay to call her Betty. So who gave your mother the names?"

"She told me a man named George told her. He was there before she arrived, and they talked about their families."

Miss Lily started to shake and asked her, "Miss Lily, are you okay?"

She whispered as she wiped her eyes with her hanky, "Yes, I'm fine, Bobby. I felt shocked because my husband George died over two years ago, and of course, he knew everyone's name."

"That was probably him she talked to."

"Go on, Bobby, finish your story."

"Anyway, she got them together, and she had to help my dad because he forgot how to talk to girls, and she probably talked to Betty some too, but she hasn't told me anything, and I know she talks to my grandmother some and she talks to me. She told me she wouldn't leave until my dad found love again."

"Well, it's quite a story," and she bent over and whispered to me, "and I believe you because after my husband died, I heard his voice sometimes, although not much anymore."

She sat up straight and addressed the room. "All right, everyone, it's time for some entertainment. Young Bobby is very mature for his age, and he claims to know the names of everyone in this room. I will give my approval for Luke and Betty to be married if he can guess the names of four family members in this room. So listen up."

There were gasps, and Betty called out, "But, grandmother, how could he possibly...?"

"Quiet Betty, I think you'll be quite surprised. Go ahead, Bobby."

"Well, There's John, but everyone calls him Jack."

A man stepped forward and said, "That's me; I'm Betty's brother."

"And you're married to Audrey."

A gasp was heard, and a woman stepped forward to take Jack's hand.

"There's a man named Louis, with an O, but I don't know what that means, and everyone calls him Louie, but his wife Denise calls him LouLou with O's."

"By George, oh, excuse the pun, but it's probably correct since I'm Kathy's brother, Denise is my wife, and everyone knows she calls me LouLou when I have too much to drink."

More noise, but I continued because this was boring, "Then there is Alice, but her first name is Lucille, and her sister is Mavis with no middle name, but she hated the name Mavis, so everyone calls her Avis though sometimes her husband calls her Poo...."

A female voice in the crowd stopped me, "Um, that's okay little boy, I believe you, but let's keep what my husband calls me a secret."

A few laughs and snickers trickle through the crowd.

"Is that enough, Miss Lily," as I leaned over and whispered in her ear?

"More than enough, Bobby. So, Luke, you have my permission to ask for my granddaughter's hand in marriage."

And everybody cheered and laughed, and there were hugs and kisses, and I turned to look at Miss Lily, and tears were running down her face as she held my hand.

*****

Chapter Eight - Luke's Plan and the Proposal

*****

To say our introduction to Betty's family was extraordinary doesn't come close to what happened. You need another ten adjectives with ten letters or more to come close to the experience of that afternoon. That night, Betty's mother led her to my room and told us good night.

She lay in my arms, and she realized we needed to talk before sleep would come to us.

"Luke, did Bobby walk up to my grandmother...."

"He sure did."

"...and spit out all those names...."

"Uh-huh."

"... and he said Marta talked to a man named George...."

"Yes, he did."

"...and my grandmother gave her blessings for us to marry?"

"Loud and clear, everyone heard her, and we were congratulated by all."

"Okay, I need to rest."

Betty fell asleep quickly, but I needed to speak to someone before sleep carried me away.

'What's up, lover? Are you having second thoughts?'

'Marta, I need to ask your permission to do something, and no, I'm not having second thoughts.'

So I asked my question, and I could swear she was crying when she answered me, not a sad cry, but a cry of love.

I don't remember falling asleep, but I do remember waking up as the sun peeked through the curtains, spooned up against Betty's soft behind.

***

Christmas Day came, and we spent the day with my parents, and of course, Betty was there with us.

The next morning we drove up to her parents' house and spent three days with them, and Bobby continues to amaze them. After we arrived and were in the small dining room next to the kitchen, Kathy asked Bobby if he would like to open a present.