Old Fashion Romance

At the strike of midnight, Brit exclaimed, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Ethan!” The exclamation was accompanied with a pounce followed by a passel of kisses. The exuberance caused Ethan to need to brace to keep them both from tumbling and he grinned at Brit’s playfulness and excitement over a “holiday” designed around romance. “Valentine’s Day is a day for beloveds AND lovers, Ethan. And I made you a pretty card, which you could use as a bookmark if you wished all year long.” She presented the red card etched in lace with little pink and red ribbons. Rather than a verse, Brit had covered the card in lip prints.

Ethan traced each lip print and said, “Thank you, baby. I will use it to mark my ledger and so I will use it every day.” He bent to give her a kiss and looked at the card in more detail before laying it carefully on the ledger. “Would you wish to know the history of Valentine’s Day, Brit? It is a bit like a story.” Seeing her nod, he motioned her to him after sitting and pulled her on to his lap. “Many would say that it was a holiday created by greeting card companies, but that is incorrect. While those companies made it popular and commercialized it to what it is today, there are a few theories on its true beginnings.”

“Oh, please tell me! It is like a story when you tell me things!” She smiled happily as she settled against him.

Nodding, Ethan adjusted her to one side so he could open a drawer and produced a heart-shaped box of fresh strawberries drenched with layers of dark chocolate. Picking one up, he pressed it to her lips watching the juice and dark chocolate stain her lips. “There were several saints named Valentine recognized by the church. All of whom were martyred.” Brushing away her hand, he followed a drip of juice while watching her with his finger and pressed it to her lips where she licked it off. His words paused. Blinking a few times, Ethan continued. “One legend contends that Valentine was a priest during the reign of Emperor Claudius II in third century Rome. The emperor decided single men made better soldiers so he outlawed marriages of young men. The priest is said to have married young lovers in secret. When he was discovered, he was put to death.”

Licking the melted chocolate from her lips, she said, “But God approves of marriage.” She paused to take another bite of the huge strawberry and traced the dripping juice along his finger to lick it from his thumb holding the underside causing Ethan to raise an eyebrow and shake his head slightly to clear his thoughts to continue.

“Other stories suggest…” Ethan watched Brit’s lips nibble the strawberry and chocolate from his fingers in silence. When she pulled back to look at him, he kissed her forehead and said, “Other stories …yes. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape Roman prisons where they were sometimes beaten or tortured.”

Brit nibbled her lips to rid them of melted chocolate. “That’s not very romantic.” Ethan grinned and gave her another bite of the strawberry holding the chocolate so that it would not crack and fall away when she bit into it.

“What was romantic is one legend that says that he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter who would visit him during his confinement. Before his death, he allegedly wrote her a letter which he signed ‘From your Valentine,’ which is an expression still used today.” Brit caught a piece of broken chocolate on her lower lip and sucked it into her mouth letting it melt on her tongue. “Now the legends of Valentine are murky, but the stories are romantic. Tis no wonder that he is such a popular saint since medieval times.”

Brit nodded enjoying the story. Pressing her to him, Ethan kissed her softly tasting the chocolate and strawberry in the kiss. Settling back, he watched her silently for a moment and picked up another strawberry covered in chocolate to trace on her lips before letting her bite into it. Again, he caught the juice on his finger and held it to her mouth. Brit leaned and sucked the drip before taking a bite of the strawberry. Ethan blinked slightly again watching her nibble the strawberry and chocolate that he held for her.

Shifting his weight, Ethan’s other hand caressed her back. “Of course, there are some who believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death, but others claim the church timed Valentine’s feast day in effort to christianize a pagan holiday known as the Lupercalia festival.” Brit listened as she let the chocolate melt on her lips before taking another bite of the strawberry.

Ethan paused again. “In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for cleansing. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them well, and then sprinkling salt and spelt throughout them.” Brit ran her lower lip over his thumb and strawberry’s chocolate hull to catch the dripping juice. “See, the festival of Lupercalia, which began on the ides of February, which is the 15th, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as Romulus and Remus who were the founders of Rome. First, an animal was sacrificed and then young girls were ritualistically slapped with strips of the animal’s skin and blood to guarantee their fertility.”

Brit’s eyes widened. “I think…giving a beloved chocolate and strawberries would make her want to be a lover and have babies more than hitting her with blood and animal skin. Don’t you?”

Ethan stifled a chuckle seeing her question was most serious to her. “Well, baby. The beauty of Valentine’s Day is that it can cater to all tastes. Hmm?” He pressed the rest of the huge strawberry into her mouth before another question could form, and then followed with Valentine’s kisses.