Once we were showered and dressed, I took Miller back into the kitchen. We decided to eat leftover pizza for dinner so I went outside to get my surprise while he reheated pizza. I set out candles on the dining room table and hurriedly lit them. I placed his large gift box on the table and took my seat to wait for him.
“What’s all this?” Miller asked when he walked into the room with two plates in his hand.
“It’s our Valentine’s Day dinner.”
“You don’t do Valentine’s Day. I remember you saying something about greeting card companies and swindling.” He tilted his head slightly as if he was searching for a memory.
“None of your gifts were purchased from one of them. This gift is unique for only you.” I said with a sniff of superiority.
“Good. I got you something too, but I was afraid you didn’t get me anything and would feel bad.” Miller set the plates down on the table and ran out of the room. He returned with a box he must’ve hidden somewhere in the house. He placed it on the table with exaggerated fan fair and I couldn’t help but be curious about his gift. “Eat first,” he demanded.
Our first romantic dinner in our new house was lukewarm pizza on paper plates by candlelight. It was absolutely perfect for the two of us. We wore ridiculous grins while we consumed our pizza and drank an ice cold beer. I had to admit, beer had never tasted so good.
“You first,” Miller insisted once we were done eating. He slid my gift to me.
I removed the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside was a framed picture of the four of us at the Brexler’s Christmas party the previous year. Lily was sitting in my lap while Lucas was standing on the couch behind Miller with his arms wrapped around Miller’s neck in one of his favorite wrestling moves. The look of sheer happiness on all of our faces made my eyes tear up. The photo had been taken just a few weeks before Lucas and Lily lost their parents and I could only hope to see that unbridled happiness on their faces again someday.
The coolest thing about the picture was that it had been printed and cut like a jigsaw puzzle, which was our thing. It was Miller’s way of reminding me that we still fit even though the picture had changed and the puzzle was now bigger, but it was no less beautiful to me.
“I love this, Bones. It’s the best gift I’ve ever received.” I leaned over and kissed him, but he pulled back before I could deepen the kiss too much.
“My turn!” He pulled the heavy box toward him and I think he knew it was going to be another excavating activity. The wide grin on his face told me he was really looking forward to digging out his gift. I had put a lot of time and thought into it and I wanted him to take his time unearthing all the clues. “I love these gifts,” he said.
“Go easy,” I told him. There were some pieces that were slightly delicate and I didn’t want him to break them or it would ruin it.
Miller looked up at me and gave me a gleeful smile as he slowly started to dig through some sort of sugar that looked like sand. I had edible things inside and I didn’t want it to get ruined by real sand. Chrissy from Adam and Steve’s Bakery came through for me big time. She seemed genuinely happy to help me plan this surprise. I swore her to secrecy, because Miller frequently went there on Saturday mornings for donuts and pastries.
Chrissy baked and iced cookies to look like candy hearts. Then she cut them in jagged halves so that they could be pulled apart and put back together again to look like a puzzle. Miller pulled one out and of course only saw half of the message. He raised it to his mouth like he was going to eat it until he saw my glare.
“Not until all the pieces have been found.”
“Spoilsport.” Next, Miller dug out a plastic groom that one would expect to see on top of a wedding cake. This groom was blond and resembled the man I loved more than life itself. His eyes jerked up and he swallowed hard. “Jag.” His voice sounded breathless.
“Keep excavating, Bones.”
He dug up several more cookie pieces and set them aside as he carefully dug through the sand. He pulled out a bottle of champagne and then two plastic wine glasses. His eyes connected to mine after every item he pulled out. I could only describe the look in his eyes as hopeful. There were only two remaining items left for him to find and I didn’t want him to discover the last one until he formed his puzzles. So, I stopped him from digging further when he pulled out the plastic groom that had the same coloring as me.
“Put your puzzle pieces together, Bones.” It wouldn’t take him long, because each cookie was iced in a different color. All he had to do was match up the halves in the same color. I held my breath as he put the pieces together until he had four hearts that read: