Two days ago, Jenna asked her 5 year-old daughter what gift she would like for Valentine’s Day.  Tanya only wanted her mother to pick her up from school.  For the last four years, Jenna had not left work before five in the afternoon.  Right now, driving her Lexus SUV around the school parking lot at 2:27 pm looking for an empty spot felt really odd to her.  After driving around the school lot twice, frustration crept into her veins when nothing was available.  But when she recalled the sad expression on her daughter’s face two days ago, she let a spirit of calmness settle inside her and hope someone will head out soon to free up a spot. 

After another 30 seconds and still no sign that her silent prayer would be answered, her thoughts took her to the man responsible for making her daughter cry her heart out two days ago by insinuating that she didn’t care about Tanya enough to pick her up after school.  Her poor daughter was traumatized by the statement and the after-school program organizer had to call her when they couldn’t get her to stop crying after two hours.  The next day, she called up Tanya’s teacher and was told that parent didn’t mean anything by it.  He was just trying to make child-talk conversation.  Jenna would still like to punch the person in the face for two reasons.  The first was for saying such a mean and terrible thing to her child or any child.  The second reason was for putting her in such a predicament.  In order for her to leave work early today, she had to promise her boss to have dinner with him tomorrow. 

She was conjuring a plan on how to get that idiotic parent who had traumatized her daughter in a secluded corner, out of sight from the children and the teacher, then she realized she had to find out who that person was first. Her thoughts were interrupted when someone came out from the school and gestured to her that her car was on the other side of the parking lot.  After thanking her with a wave, Jenna drove her car around to get to the other side of the lot.  Just as she straightened her car from around the corner, a man happened to just pull up in his old Sienna.  She was just split seconds away from signaling and when she noticed he flashed his van’s signal for the same spot. 

Jenna drove closer, honked and mouthed to the driver.  “I was here first!”  She was certain he knew what she said because he had that smirk on his face.  But he just shrugged and spread his two arms out.  It looked as if he was trying to say “I don’t know” but what he really meant was “Too bad!  I signaled first!”  That got Jenna’s blood boiling ten degrees higher and she really wanted to give him her finger.  But luckily, the car next to her honked because he wanted to reverse out of his spot.  Jenna didn’t know the driver was in the car all this time but she was happy to move her car to let him reverse out.  After she parked, she noticed ‘smirky’ man was still waiting for the spot because the driver was taking her sweet time before starting her car’s engine.   Jenna gave the driver a scoff and a cool satisfaction settled inside her heart as she walked through the doors into the school.

Jenna entered the kindergarten classroom and spotted her daughter who was still collecting Valentine’s cards from her classmates.  She was only collecting because she had given hers out yesterday.  Jenna was trying to train her child to never leave things till the last minute.  Tanya caught sight of her mom and waved joyfully at her.  Jenna nodded and waved back with delight.  Then she headed to the side of the room to collect her daughter’s jacket and bags.  She noticed a small boy sitting at the corner looking sullen and sad.  He was holding one rather unique Valentine’s card in his hand.  Jenna knew right away that the card was not one of those commercially bought cards.  She could even bet her annual income that it was hand-made.  The boy didn’t bother to look her way and so she tried to get his attention.

“Did someone give you that Valentine’s card?”  Jenna asked and the boy finally looked up at her.  His glare told her he might have hatred towards the whole wide world right now.  He ignored her and turned back to look at the card in his hand.  Jenna reconsidered her earlier suspicion, maybe he only have hatred for women.

Jenna was surprised.  She said to herself.  “Okay.  I guess not.”  She looked at the boy again and shook her head.  “No wonder you only got one.  Guess you are not Mr. Popular!”  She reprimanded herself for thinking this way, but she also forgave herself by saying she couldn’t help it.  Guess she was her own judge.

“Hey Buddy!  You ready to go?”  Suddenly, a man entered the room from the other side and walked towards the boy. 

