Member-only story
The Trouble With Hats
The beginning and end of the relationship
Colleen remembered the very first Valentine’s Day she spent with Raoul. She had no idea what he would get her for Valentine’s Day. She got him a CD of jazz music.
It turned out that Raoul bought her a hat. A wide-brimmed straw hat with a pink ribbon around it. Colleen had no idea how to react. She had never received a hat before as a present. She did not even own any hats. She had practiced how to react if she had gotten jewelry. She was ready to smell some flowers. She was ready to hear a poem he had written for her. She was ready for a night out on the town. She was ready to be thoroughly surprised.
And surprised she was. A hat was the very last thing she anticipated as a Valentine’s gift. Who the hell gives their lover a hat for their very first Valentine’s Day together? And where is the fucking chocolate?!
But she put the hat on her head and she felt special. Raoul took about 50 photos with his cellphone of her wearing the freaking hat. That night she ended up on his bed wearing nothing but the straw hat. She had to admit that it was a night to remember.
Twenty-three Valentine’s Days later (twenty-two as husband and wife), Raoul came home from an executive meeting carrying a sizable box — about the size of a hat box. Colleen had on…
