Thank you to Deb for coming up with the idea for this story and trusting
me to write it. As always,
my story is dedicated to Terri, Deb and Carol--my sisters and forever friends.
A Valentine Choice
by
Leesa Olson
Creative Consultant
Deb Farwell
The Sunday school lesson had just concluded and the children
of the Virginia City church were getting out of their seats to leave when
Miss Wilson, their teacher, called for their attention. She had one last announcement
to make. “Children, I have some exciting news for you. As you know,
it will be Valentine’s Day in one week. I thought it would be fun for
each of you to make a special Valentine letter about someone important in
your life. Then, next Sunday, each of you will read your Valentine in
church and then you can tell everyone who you wrote about. What do
you think of that idea?”
Miss Wilson had expected the children to be thrilled at the prospect and
was disappointed at their less than enthusiastic reception. Some of
the girls looked happy about it, but all of the boys were frowning and grumbling.
“I ain’t writing no love letter to no girl,” said a small boy with
a head full of brown curls and big green eyes. Several other boys nodded their
agreement.
“No, you misunderstood, Little Joe,” Miss Wilson told the child, “you
don’t have to write a Valentine to a girl.”
“Well, I sure ain’t writing one to no boy!” said another boy, who
was a few years older than Joe.
Miss Wilson clapped her hands together to bring the class back to
order, then made her instructions clearer. “Wait children, listen.
What I had in mind was not the lovey dovey type of Valentine, but one you
write about someone important in your life, such as a parent or a sibling.
Something like that. Now do you understand?”
The mumbling of the children was much different this time. They
liked the idea of writing something about someone special in their lives.
This could turn out to be a fun project after all. After a few more instructions
to the class about the Valentines, Miss Wilson dismissed her students and
they all ran out to find their families.
Little Joe was surprisingly quiet on the way home from
church. He was trying to decide who he should write his Valentine about.
Pa was the logical choice, but he didn’t want to leave out his brothers or
Hop Sing either. They had all taken such good care of him the past couple
of years since his mother’s death and he felt each of them were special in
his life. He would have to think about it long and hard. It was
a difficult decision for a child just short of seven years old to have to
make.
“Somethin’ the matter, Little Joe?” Hoss asked his brother, who was
sitting next to him in the back seat as the family traveled towards home in
their carriage. “You’re mighty quiet.”
“Nah, nothin’s the matter, Hoss. I’m just thinkin’ bout somethin’
is all,” Joe answered. Since Hoss was over twelve, he wasn’t in Little
Joe’s Sunday school class and therefore wouldn’t be doing the special project.
Joe didn’t want to confide in Hoss just yet, in case he decided that his middle
brother should be the one he would write about.
“Thinkin’, huh? Well, it’s nice for ya to be tryin’ somethin’
new there, Little Brother!” Hoss teased.
Joe punched his brother good naturedly in the arm, laughing, “Very
funny, Hoss!” The two boys chatted and playfully punched each other
the rest of the way home, enjoying the chilly afternoon and each other’s company.
As they stopped in their front yard and Hoss helped his little
brother down from the carriage, Joe thought, Yeah, Hoss would be a good choice
for the Valentine. He’s a great brother, always playing with me and
helping me forget my worries.
Later that afternoon, the family sat down to one of Hop
Sing’s outstanding dinners. Joe’s face fell when he saw what was being placed
on the table--liver and onions! His absolute least favorite food!
Oh no--and then broccoli was set down next to it! There was no way his
father would let him leave the table without eating something, so the boy
knew this meal would not be a pleasant experience for him.
Joe’s face changed from a frown to a smile when Hop Sing quietly placed
a plate in front of him that held a piece of fried chicken, mashed potatoes
and green beans.
The small Chinaman leaned down and whispered in the child’s
ear, “Hop Sing know number three son not like liver or broccoli, so save little
bit of dinner from last night. Eat up like good boy!” With a
pat to Joe’s shoulder, Hop Sing smiled at the beaming face before him, then
turned and went back into the kitchen. Hop Sing sure does make sure
I’m fed good and with somethin’ I like, Joe thought to himself. He
always fixes my clothes and makes sure my room is clean and even sneaks me
cookies sometimes. Maybe I should write about Hop Sing for my Valentine.
Joe was struggling with the last of his math homework
that evening before bedtime, when Adam came over to the table and offered
to help him out. “Looks like you’re having a bit of trouble there,
Little Joe, do you need some help?”
Joe smiled up at his brother, relieved, “I surely do, Adam. Thanks!”
