The General looked around at the new flowers in the house. One of his wife’s many jobs she had was a florist. The bright colors and variety of the flowers would compensate for the seriousness of the subject and the rigidness of his soldiers that night. He was happy he was retiring but he was pessimistic about the meeting.
Soon, his staff would arrive. His wife had dinner ready.
“You’re ahead of schedule,” he complimented.
“I’m doing whatever it takes to help,” she said.
“Out of the mouth of babes,” he said as he smiled.
She was a good cook, kept the place spotless and new his business. She was well-rounded that way. He was proud of that. She dropped out of college in her junior year with only a Liberal Arts degree she couldn’t do much with and never had “a career,” so, she was proud of that, too. He was a General and she was a generalist. They were a cute couple. At the Jersey Shore, where they were, he would always drive the boat and she would ski. Once, at a lake in the Poconos, she almost killed herself when she skied too close to a dock, so, it’s just as well.
That night, the General ran the show, as usual. He handed out reports about final plans that he knew they would change. “The plans specifically outline your responsibilities.”
The only thing she said was to warn, “if anyone adds to these things, or takes away from the words.”
But the two of them were the only true Americans in the group. As patriotic as the soldiers thought they were they each had personal policies about what they believed (politics). The General and his wife knew it wouldn’t go smoothly. There was a dark cloud at the house not even the flowers could do much about.
After everyone left the couple didn’t have much to do. They decided they would get up early and go to the beach and watch the sunrise. And they would have a happy Valentines Day.
Happy Valentines Day!