Valentine's Dream: Love Changes EverythingSweet SensationMade in Heaven

by Sandra Kitt

  Val held her middle finger with her thumb, then gave the spinner a flick. It rotated around the disk several times before eventually settling on POLICE STATION.

  Val looked up at Eric, who tried to stifle a grin. “I don’t believe this,” she said.

  The red wheel would determine what they’d eat. Without a word Eric placed it in her hands. Val cast her eyes up at him.

  “If this lands on vending machine, all bets are off,” she said. Val peered at the other selections. “I kind of like the ‘he cooks’ notion.”

  But that wasn’t destined to be Val’s fate. The spinner landed on FAST-FOOD DRIVE-THROUGH. Val groaned and Eric laughed out loud as he handed her the green wheel that decided what activity they’d do on their date.

  “There’s still hope,” Val said. She clenched her eyes shut as she flicked the little silver spinner.

  Eric’s bark of laughter let her know that they were in for something odd. Val was afraid to open her eyes.

  “Just tell me,” she said.

  “This is going to be fun,” he said. “I haven’t done that in years.”

  Val peeped through one eyelid and read their fate. Then she couldn’t help laughing out loud herself. The spinner squarely rested on ARCADE GAME ROOM. “I guess I’ll get a roll of quarters from the bank tomorrow.” She held out a hand. “Hand me the other two wheels. With my luck our transportation will be via skateboard.”

  Eric smiled. “No need. I’ll drive and I pay,” he said. “You just meet me at the cop shop.”

  “The good thing is the clothes will match. Casual sound good to you?”

  Eric nodded as he stacked the wheels one on top of the other. “I’ll meet you at the police station. It’s on Washington Avenue. Say about six-thirty tomorrow night.”

  “It’s a date. Where’s an arcade?”

  “How about the one at the mall?”

  “I’ve passed by it. Can’t say I’ve ever stopped in.”

  “This is going to be fun.”

  Val nodded. “I need to get home and get some work done. Will you see me to my car for now?”

  “Of course.”

  Eric retrieved Val’s coat and gloves, then walked her through the house and to his garage. He helped her into her car. Val started the engine and powered the windows down.

  “Thanks for a fun afternoon,” she said.

  “I’ll be counting the minutes until tomorrow night.”

  Eric leaned in the car window and kissed Val lightly on the lips. “Good night, sweet Valentine.”

  It wasn’t until she pulled into her parking spot at her condo that something dawned on Val. The way Eric said Valentine made her name sound pretty, special. Pretty special. He’d called her sweet Valentine. Val smiled as she locked up her car and made her way to her unit. She’d have to see how Kalinda and Shelly had fared in the matchmaking process.

  “Okay. I admit,” she said a few minutes later. Val and her girlfriends were on the telephone in a three-way conversation. “Maybe I was a bit hasty in my judgment about the dating service. Eric is nice, really, really nice.”

  “Eric? Who is Eric?” Shelley demanded.

  “They set you up with a date in less than twenty-four hours,” Kalinda said incredulously. “They told me it would take at least a week to get things rolling. What’s wrong with me?”

  “Who is Eric?”

  “Kalinda, there’s nothing wrong with you,” Val said. “You need to stop putting yourself down. You’re a beautiful black woman of power. There’s a brother out there for you.”

  “I’m not restricting myself to just black men. And what power?” Kalinda asked. “I run a day care center.”

  “You’re entrusted with the nurturing and development of children. They’re our only hope for tomorrow.”

  Kalinda laughed. “Val, you always know how to put a spin on things.”

  “Excuse me, ladies,” Shelley interjected. “I’m all for the empowerment thing. I just got my copy of the latest Essence. The only thing I want to know right now is—who is Eric?”

  “Yeah, Val. Who is this guy?”

  Val slid her shoes off and kicked her feet up on the sofa. She settled back into the cushions and smiled. “Eric is tall and dark and handsome and funny and spontaneous,” she said, and then, thinking about the two women he stopped to help, she added, “and he’s generous and kind.”

