Disclaimer: Don't own them. No profit.

Valentines

A. Nonnie Mouse

Angie slipped into the old brewery as quietly as she could. It was still early and they had been up late working last night. Or rather this morning. At least that film was done, she thought with a sigh, hoping Rollie was still asleep. This Sunday promised to be sunny, but cold. The Aussie would definitely not appreciate the crisp, cold winter air. Stealthily, the blonde crept up the stairs to the clean room and turned off the speakers. Certain of the silence, she booted up the PC and connected to the internet. Several emails came in and Angie smiled as she started to go through them. Cyberstud, Teddy Bear, JonJon, Benny, Stevarino, Tobiason, Geek, SunRay and Lurk had all sent her virtual Valentines. She giggled quietly as she went through them. Finished with the email, she stretched and smiled. All in all, it was one of her best "hauls" for Valentine's Day. Yawning, she decided to make some coffee.

On silent feet, Angie Ramirez padded downstairs remembering earlier Valentine's Days. She remembered when she was twelve moaning to her father that she wasn't going to get any Valentines. When he'd asked about the Valentine candy he always gave her, she told him that it didn't count. After all, he was her father. That Valentine's Day, her father had opened the door and found a box of chocolates and a card with her name on it. The card had been homemade with writing that looked almost, but not quite, like caligraphy. It had been unsigned but declared her beautiful and that they would be friends forever. Since that day, she always received an anonymous Valentine. They had gotten more surprising with each succeeding year. She wasn't sure just when she figured out they came from Rollie. Both of them pretended the other didn't know. It was a game they played and very enjoyable. As she sipped the hot cup of coffee, she wondered what he would do this year. So far he'd managed to surprise her every time, but last year's Valentine, a dozen red roses and a bouquet of chocolate chip cookies delivered anonymously in the heart of a rain forest, would be hard to beat. She still hadn't figured out how he got the delivery boy out there.

The sound of a whistle made her head jerk toward the doors to the loft. Quietly cursing the noise that was sure to wake her tired boss, she hurried to open the door. She stood there gaping, dumbstruck by the sight of a huge bunch of red and white balloons coming down to land in front of her. A basket hung beneath them holding a soft, dark brown teddy bear with a single red rose and a heart that said Friends forever! She reached out and unhooked the whistle so it stopped. Carefully, she gathered the basket, balloons and bear, carrying them inside. Checking the basket, she found bags of chocolate used as ballast. She could just see Rollie working out the calculations of just the right weight to bring the balloons down. She giggled as she thought of him carefully weighing the teddy bear and basket.

A moment later, Rollie stumbled sleepily down the stairs, complaining about the noise that had awakened him. I wonder what he'll do next year, Angie thought with a soft, warm smile.