Oldest and youngest brother spent the next half an hour getting the
problems worked out. Adam patiently explained how to do them until Joe fully
understood. He then quizzed Joe on his spelling words for the week one
last time and gave the boy some pointers on how to remember the spelling of
some difficult words on the list. Joe was surprised and pleased when
his big brother even helped him clean up his papers and books and put them
away. Boy, Adam would be a good choice for my Valentine project, too,
Joe thought. He sure is patient about helpin’ me when I have trouble
with my homework. I wish he didn’t have to go away to school in a few months;
I’m sure gonna miss him.
Later that night, Ben sat with Joe snuggled next to him
as he read to him from the boy’s favorite storybook. Father and son
both enjoyed this nightly ritual of closeness and winding down from a busy
day. As Ben noticed the child yawning for the third time in as many
minutes, he quietly said, “Think it’s about that time, Son. Let’s get
you up to bed.”
Joe made a pretense of protesting, but in actuality he was sleepy, so he
didn’t argue long or believably. Ben took Joe’s small hand in his own
and walked up the stairs with his son. It was time to hear his prayers and
tuck him into bed.
After Joe was all nestled down in his bed, Ben sat on the edge of it and
talked softly with his son for a while until the boy began to drift to sleep.
With a kiss to Joe’s forehead, Ben turned down the lantern on the dresser
and quietly walked out of the room.
Joe’s last thought as he gave in to the call of the sandman was, Pa
would be a wonderful choice for my Valentine project, too. He always
makes time to read to me before bedtime and comes upstairs and tucks me in
every night, no matter how tired he is. He doesn’t rush either; he sits
and talks with me for a while and really listens to me. I think I have the
best pa in the world.
Joe was in a quandary the next day as he continued to
think about who he should choose for the special project. He felt that
his entire family was worth writing about and didn’t want to hurt anyone’s
feelings by choosing one over the others. He was about to give up the
entire idea and plead sickness next Sunday so he wouldn’t have to do it, but
he didn’t think God would like it too much if he lied to get out of going
to church. Then it finally hit him what he would do and who he would write
about. He felt he had made the perfect choice and if he worded it right,
no one would get their feelings hurt or be mad at him.
Joe spent the time after school writing and scribbling out words
on a piece of paper over and over again. He would get frustrated and
wad up the paper and pull out another sheet from time to time.
Ben, Adam, and Hop Sing wondered what in the world the boy could
be doing, when Hoss quietly filled them in. “I heard about it at school today,”
he explained. “Seems Joe’s church class was given the assignment of
writin’ a Valentine about someone special, not a girl or nothin’ like that
though. Reckon he’s tryin’ to get his just right, so’s he’s doin’ it
over and over. The kids are all gonna read em out loud at church Sunday.”
“Oh, so that’s it. Wonder who Joe’s writing about,” Adam mused.
“If he wants us to know, he’ll tell us,” Ben said, “In the meantime,
I don’t want you boys trying to get it out of him. We’ll find out on
Sunday when the children read them to their families.”
Joe worked diligently on the Valentine all week, but
he knew he couldn’t do it without a little help here and there. Being
only in the first grade, he just didn’t have a great enough knowledge of spelling
to get it exactly the way he wanted it.
Finally, with frustration, he approached Hoss for help. “Hoss, how
do you spell animals?”
Hoss spelled the word for his little brother and the boy happily wrote
it on his paper and skittered away.
Wow, Hoss thought, Joe needed the word ‘animals’ for his paper.
I’m the one who is good with animals around here so I wonder if he’s writin’
about me? Hoss’ chest swelled with pride at the thought of his younger
brother choosing him as the special person for his Valentine.
Another day, Joe found Hop Sing in the kitchen and asked his
advice on the spelling of a word. “Hop Sing, do you spell food, f-u-d-e?”
“No, Little Joe. Word is spelled f-o-o-d. Why you
ask?”
Joe smiled and said, “Oh, I just need it for somethin’ I’m writin’.
You’ll find out soon enough.” Joe corrected the word on his paper and
left the kitchen.
Hop Sing had a pleased smile on his face. Little boy might
be writing Valentine about Hop Sing, he thought. I the one who fix food
around here, so I think it me maybe. Hop Sing went back to his chores
humming a cheerful tune at the thought of being Little Joe’s special person.
Another evening, Adam was relaxing in his favorite chair
enjoying a new book when Joe came up to him. “Adam? Can I ask you a
question?” the child asked.
Adam was a little exasperated at being interrupted during
an exciting part in his book, but he hid it well and answered his little brother,
“Sure Little Joe, what is it?”
“Can ya tell me how to spell intelligent?”
Adam spelled the word for his youngest brother and then
asked, “Why do you need to know how to spell a big word like that, Kid?
Surely your teacher doesn’t expect you to know that.”
