Rhys´ special day (A story for Valentine´s Day)

"A lovely day to go for a ride on my old bike" that´s what Rhys tought as soon as he looked at the window . Patricia asked him to go into town to do some shopping and he accepted gladly. "That´s done, my dear. I´ll do the shopping and at the same time some exercise will do  me good".
He loved his old bike. It brought him memories from his younger days and he felt full of life. 

His first stop was  "The Country Market".

Mrs. Bramble and her daughter were admiring the new decoration of the shop window. Actually, the dress was one of her creations and she was proud to see it on display.

 Rhys and Eleanor Bramble greeted each other friendly. "Nice looking dress" he pointed out looking at the shop window. "I bet Patricia will love to try it on if she was here" Mr. Chocolate said . "Why don´t you buy it for her? It would be a nice gift at this time of the year." Eleanor suggested. " I´d prefer if she sees it by herself . I´ll come back with her one of these days" Rhys knew Patricia would love the set up of the shop window. "You must hurry or it might be gone by then" Eleanor adviced.

Once in the store Mr. Chocolate took the local paper.

Today he also needed to buy some medicines for him and for his wife. "Reaching this age weighs down on us, there´s no escape from ailments, Arthur". Rhys complained. "Come on Rhys, look at you, riding your bike every day. You look pretty healthy to me and so does Patricia. You make such a nice couple" Arthur´s comment drew a big smile on Rhys´ face and they chatted for a while about the way he met Patricia and how he knew  straight away she was the one for him. Both, Carol and Arthur loved to listen to Mr. Chocolate going on about his old times.

Carol walked Mr. Chocolate outside the store and helped him place everything in the basket of his bike.

When he was about to leave Rhys asked Carol "By the way, how long are you going to have this window display?"
" Not too long Mr. Chocolate,once the 14th is gone I´ll just leave it a couple of days and I´ll change it. "The 14th? what was she talking about?" he thought himself. Carol´s answer didn´t make much sense to him but he just didn´t want to ask for more details and waving good bye he left.

Then he rode to the main shopping area. First, he stopped at the supermarket. Patricia asked him to buy some food . As soon as he entered, Mrs. Robinson greeted him cherfully. "Morning Mr.Chocolate, good to see you. Do you need to do some special shopping for today? ". " I just need to grab a few groceries, Fliss, nothing special, really" he replied wondering why he should need to buy something special. Christmas was just gone, no birthdays to celebrate...anyway, he just went to get what his wife asked for.

These bananas look good.

 Some fresh milk. "Let´s see the best before date"

 "Why did they  put the butter out of my reach?" he told himself trying to reach it using a stool.
"Mind yourself, Mr.Chocolate! I´ll get it down for you!"  Fliss claimed  as soon as he saw him up there.

"Don´t you worry Fliss, despite my age I´m still agile". He said. "I don´t doubt it at all, Mr. Chocolate but I´d rather help you if you need to get something placed high up on the shelves. I don´t want any of my clients to suffer any damage. Mrs. Robinsons replied with concern.

"May I get something else for you?" she offered always willing to help. "Just some breakfast tea, please" he answered. "Here you are, the best breakfast tea , Mr. Chocolate". And she was right, the top quality products of the Robinsons´supermarket was well known.

When he went to pay Mr. Robinson suggested him "some special shopping ". Some Spanish wine,  French champagne, Belgian chocolate...Rhys?". " No alcohol , Doctor Murdoch said not even a drop and as for the chocolate, my wife and my son are the best chocolatiers in the whole Sylvanian, so I have the best chocolate at home"  Rhys answered with pride  wondering once again what was going on but once more he didn´t want to ask. "You´re right Rhys, your son Frasier must be very busy at this time of the year". Wilbur´s comment made Rhys think  why Frasier would be busy. Anyway, his son was usually busy so he didn´t think much about Wilbur´s remark.

 As he was leaving, Kate Periwinkle walked into the supermarket. "Good morning everyone" she greeted warmly." I´m in a bit of a rush, the cafe is quite busy at the moment but I just need to get something for dinner. I want to treat Alex to something special . Fliss, will you give me a hand ?" she asked Mrs. Robinson who was always delighted to offer her help. "Absolutely, Kate. You´re in the right place".

Back on his bike he waved goodbye to the Robinsons´with the feeling that he was missing out on something.

 When he passed by the Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant , The Macavities´were about to open and were setting the tables. Rhys decided to stop for a minute to greet them since he hadn´t seen them for a while.

 "How is everything, Mr. Chocolate, what about your wife, it´s a long time I haven´t seen her" Cassandra inquired. "She´s fine, thanks. Next week we´ll come to enjoy one of your italian specialities." Rhys said. "And why don´t you book a table for tonight? We can reserve a cosy corner for you two inside the restaurant or here if the weather is good enough" Alonso suggested showing Rhys the "special menu" for tonight. "Special menu?" "There must be something going on and I must be the only one who doesn´t know" he thought  himself again.. He was about to ask  but eventually he didn´ t do it.

He got on his bike again but suddenly he remembered Patricia wanted him to buy a garden magazine at the flower shop. "My goodness, what a long queue!. Flowers must be on sale today" .That´s what he thought when saw so  many men lining up.

 "Here you are Monty, Dorothy will love them" Rebeca said handing Monty the bunch of flowers. "I can´t go wrong, red is her favourite colour and roses her favourite flowers" Monty said looking forward to seeing his wife´s smile when he gives her the flowers.

"This is a very special rose, Hornbull, its fragrance its quite unique. I´m sure Daisy will appreciate your good taste." Rebeca praised Hornbull´s choice.

"I hope she does, you never know with her" "Last year I bought her a daisy. I tried to be romantic and I told her "A daisy for my Daisy" but she wasn´t very impressed, you know? Hornbull said dissapointed.

"Daisies are lovely  but I´m telling you this year she would be speechless when you give her this rose" Rebeca said trying to cheer him up. "You said "speechless"?, my Daisy? I doubt it , anyway I just hope she likes it. " Hornbull knew his wife well.

 

After waiting for a good while it was Rhy´s turn at last. 

"What can I get for you, Mr.Chocolate ? Rebeca asked.

 

 "What about some red roses? They´re beautiful, aren´t they?" Rebeca suggested.
"Of course they are but I just want to buy the new issue of " Sylvanian Country Gardens". Patricia is into gardening these days and she asked me to get it for her."

"Here you are, but consider the roses, Mr.Chocolate. They make a lovely gift at this special day" The word "special" ringing again." I wonder what is so special about today" once again he asked himself.

"Yes, flowers must be cheap at this time of the year" but what about "the special day"? Rhys was still trying to figure out what was going on.

All the shopping was done so it was time to go home. On his way he just passed by the park and to his surprise his grandchildren were there. "Ganpa!! Creme cried all excited when she saw him approaching.

Freya and Creme run to hug him as soon as he got off his bike.

At first Coco didn´t notice his grandfather was there. Actually, he had a good reason to be distracted.
"Do you want one, strawberry and cream, they´re lovely" he offered  Joanne a lollipop.
"Thank you Coco, that´s so sweet of you" She accepted shyly.

"¡Hi grandpa! I hadn´t seen you." Coco greeted his grandfather. "I don´t blame you Coco. She seems to be a very nice girl, very pretty too" he whispered in his grandson´s ear. "She is indeed grandpa" Coco couldn´t help giggling nervously. "Have I ever told you about the day I first set my eyes on your grandma?" Rhys asked his grandson. "You have, grandpa, lots of times. Don´t get me wrong I wouldn´t mind you telling me  all about it again but grandma might start getting worried if you take too long to go back home" Coco tried to persuade his grandfather. The truth was that Coco wanted to walk Joanne home and he was afraid  she was gone home on her own by the time his grandpa has finished his story.

Just before leaving Freya offered Rhys a heart shaped lollipop " Wait , grandpa, give it to grandma.I´m sure she would like it" , "Your grandma has a sweetooth, that´s for sure. Ok , I´ll give it to her".

Then he kissed his grandchildren and got on his bike. "Bye grandpa! say hello to grandma" they all waved goodbye with a wide smile. Meeting their grandparents always made them happy.

He was about to get home when he passed by a field full of  flowers. Among all of them some white flowers caught his eye."These flowers are lovely. I´ll get down and pick some for Patricia."

He picked a small bunch of them . They smelled lovely!

Patricia will love them. He was sure about it.

And he rode his bike as fast as his legs could  looking forward to getting home to meet his wife.

When he arrived home Patricia was watering the plants.

