When my brother was in the sixth grade he socked away four months’ worth of allowance and added it to two months’ worth of salary he earned as a paperboy. Then, a week before Valentine’s Day, he and my mom went to a local jewelry store where my brother proceeded to fork over his life savings to purchase a gold chain with a matching jewel encrusted letter “M” charm, for a girl named Michelle.
Michelle was to my brother what the little red-haired girl was to Charlie Brown. Out. Of. His. League.
Sad story short, after purchasing the necklace, wrapping it up and digging deep like Linus did before approaching Miss Othmar, my brother presented the sparkling Valentine’s Day gift to his one and only.
Turns out Michelle absolutely L-O-V-E-D her blinged out “M” necklace and wore it proudly… until she got home and her parents saw it. Before the sunset on Valentine’s Day 1981 my brother’s heart would be forever crushed by the mother of his boyhood crush.
Apparently, Michelle’s mom had rules about tweenage boys giving expensive gifts to her daughters: No way. No how. No exceptions. Not even on Valentine’s Day.
I was barely eight when the Great Valentine’s Day crush took place, so I don’t remember all the details. However, I do recall that I was stuffing my face with a Valentine’s Day chocolate tart when the phone rang. I remember my mom answering and speaking in a hushed tone, and then my brother slamming his bedroom door. The slamming door was nothing new, but when my other brother (who shared a bedroom with the broken hearted brother) came running down the hall to inform the rest of us kids that our oldest, toughest and most-respected sibling was in tears, I knew something had gone horribly wrong.
As my mother (who felt terrible about the entire incident) explained many, many months later, Michelle’s mom had strict rules about her daughters socializing with boys before they were 30, and absolutely put her foot down when it came to allowing them to accept gifts from members of the opposite sex.
She had every right to impose and enforce her rules, and looking back on it now that I am a mother with a daughter, I don’t blame Michelle’s mom. She did what she thought was right at the time.
In the end, my brother eventually got over his broken heart… and my mom scored a stunning gold necklace with a gorgeous letter “M” charm.
Related Articles:
Valentine’s Day School Treats: Make or Buy?