“Daddy!”  Sighting the the man, the boy got up and ran into his father’s embrace.  He buried his sad face into his father’s chest and let out a few sobs.  Jenna recognized the father as the ‘smirky’ man and decided to step aside so he wouldn’t see her presence.  Her heart sank to her stomach while looking at this display of such tender loving affection between the father and his son.  Her eyes misted a little.

“What’s wrong buddy?”  The father pulled his son apart to look into his teary face.  Then he spotted the Valentine’s card that was in his hand.  “Why haven’t you given your card to Tanya?”

The boy shook his head and let out another sob. “She said it’s ugly.”

“Little girls can be so mean!”  Jenna thought to herself and understood why the boy gave her that look earlier.  She couldn’t blame him now.  She thought the card was unique with its own appeal, it was not ugly.  But nor was it ‘pretty in pink’.  “WHAT!!!  Did he just say TANYA?!!!!”

“It’s not ugly, son.”  The boy’s father pulled him back into his chest to comfort him.  “It’s a beautiful card because you made it with your heart.  She’s not worthy to have it.”

“That’s right!”  In her heart, Jenna was proud of how ‘smirky’ man was handling the situation.  She knew there were two other girls named Tanya in this class and she was pretty sure her daughter would not say such a thing.  Then she wasn’t too sure.  “She had better not.”

‘Smirky’ man held the card between his fingers and flipped it back and forth.  “Is Tanya still here?” The boy nodded.  “Show Daddy which girl is Tanya.”

The boy pointed to the teacher’s desk where several girls were.    There was one in particular who resembled the woman from the parking lot.  For some unknown reason, that woman had left an impression in his head.  It wouldn’t surprise him at all if that girl was Tanya.  He figured she would most likely be like her mother.  He sighed and turned back to his offspring.  He didn’t know which of the girls his son was referring to.  It didn’t matter because the damage was done.  He wasn’t going to confront Tanya. “Son, remember what Daddy taught you.  Most beautiful girls are …..”

“…s, materialistic and money-minded!”  The boy blurted which surprised even his father.  He was going to say ‘most beautiful girls are funny sometimes.’  The boy was on a roll now.  “Tanya is a .  She is materialistic and money-minded!  She only likes Valentine’s Cards with brand names and sparkles.”

The father stood up and took his son’s small hand in his.  He looked into the classroom once again and noticed the girl who reminded him of the woman from the parking incident.  “The one in the pink dress, the one talking to Mrs. Ingrid, is that Tanya?”

The boy looked towards his teacher’s desk.  “Yes.”

He turned back and tugged his son’s arm to walk towards the exit direction.  He smiled at his son to encourage him to cheer up.  He sighed.  “Unfortunately, most beautiful girls grow up to be ty, materialistic and money-minded.  Especially someone who doesn’t know how to appreciate these Valentine’s cards Daddy taught you to make.”

Jenna looked into the classroom.  Her eyes shot out and her ears stood out.  She felt as if her hair had been pulled straight up.   Her daughter was the only girl in the classroom wearing a pink dress and she was saying goodbye to Mrs. Ingrid.  She shot towards the hall from the opposite direction and saw ‘smirky’ man and his son walking towards her direction to exit the school.  He recognized her right away.  He also noticed her uptight facial muscles.  He knew he owed her an apology for taking the spot. 

“What kind of idiotic father are you?!  You let your son call my daughter a ?!”  Jenna fired at him like a mother hen protecting her children.  “What kind of immoral father are you!”

Smirky man was expecting to be yelled at for the parking incident, certainly not to be called an idiotic and immoral father in front of his son.  He quickly collected his composure and retaliated.  “I guessed right!  So Tanya is your daughter!  Goes figured!”  He was also glad he didn’t offer the apology earlier.

“And you were the one who made her cry two days ago, weren’t you?!”  Jenna noticed there was no one in the hallway and so it would be safe to carry out her plan to strike him.  She didn’t care his son was there, she figured he could learn a lesson from this as well.  Anyone who dared to call her daughter by such terms and get away with it deserved to watch his father get punched in the face!

Read more: http://www.aleiyawrites.com/strikingvalentine/