 "Hello, dear" Patria said glad to see her husband back. Did you get all the shopping done? she asked. "Of course, I did. I even brought something else for you that wasn´t on the list " Rhys answered excited.

When he got down his bike Patricia saw the basket and she exclaimed: "Aww... Rhys!, I can´t believe you remembered! "Come here and give me a kiss".

 Rhys was a bit puzzled but at the same time he was delighted to see Patricia so happy. He dared to ask: "Remember?, what?", ""Come on Rhys, you know! Today is Valentine´s Day and this year you didn´t forget!. You bought me a heart shaped lollipop and  a bunch of flowers!!  Thank you so much, that´s is very thoughtfull of you "
All of a sudden everything made sense to him, the shop window in the country Market, ,the Robinsons´suggesting him to buy something special in the supermarket, the Macavities telling him to book a table for dinner, Freya giving him the lollipop and of course the long queue at the flower shop.

He was afraid to disappoint his wife but he knew he should be sincere with her. "I have to tell you something, sweetheart, I hope you don´t get mad with me but Freya gave me the lollipop and I didn´t remeber it was Valentine´s Day". Patricia didn´t say anything for a while, her silence always made Rhys a bit nervous. Finally, she asked suspiciously " And the flowers?, did someone gave them to you too?".  Rhys didn´t like the way that  remark sounded. "No way!. I just stopped on my way home to pick them up for you. I saw them and I had the feeling you were going to like them, that´s all" Rhys said raising his voice. "And I´m going to tell you something else , who needs Valentine´s Day. I love you everyday. After all these years together you´re the best thing that ever happened to me on Valentine´s Day and every single day! and I mean it from the bottom of my heart" and having said that he felt much better.

He didn´t have to wait long for his wife´s reaction. Rhy´s  improvised "love speech" made Patricia´s face lit up again with a smile  . "Oh, Rhys, I´m  so sorry. You´re right. Thank you so much for the flowers, the fact you picked them up for me just because you thought I´d like them is such a romantic gesture... I love you too! and they hugged and kissed.

After enjoying this tender moment Patricia looked at Rhys and said "Let´s go inside. I also have a little surprise for you" .Rhys got the shopping bag and both got into their home.

First of all she arranged the flowers in a vase. They were beautiful.

Meanwhile, Rhys took  the food out of the shopping bag.

Then he sat down to read the paper at the kitchen table. The nice smell in the kitchen was making him hungry.
He rose his eyes from the paper and asked : "What was that littte surprise you were talking about, love?"

Patricia asked him to cover up his eyes and he removed his glasses instead. "I´ll show you in a minute.Don´t look until I say so, ok? She ordered.

Wearing  her kitchen  gloves she bended down to open the oven. The smell was mouthwatering.

"You can put on your glasses, Rhys!" Patricia said placing on the table a big heart shaped chocolate cake.

"What sight do my eyes take in? My favourite cake!" Rhys exclaimed with joy.

Rhys stood up and went to give Patricia a hug. "Thank you, my dear. You sure know how to spoil me" Rhys said hugging her tight. This cake was the first cake Patricia made for him when they started dating long time ago and since then it became Rhys´s favourite.
"I also prepared a special dish for you, carrot souffle and honey glazed carrots" She said proud of her cooking skills". " That sounds delicious sweetheart, I can´t wait to taste it." Rhys stomach was already  growling.

They enjoyed a  lovely dinner on Valentine´s Day at their home sweet home.

 "This was a very special dinner Patricia. The truth is you know how to make every single day special for me."
Patricia smiled and sighed. Her husband´s words made her feel  warm and fuzzy inside.  "Aww , Rhys you´re such a wonderful man...!" when Patricia finished her compliment they both said I love you in unison and bursted out laughing. "Just like the first time we said  it , do you remember Rhys" How could I forget! "It was the very same day you cooked this cake for me for the first time" Rhys´ comment was the perfect excuse  to  indulge themselves in another piece of chocolate and strawberry cake.

HAPPY VALENTINE´S DAY

 

I hope you liked my story

I chose the Chococolate grandparents for this story because I find them very cute and I ´m very fond of them but also because I think it´s nice to see couples living together for so many years and still in love.

I found this recipe of love in  Mrs.Chocolate´s cookbook. Maybe that´s their secret ... 

 

image taken from 123stitch.com

Thank you for reading.

With love