Wincing as she burnt her tongue on her coffee Charlotte set the mug down on the table and turned the page of the photo album.
A bride and groom filled the pages, their smiles leaping out from their perfect day, blue sky surrounding them, the bare branches of the trees home to streams of coloured bunting.
Hard to believe it was just one year ago. Feeling nostalgic she blew into her coffee. Deep in daydream the noise of the doorbell made her jump, it was Monday morning and having already phoned in sick Charlotte was still in her pyjamas. As she unlocked the door she felt like she should have showered and dressed earlier or at least put on some make up. Embarrassed at her appearance she opened the door on its chain.
A woman stood on the doorstep holding a large bouquet of red roses.
“Charlotte?” She asked trying not to let her smile slip as Charlotte opened the door fully.
Only able to nod in reply Charlotte was handed the delivery.
“ Somebody certainly loves you” the woman chirped.
“ I guess they do” Charlotte politely replied.
“ Have a lovely Valentine’s Day” she called over her shoulder as she strode back towards her van.
Locking the front door Charlotte pulled the small card from its envelope.
“ Happy first anniversary, I will always love you”.
Valentine’s Day, their first wedding anniversary.
Her stomach flipped and her face flushed at the thought.
Charlotte caught a glimpse of herself in the hallway mirror as she put the flowers on the dresser. She stood and stared at her reflection, twisting the gold band on her left hand, a nervous fidget that had manifested itself over the last year.
As the tears formed and began to pour from her blacked eye she looked at the flowers. With the salt water running down her cheeks and over her split lip she picked up both the roses and the wedding album from the kitchen.
The roses really were stunning, the eternal symbol of love.
They still looked beautiful as they hit the bottom of the wheelie bin.
Stepping out of her comfort zone Tracey is a MRI Radiographer and rookie to the writing world. She enjoys writing short stories and flash fiction.
She is excited about having her first story published which is an improvement from hyperventilating when her first blog post went out.
A fan of martial arts and motorbikes she would probably describe herself as a dragon loving, rum drinking Phoenix and eternal slave to Things 1, 2 and 3.
Others would simply describe her as Phoebe from the TV show Friends.
You can find her on Twitter @ThisPhoenix71 and her blog at Thisphoenixblog.wordpress.com
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