"We're going out for Valentines Day Friday night right?"
Carrie laid curled up in her boyfriends arms on the couch, fiddling with the watch on his wrist as they talked.
"Welll" Carrie hesitated, sitting up a bit. "Isaiah and I kind of have this tradition for the past couple years and he gets dressed up and buys me flowers and 'takes me out' for dinner for Valentines day."
"Awe, That's so adorable" Mike gushed, a smile on his face.
"It is pretty cute" Carrie blushed. "Ivey helps him out. We've been doing it since he was four. Sorry, I've never had a real man to take me out for it before."
"It's okay! No big deal, I'm not even a big fan of Valentines Day."
"Neither am I! I think it's dumb. A couple should love each other every day." She laughed.
"Couldn't agree more."
"You should probably go soon, Isaiah will be home from school in about thirty minutes." Carrie said, pealing off of him. The couple had been together a little over a month now and they spent every chance they could with each other when Isaiah was gone.
"Darn, okay. I need to get to the gym anyways." Mike stood up off the couch, Carrie following.
"I'll call you later, okay?"
"Okay. Have fun." Carrie kissed him when they reached the door.
"Bye." Mike smiled, opening the door. He turned around and kissed her once more, leaving her breathless.
Carrie watched him walk out to his car, a smile spread across her face. She still couldn't get past the feeling of having a man in her life. She'd gone on a couple dates here and there, but never gotten anywhere close to serious with a man since Mike.
~~~
Slipping on her heels, Carrie heard the doorbell ring. She smiled, grabbing her purse and walking down the stairs.
Ivey had picked up Isaiah from school so that he could get flowers and 'pick her up".
Carrie opened the door to see her six year old son standing at the door in a button down, kaki pants, and a bow tie. He had a bouquet of roses in his hand and a huge smile on his face.
Carrie's heart melted, as it did every year when he did this.
"Happy Valentines Day Mommy." He said sweetly.
"Awe, thank you baby." Carrie cooed, taking the flowers from his hands. "These are beautiful."
Carrie winked at Ivey, who was in the car in the driveway about to pull away.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yes Sir, let me put these in a vase and grab my keys." Carrie grinned. She filled a vase from the kitchen up with water and sat the roses in them.
"Let's go." Carrie took her son's hand and they walked to the car together.
When they arrived, a woman led them to their table, where Isaiah pulled out the seat for his mom.
"You're so sweet, thank you." Carrie smiled. She had somehow managed to raise such a little gentleman.
"What do you want for dinner Iz?" Carrie asked, looking through the menu when the waitress approached the table.
"Chicken tenders!" He said happily.
"Why did I even ask?" She laughed, shaking her head. He always got chicken tenders. Carrie ordered his chicken tenders and a cob salad for herself.
"So how was school today?"
"Good, I got lots of Valentines and candy! Mrs. Brittian brought us cupcakes!" He said excitedly.
"Yum! That sounds like an awesome party."
Carrie couldn't help but smile as her son sat across from the table telling her a story about a silly thing that had happened at school. Every time she looked at him, she felt like the luckiest person in the entire world. He was the only constant in her life that was always there to cheer her up and make her laugh when she was down. Coming home to him every day made all the bad days and pain worth it.
"I got it Mom." Isaiah took the bill from the waitresses hand, pulling out a couple twenty dollar bills. Carrie grinned, making a mental note to pay Ivey back for it.
"You're such a gentleman, I don't know how I ever got so lucky with you." Carrie bent down and kissed her son's forehead as they walked out. "I couldn't have asked for a better date."
"Maybe one day you'll have a real date for Valentine's Day." Isaiah said, holding his mothers hand as they walked back to the car.
Carrie sighed, biting her lip.
"No man will ever be as great of a date as you are." Carrie bent down to her son's level and held his hands. "I love you more than anything, thank you for being so sweet."
She kissed his cheek and smiled. "Let's get you home, it's time for bed."
When they got home, Carrie helped him bathe and get ready for bed.
"Goodnight sunshine, thanks for being my hot date tonight." She winked, tucking him in tightly.
"Happy Valentine's Day Mama, I love you." Isaiah said softly.
"I love you too pumpkin. Sleep tight." She kissed his forehead and turned the light off, exiting his room with a smile.
Today had been perfect. Maybe things would work out with Mike, maybe they wouldn't. But at the end of the day, it didn't matter. Carrie had the greatest son in the entire world and she was more blessed than she knew what to do with. She had everything she needed right beside her already.
