No, I do not...!

It is Valentine's Day and Paul is very nervous. He has brought along the card he made for Danny. Will his friend be happy about this? Paul's thoughts are circling around Danny possibly saying "no" to his question, and he is becoming more insecure by the second. 

Finally, Paul sees his friend enter the classroom and welcomes him. 

 "Hi Danny!"

"Hello Paul!! How are you today?"

"I'm good... What about you? Did you study for the Maths test?"

"I'm fine," answers Danny. "And I did study, but I think it wasn't nearly enough..."

Paul's knees start to get wobbly, but he takes together all of his courage and says, "I've brought you something for Valentine's Day..." 

"You have??" says Danny. "That is so cool. I have got something for you, too!"

 "Can I see it?" asks Danny. "Sure," says Paul. "Let's both get our gifts..."

"Okay," agrees Danny. "I'll be back in a minute!"

 A minute later the boys meet again at the back of the classroom. Paul is holding the card he made and Danny has brought... a flower!

   "This is for you..." Danny says coyly. "I thought that maybe you liked flowers too, so I picked one for you this morning." "Thank you!" exclaims Paul. "I do like flowers. It's so pretty..."

 "...And it smells good, too!"

 "Is this card for me?" Danny asks. "Yes." replies Paul. "It's handmade by me."

"Awesome!" says Danny. "And you wrote me a long text. I think I'll sit down to read it."

 Danny is sitting at the table at the back of the class, quietly reading. Suddenly he exclaims, "No, I do not...!" and Paul's heart sinks. His chin starts to quiver and he has to try really hard to keep himself from crying. 

Finally, after what seems like ages to Paul, Danny raises his head to look at him and says, "I do not want to get a Golden Retriever. Mommy always says there are countless homeless animals at the pound. We should get one from there, no matter what race. Don't you think so?"

Secretly, Paul dries away the tear in his eye and says, "That would be fine with me. I guess you are right, and it doesn't really matter what breed the dog is, as long as we give it a good home."

"Oh and about your other question..."

 "...My answer is yes! I would love to be your boyfriend!" Danny says, jumps up from his seat and runs toward Paul...

 

 ...to plant a big kiss on his cheek!!!

  

 Paul cannot believe his luck and feels like he's on cloud nine all day long.

At the Schaefer's home, later that afternoon...

 Danny proudly presents Paul's card to his mother.

"Mom, Paul made this card for me, and he asked me if I wanted to have a dog with him and if I wanted to be his boyfriend and I said yes!" 

"Oh my, that's wonderful Danny! I can't believe though how fast you kids are growing up!! Already starting to fall in love and making plans for the future!" Danny blushes.

"I think we should display the card right over here," says Mrs Schaefer and puts the card on the little table next to the sofa. "It's so pretty!" 

Then she looks at Danny thoughtfully and says, "Why don't you ask Paul to accompany us to the park some day after school?"

"I think that's a great idea, Mom!" replies Danny. 

He can hardly wait to get to school tomorrow and see his friends again, including his new boyfriend Paul. :-) 

Will Danny be my Valentine?

I would like to introduce the Peachblossoms! 

The parents' names are Patrick and Orangine. The children are called Portia and Paul. 

I mustn't forget the fifth member of the Peachblossom family. She is a tabby cat and her name is Aster.

Orangine is a confectioner. She sells sweets and cookies at the weekly market. 

Sometimes she invents new recipes. Today, she has baked cinnamon hearts with strawberry icing to practice for her Valentine's Day assortment.

This is what her market stall might look like on Valentine's Day. 

 

Portia and Paul have come home from school and are thinking about how to spend the afternoon.

 Orangine brings them a plate of freshly baked cookies. 

"Yeah, cookies!" the bear cubs exclaim. "They smell delicious, Mum!"

"Portia and I have just decided to make cards for Valentine's Day," says Paul.

"What an excellent idea!" says Orangine. "I'll better take the flower vase and the fruit platter with me, so you'll have enough space to work."

Portia and Paul are enjoying their cookies. They notice that Aster seems really anxious to have a cookie, too.

 "Mum, can Aster have a cookie? She won't take her eyes off the plate and I think she really wants one." "Alright, but just one. Cookies are not cat food. And I don't want Aster to get a tummy ache."

So the children give Aster one cookie. She accepts it with delight and immediately curls together underneath the table to sniff at her unexpected treat.

In the meantime Portia and Paul have gone to fetch paper, pencils and a tube of glue.

"I think we better put the cookies away now," says Portia. "And I'll get some more items to decorate our cards with."

 

Portia is back with a pink ribbon and two large jars filled with glitter. 

 

Just as Portia is about to start creating her first card, Paul looks at her. There is something on his mind. 

 "Portia? Do you think I could make a card for a friend who is... a boy?" "Valentines are for everyone!" exclaims Portia. Then she adds, "Who were you thinking of?"

 "I would like to ask Danny to be my valentine. Do you think I should?" "In what way do you like Danny?" asks Portia. "Well," her brother answers, "I have dreams of marrying him some day. And having a Golden Retriever together." 

"Oh, that's so sweet, Paul!" says Portia and smiles. "Do you think Danny might like you back?" "I don't know..." admits Paul. "I think he might."  

"In my opinion you should definitely tell him you like him. What other way is there to find out if he likes you too? And if he doesn't, then at least you'll be free to find someone else to marry and have a dog with!" 

 "Excellent! Thanks for your advice, Portia!" says Paul.  

Now he is really motivated.

He chooses a piece of paper...

...and starts drawing hearts.

Portia has folded two sheets of purple paper.  Now she is cutting out a heart shape from a sheet of pink cardboard with a floral design.

After a while, Paul gets up to show his mother what he has made so far. 

"Do you like it, Mum?" "Oh my goodness, I love it!" exclaims Orangine. "For whom is it?" "It's for Danny." "How lovely, dear. I think he will be very happy!" 

"You like Danny a lot don't you?" Orangine asks her son and smiles. "Yes, Mummy. I do." And with that he returns to the table to give his card the finishing touches.

Portia and Paul spend the entire afternoon making cards and decorating them with ribbons and glitter. After supper, Orangine asks them to clean up the living room table and to get ready for bed. 

Tired to death from working so hard all afternoon, they obey without a moment's hesitation. 

Orangine tucks them in with a hug and a kiss and soon she hears one child breathing evenly and sighing in her sleep and the other child softly snoring. Portia dreams of a job as a famous interior designer and Paul dreams of the dog Danny and him will get when they marry. 

Late in the evening, after Patrick has come home from work, he and his wife enter the living room to sneak a peek at the cards their children have made for their friends and family.

"Oh my gosh, Orangine!!!" exclaims Patrick. "Our children are creative artists! I cannot believe how talented they are!! Look at these wonderful valentines!!!"

Orangine smiles. 

  THE END

The miniature cards and pastries featured in this post were made by me. :)

Halloween in January :-)

This afternoon, at Hester Hogwart's house, 

her children Hope, Hattie and Henry 

 are getting a special treat  

of iced maggot donuts, 

 green eyeball punch

 and vanilla brain pudding. 

:-)