Black Valentine's

Although the relationship with my fiance of five years was on rocky waters, I was hopeful that Valentine's Day would help make things a little better. After all, our wedding day was set for the end of February and all these issues could just be a matter of ‘cold feet'. Two days before Valentine's Day, he called me and told me that we were going out to eat on Valentine's Day and he had something important to tell me. I was excited about the news and looked forward to it. Valentine's Day came around and I was dressed and prepped for the big night and the big news that he was to tell me. He picked me up, no flowers, which was odd. Dinner went by very solemnly and extremely quiet on his part. Finally, the silence broke, not of laughter or joy, but of my quiet whimpering and tears. He had told me that he wanted to be out of the relationship and that he had no intention of going forward with the wedding. And to further add insult to injury, he knocked up his co-worker, who has been pregnant for over 4 months. What do you say to that? Valentines never felt the same again, at least in my memories, Valentine will always remain black like a prank from Halloween.

Tori D., Springfield, VA

The Very Blind Date

As I was coming up on my third Valentine’s Day alone, I decided that this year would be different. No girls’ movie night, because all my girlfriends are dating, no self pity, I was going to find a date. Enter internet dating. I tried one site and within two days I had an email from a guy who seemed to be quite promising. He was tall, smart, handsome, and claimed to be pursuing a career in law. It sounded great, so we emailed back and forth for a few days and then I called him. We set up our first date for Valentine’s Day. I was so excited that I spent hours pondering over what to wear and how to do my hair. Finally, the time came to meet him at the restaurant. Seeing no sign of him in the crowded lobby, I stood in my corner and waited. I noticed a strange guy staring at me and before I knew it he was next to me. He asked me what time it was and then he asked me if I was there to meet him. Too bad I had posted accurate pictures, because he certainly had not. The guy who stood next to me was about 5 years and ninety pounds different than the picture that he had posted. I was not happy. Then I happened to glance at what he was wearing. Now, call me a snob, but this guy had no class. He decided to pair black sweat pants (that were about three inches too short) with brown socks and white New Balance tennis shoes. To top it all off, he added what was probably his dressiest shirt: a green striped, fuzzy Christmas sweater. Needless to say, there was no second date, and I’ve sworn off internet dating entirely.

Rebecca, Akron, Ohio