  “Did you buy a puppy, Val?” Shelley asked. “Is that your birthday present to yourself?”

  Kalinda laughed out loud. “I don’t think a puppy would be giving her that dreamy-sounding voice.”

  “Did I mention sexy and funny? He has the most gorgeous hands. And a smile that makes me just say, ‘ummph, ummph, ummph.’”

  “If memory serves me correctly, we were at that dating service office just yesterday,” Shelley said. “And as Kalinda pointed out, they said it would take at least a week to get us all matched with potential dates. What’s going on, Val?”

  “Netanya Gardner introduced him to me last night. We’re going out tomorrow.” Val giggled, remembering how they’d set up the date. She’d lost at Monopoly. If she’d had her way, they would be going to dinner at her favorite restaurant in Williamsburg and then maybe catching a movie.

  But, Val had to admit, fast food and an arcade had a certain amount of appeal, particularly if Eric shared in the adventure. The police station part was kind of weird, particularly since he knew where she lived and she knew where he lived. But meeting there would no doubt add to the fun. Val began a mental search through her closets for something to wear.

  “I think she either hung up or fell asleep,” Kalinda said dryly.

  “Val! Wake up!” Shelley yelled.

  Val frowned. “Good grief, Shell. I’m not asleep. I was just thinking about what to wear tomorrow.”

  “We still haven’t heard how you met this man,” Shelley said.

  “I told you. Netanya Gardner, the woman in pink who that Shelia lady said owned the place, introduced us last night.”

  “You went back to the dating service office?” Kalinda asked.

  “No. I saw her at the community center’s reception for volunteers.”

  “I’m lost,” Shelley announced.

  “Me, too,” Kalinda said.

  “Val, just start at the beginning. Start after we left A Match Made in Heaven.”

  Val scooted down into the sofa cushions some more, then crossed her legs at the ankles. “Okay. We left A Match Made in Heaven. Shell, you went to get your nails done. Kalinda, you went grocery shopping. I went home, then later that night went to a reception at the center where I volunteer. Netanya Gardner was there and she introduced me to Eric. He’s tall, gorgeous and her business partner.”

  Val decided to leave out the part about Eric kissing her at the coat check. That was just too, too close to share just then. She still had some sorting out to do in her head. The more she thought about it though, the more she realized she was going to come off sounding like a nut if she actually told her girlfriends that she and Eric had spent Saturday night at a waffle restaurant and Sunday afternoon at his house. After he’d taken a shower at hers!

  “Uh,” she said on the telephone.

  “Well, what else?” Shelley asked.

  “He asked me out,” Val offered.

  “Just like that he asked you out?” Kalinda questioned.

  Val ran through the events in her head. He’d kissed her and she’d felt as if she’d been waiting for him all her life. They’d laughed and talked at the waffle place and then set a date for the next day. But it didn’t quite turn out the way either of them would have expected. Instead of a pleasant brunch on a nice winter day, they’d ended up really getting to know each other over pizza and a board game. Eric’s quiet intensity and smooth sensuality made her ache.

  Desire flowed between them. There was no doubt about that. But Eric either sensed or knew that Val wasn’t a one-night-stand type. With a tenderness and sensitivity that didn’t threaten his mascul
inity, he’d let her know when she had pushed too far or when he was close to the edge. Instead of making him come across as weak, Val appreciated and respected his frankness. They had been candid with each other. No games, no child’s play, just two adults connecting on a level that, quite honestly, Val wasn’t used to. It made her feel vulnerable, but at the same time secure.

  “Yeah,” she finally answered Kalinda. “He asked me out just like that.”

  For a moment only silence came through the telephone lines. Val broke it.

  “He’s very special,” she said quietly.

  “Well, I hope that dating service introduces me to someone special,” Kalinda said.

  “I need to get some work done tonight or I’ll be up all night tomorrow,” Val told her girlfriends.

