Their First Valentine Surprise Changed Everything

We got married in January of last year, and our first Valentine’s Day together was the following February 14th. During our dating years, we never had the chance to celebrate Valentine’s Day together, as I was often away for work or personal commitments. After three years of dating and just one month of marriage, Valentine’s Day arrived once more. I wished I could do something grand for her, but my finances didn’t allow for my dreams.

So, I began searching for creative ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day without overspending. “A nice dinner out would suffice,” I thought. “Or perhaps I could buy her a matching necklace and earrings.” However, everything I envisioned seemed to exceed my budget, so I decided to ask her what she wanted.

She replied, “Anything from your heart will do.”

I took that to heart.

On Valentine’s Day morning, I told her, “Let’s go out for dinner after work today. I have a really big surprise for you.” I was lying; I still hadn’t figured out what to get her. I thought about finding something small as the day progressed. Around 1:30 PM, while I was having lunch, I received a call from my wife. When I answered, I realized it wasn’t her voice. I asked who it was, and she said, “I’m your wife’s colleague. I just found her in class with her head on the table. She can’t speak clearly and is complaining about something. Could you come over?”

I knew what was wrong. She often suffered from severe headaches that left her incapacitated for days. She had experienced this twice since I met her, and each time was awful for her. I instructed her colleague, “Please have her lie down on a bench or mattress and place a wet towel on her forehead. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

I left the rest of my lunch, asked for permission, and rushed out of the office.

Less than twenty minutes later, I arrived at the school. I approached one of the teachers and asked, “I’m here for Madam Ruth; where can I find her?” She directed me, “Walk past the two classroom blocks on your left; the next one in front of you is KG2, that’s where she is.”

As soon as I entered the classroom, all the kids shouted, “Yaaaaay!!” I was taken aback. On the table in front of me was a large cake and drinks. Two children stood beside the cake holding red balloons. I was still trying to process it when I saw my wife entering the room with a big smile. Two of her colleagues joined her. She said, “I thought we should celebrate Valentine’s Day with these kids.”

I felt both lost and found at that moment. I started laughing sheepishly. As I approached her, I said, “You’ll pay for this.”

We cut the cake and shared it with the kids. As soon as the champagne popped, the children began singing, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…” One of the teachers shouted, “It’s not a birthday; it’s Valentine’s Day!” They then sang, “Happy ‘vantain’ to you, happy ‘vantain’ to you, happy ‘vantain’ to youuuu, Happy vantain to youuuu.”

We all couldn’t stop laughing. Nothing could deter them from singing, and they were right. If there’s a song for a birthday, there should be one for Valentine’s Day too. Their innocent excitement was delightful to witness.

I understood why my wife wanted to have six kids with just a year between their births. She was enchanted by these little ones and wanted to have the same joy in our home.

That evening when we returned home, our intimacy was different. It felt as if we were both swept away. We truly enjoyed each other’s company in bed. In November of last year, we welcomed our first child, a boy. You don’t need magic to know when he was conceived; it was that night—the night after the ‘vantain’ song was sung.

Jeff