The Real Valentine

Valentine's Day was special today, but not because of the beautiful bouquet R delivered from the florist this morning. Nor because he made a special trip to retrieve it when my plans suddenly changed and the original delivery plans had to be scrapped. It wasn't special because of the wonderful lunch we had at one of our favorite restaurants overlooking the Nashville skyline (Germantown Cafe). Nor because we spent part of the afternoon wandering through aisle after aisle of antiques and garden displays at Cheekwood's Antique and Garden show, at the convention center. No, the thing I will remember about this day, more than the sun and the blue skies and all the above, is how we narrowly missed colliding with a yearling deer who decided to cross Old Hickory Blvd. in Bellevue in front of us. The terrified youngster managed to redirect herself just as a startled R managed to slam on the brakes. For way too many seconds, we were side by side, us praying that she wouldn't cross in front of us, as our car slowed quickly, but was it quick enough? Another car was approaching from behind in the adjacent lane--would it slow down in time? Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the yearling bounded away across the two westbound lanes, which were, thankfully, empty. I wonder: is she telling her story in a circle of cud-chewing companions in the light of tonight's moon, heart still panting?