  “Okay,” Kalinda said. “Talk to you later.”

  “Take care,” Shelley said.

  Val disengaged the line and sat up. But before her feet hit the floor, the telephone rang. She smiled.

  “Hello?”

  “I heard a whole lot in that,” Shelley said. “Mostly what you didn’t say. What’s the real deal, Val?”

  Val smiled again. “I knew it was you.”

  “You don’t just up and go out with someone like that, Val. I’ve known you too long.”

  “Shell, I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like I’ve always known him. Like I’ve always waited for him. He’s special.”

  Shelley was silent for a moment. Then she added, “You be careful, you hear.”

  “I will.”

  “Do me a favor, will you. It’ll make me rest easier. Call my office and leave a message on my voice mail letting me know where you’re going to be. If this guy is some psycho, at least I’ll be able to tell the police where you were supposed to be.”

  Val smiled. The safeguard was one she and Shelley had been using for years. “I’ll do it, Shell. But he’s not a psycho,” she said, as she rang off with Shelley.

  “I’m starting to think he’s the one for me,” she whispered, contemplating the thought even as she said it to the empty room.

  Chapter 6

  By the next morning Val had convinced herself that her reaction to Eric Fitzgerald had been born of pre-thirtieth-birthday stress, a disorder that to Val’s way of thinking needed to be studied by professional counselors. With the big one just two days away, any new man in her life would take on the gallant qualities of Prince Charming riding a white stallion.

  “Except you don’t need to be rescued from anything,” she said, shoving a pencil in her hair.

  Val sat at her desk in her home office, transcribing material from the divorce commissioner’s hearing. The couple, who in Val’s estimation deserved each other, had been slinging mud faster than their attorneys could object. They had a lot of personal property to divide up. The only positive element Val had heard during the hours-long session was that the two didn’t have any children. It was a blessing that kids didn’t have to be privy to the poison.

  The one good thing about her parents’ divorce was that it had been amicable. As a matter of fact, Naomi and Quentin Sanders now saw more of each other than they saw of their daughter. As an only child already an adult when her parents split up, Val didn’t have to go through a custody dispute.

  She sat back in her chair and wondered if Eric Fitzgerald had ever been married. He struck her as the type of man who, once committed to a woman, would do everything in his power to ensure her and their happiness.

  “Prince Charming is a fairy tale,” she reminded herself. “Eric has some sort of fatal flaw. If you hold on long enough, you’ll figure it out before you get in too deep.”

  That decided, Val turned her full attention to the day’s work she had ahead of her. At twelve-thirty she stopped for lunch.

  She’d just settled a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich at the dinette table in the kitchen, when her doorbell rang. Not expecting any deliveries, she could only wonder who it might be as she made her way to the door and opened it.

  “Delivery for Miss V. Sanders,” said a voice behind a huge flower arrangement. There had to be two dozen pink roses in it.

  “I’m V. Sanders,” she said.

  “If you could sign here, ma’am,” the voice said. “I have a clipboard under my arm.”

  Val reached for the clipboard, scribbled her name on the sheet and then accepted the flowers. “Let me get something for you,” she told the delivery man.

  “No need,” the man said, already heading back down the walkway. “That’s already been taken care of.”

  Val shrugged, called out “thank you” and then maneuvered the door shut with her foot.

  Carrying the large arrangement to the breakfast bar, she settled the crystal vase on the countertop and plucked out the card.

  She gazed at the flowers for a minute, then smiled and shook her head. “Daddy, you shouldn’t have.” Her father always sent flowers for her birthday, but he’d never been this extravagant.

  Val pulled the card from the small white envelope. Her mouth dropped open.

  Flowers are traditional and that’s how I’d like to get to know you—the old-fashioned way. I’m looking forward to tonight.

