My grandparents were married on Valentine’s Day, so I’ve always had a soft spot for the holiday. Even when I haven’t had a valentine, I celebrate it. Wickeds, some of us have romance in our novels, others don’t. How will your characters celebrate Valentine’s Day? Any special food or rituals that would be fun to talk about? A pining for previous loves, or a celebration of friendship? Or a romantic dinner?
Jessie: What a lovely question! My sleuth, Beryl, will likely open a lavish number of cards and tokens on the day from a wide circle of admirers. She will be pleased but non-plussed. Edwina may be faced with a heartfelt offerings from her dear friend Charles who is far more interested in her than she is in him. I am afraid her day will be spent in discomfort and agitation! Both ladies will receive flowers from jobbing gardener, Simpkins.
Julie: Jessie, I love Simpkins, and suspect he will make lovely bouquets for them both. Delia is sort of dating Stan from the Star, but he’ll be working. So she and Lilly will plan a decadent dinner of their favorite things, and they’ll invite Ernie and Roddy. Ernie will bring them plants. Roddy will bring them really good chocolates.
Liz: What a fun question! Maddie tends to have low expectations, but this year she’s hoping that Lucas, the hot dog groomer, will plan something lovely to show that he’s not like the guys she usually dates. She’s fine with low-key, but wants to feel appreciated. So maybe a nice dinner somewhere, and a card or flowers.
Barb: On Friday, Julia and Chris will be working their tails off at their dinner restaurant. Gus’s Too is positioned as a place for locals to have a date night during the off-season, so it is fully booked. To compensate, on the Tuesday before Valentine’s, when they were closed, Chris cooked a romantic dinner for two in the restaurant space. It’s a bit of a busman’s holiday for him and Julia tried to talk him into going out somewhere off the penninsula, but she could see he really wanted it so she gave in. At the appointed hour, when Julia came downstairs from their apartment, wearing a dress for the first time in months, there were roses in “their” booth, the place where they re-met after all Julia’s years away. The table was set with china and linens borrowed from Julia’s mother. Dinner was a multi-course extravaganza that took Julia’s breathe away…
Edith/Maddie: Aww, Barb. I love that! Down on Cape Cod, Mac’s boyfriend Tim will cook her a romantic dinner at his cottage – and gently hint how much he’d love to start a family with her (like she doesn’t already know…). In South Lick, eighty-something Samuel is taking Robbie’s Aunt Adele out to the fanciest restaurant in Nashville, but Abe and Robbie decide to go simple and have cheese fondue in front of his fireplace, followed by chocolate fondue.
Sherry: Seth is going to whisk Sarah off for a weekend at a cozy historic inn on the coast of Massachusetts. Sarah is going to give him a antique shaving mirror as a gift. She tried to get one for him recently but it didn’t work out the way she planned. Other than a nice dinner out they plan to take walks, hold hands, and visit some antique stores.
Readers, do you like to imagine what characters are doing on holidays when we haven’t got them solving crimes? Any Valentine’s Day wishes?