“No, it isn’t for school, Adam. It’s for somethin’ else I’m
workin’ on. Thanks for helpin’ me. You’re great at always helpin’
with spelling and math and stuff.” Joe bounded off with his paper in
his hand, happy to have such a grown up word for his project.
Something else he’s working on, huh? Adam thought to himself.
Must be that church project. Wanting to know a word like ‘intelligent’
and then mentioning me helping him with spelling and math and all, maybe he’s
writing about me helping him to be smarter. Adam had a very pleased
smile on his face. I kind of wondered if the kid was angry with me because
I’ll be leaving for school in a few months, but if he’s making me his special
person, then I guess he must not be. Adam went back to reading his
book, filled with pride at having been chosen by his little brother as the
subject of his Valentine project.
One night that week, Ben knocked on Little Joe’s bedroom
door and entered the room, finding the child sitting on his bed with a tablet
on his lap, furiously writing up a storm.
“Joe? What are you doing, Son? You missed our reading
time tonight, so I thought I’d come up and check on you.”
Joe looked up at his father with a secretive smile and said, “Oh,
I was just workin’ on somethin’ and guess I forgot the time, Pa. Maybe
we can read up here in my room tonight?”
“Sure, Little Joe, that’ll be fine.” Ben took the book
from the dresser and sat on the edge of Joe’s bed.
“Can you spell some words for me first, Pa?” Joe asked.
“Sure, Son, what words do you need?”
“Let’s see. I need caring, loving, and protect.”
Ben spelled each of the asked for words for Joe as the child
wrote them down. Then Joe put his paper aside, crawled into his bed,
and Ben moved up next to him and Joe snuggled up close to his father as they
enjoyed a story. As Ben left his youngest child’s room a short time
later, he was beaming with joy. That little scamp must be writing his
paper about me. Those were words used to describe a parent taking care
of his child. While Ben wouldn’t have minded a bit if Joe had written
about another member of the family, he couldn’t help but be pleased that it
was himself the boy had chosen.
When Sunday at last came around again, Joe almost couldn’t
contain his excitement. He couldn’t wait to read his Valentine letter
in Sunday school for his family, even Hop Sing had joined the family today.
Joe didn’t remember him ever having been there before. He hoped they
would be pleased with what he had written and that no one would have hurt
feelings.
Each of the children in the class stood up and read his Valentine
and then the teacher would have them tell a little bit about the person they
wrote about and why. Most of the children chose a parent or grandparent;
some a sibling, aunt or uncle.
At last, the moment Joe had been both looking forward to and
dreading arrived. “Little Joe, would you stand and read your Valentine?”
Miss Wilson asked.
Joe stood and slowly walked to the front of the room. He glanced
at his family before looking down at his paper, and noticed an expression
of pride and happiness on each person’s face, even Hop Sing’s. He wondered
briefly why they were proud before he even read his paper, but shrugged off
the feeling and began.
“My Valentine by Joe Cartwright. My Valentine is very special
to me. He loves all the animals in the world and likes us to be kind
to them. He gives us all the food we eat. He is very intelligent.
He is loving, caring and kind. He protects me from bad things.
When I am sad and missing my mother, I can talk to him and it makes me feel
better. I love my Valentine very much.” Joe finished reading and
looked up at his family. They were all still beaming with pride.
“Joe?” Miss Wilson asked. “Who is your Valentine?
Is it your pa?”
Joe looked at his father and shook his head no. He thought
he saw a flash of disappointment in his father’s eyes and was sad about that.
“Is it one of your brothers?”
Again Joe shook his head and he saw each of his brothers sag a little
bit in their seats.
The teacher looked confused now. “What about Hop Sing? Is it
him?”
Joe shook his head one last time and Hop Sing also looked slightly
deflated.
“Little Joe, I don’t understand then. Who is it?”
Joe said quietly, “It’s God.” Then looking back at his family,
he said louder, “It’s God because besides doing all the things I said in my
Valentine, He is the one who gave me my family who loves me, takes care
of me, protects me, and is always there for me, all four of them, because
Hop Sing is my family, too. My pa always says that God teaches him to
be a better pa. I know God’s taking good care of my mama up in heaven, too
and that makes me feel good, even though I miss her a whole lot and wish she
was still here with me. So, that’s why it’s God I chose.”
Joe saw the pride and happiness enter his family’s eyes once again.
He even saw a tear slide down his father’s cheek before the man brushed it
away. No one was upset with him or disappointed in his choice, he knew that
now. He smiled and ran into his father’s loving arms, as his brothers
and Hop Sing patted him on the back and ruffled his hair. This was the
best Valentine any of them could have received; their youngest family
member had made the perfect Valentine choice.
The End
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