  Eric

  The slow smile that creased Val’s mouth couldn’t be avoided. The man definitely knew how to push the right buttons. She leaned forward to inhale the light, fresh scent of the blooms. Val stepped away from the bar and looked around for the best place to showcase the arrangement. She moved an oversize volume of poetry from the coffee table, then transferred the flowers there.

  Standing over the table, she gazed at the pretty pinks. For the first time in her life, Val discovered she liked something pink. Maybe Eric Fitzgerald was the antidote she needed to get over her aversion to Valentine’s Day. The thought brought another unbidden smile as Val made her way back to her office.

  The afternoon whizzed by despite the fact that Val got up every half hour to gaze at the roses. When she finally called it a day, she had to concede that she hadn’t made a lot of progress since the arrival of the surprise Eric had sent.

  She showered and hot-curled her hair, then stood indecisively at her closet. They were going to eat food from a drive-through and play arcade games. The date didn’t call for anything spectacular to wear, but Val wanted to look nice without being overdressed.

  “Jeans really would be appropriate,” she said, eyeing a neatly pressed pair. But she discarded that idea as too casual and reached for an ivory-colored tunic and slacks set. She added a pair of big, funky earrings and a matching necklace and liked the overall picture.

  Pulling her hair back a bit, she clasped an ivory-and-black barrette at her nape. A touch of color at her cheeks and lips, and a spritz of a light, flirtatious cologne completed the ensemble.

  Val glanced at the time. “You’ve never had a date that started at the police station.”

  But as Val put on her coat and headed out the door, she had to admit, she, too, was looking forward to the evening.

  She didn’t have any trouble finding the police department. The squad cars parked around the building provided a clue. A couple of them even had their lights flashing. Val parked her car in the back lot, but was hesitant to get out given all the commotion. A car that looked like Eric’s finally convinced her to look for him.

  She’d barely gotten three steps away from her vehicle, when two uniformed police officers approached her.

  “Ma’am, are you Val Sanders?” one asked.

  Val’s eyes widened and she clutched her purse. Other than the driving infraction years before, she’d had not so much as even a parking ticket. To have police officers call her by name was more than disconcerting, it was downright scary.

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Would you come with us please, ma’am?” the second officer asked.

  Val took a step back. “Why? I haven’t done anything wrong. I took the parking card and it’s displayed in the front window,” she said, indicating her w
indshield.

  “Eric Fitzgerald is waiting for you inside the station,” officer number one explained.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Eric Fitzgerald. You do know him, don’t you? He asked that we be on the lookout for you.”

  All of a sudden Val was glad she’d left the message on Shelley’s voice mail. I knew he was too good to be true, she thought to herself. Shelley wouldn’t have to worry about calling the police, the men and women in blue had already captured Eric.

  “Is he a criminal?” she asked the officers.

  The two cops looked at each other. “Uh, not that we know of, ma’am. Is there something you’d like to tell us?”

  For a moment Val looked confused. “Let’s start at the beginning. My name’s Val Sanders. What do you want from me?”

  “Mr. Fitzgerald just captured a mugger. He’s inside the station answering some questions,” officer number two replied. “He was worried that you’d miss him and think he stood you up. He asked if we’d be on the lookout for you.”

  Val was more confused than ever. “Eric captured a mugger? Is he a cop?”

  “Not unless he’s a fed doing something undercover. Why don’t you come this way,” the officer said with more than an appreciative glance that lingered over Val. “I’m sure all your questions will be answered inside.”

  More than curious, Val walked with the two officers and went into the police station. It was the first time she’d been in a police station before. It didn’t look anything like TV. It looked more like a regular office building.

  After a short elevator ride, the officers led Val to a desk, where Eric sat holding a white cloth to his head and was talking to a woman Val presumed to be another police officer.

  Eric grinned and stood up when he spotted Val. The navy, tan and olive striped vest he wore would have been a nice complement to the navy shirt and tan pants, except the vest had a big tear in it. Eric lowered his arm and Val gasped. His skin was scraped and bruised. The cloth had blood on it.