Emily was our honeymoon baby. Even more appropriate, she was born on Valentines Day itself. Our families teased us mercilesslynot only were we the perfect couple, but we became pregnant immediately to a baby born on Valentines Day. It seemed to be fate.
We called Emily our Golden Child. She was bounding with joy and seemed to just emanate it from her pores. While I probably am biased as her mother, I thought she was the most beautiful creature ever created. She had dark gold curls that never seemed to do what I wanted to coax them to do, and her fathers chocolate brown eyes with a very faint golden rim. She was truly breathtaking.
We always wanted more children, but didnt seem to fall pregnant as easily as we had before. However, we were content with our Emily. Until the May just after Emily turned 4. It was the day before Matts and my anniversary, and Emily and I were running errands. I was admittedly in a hurry, trying to get everything done before our scheduled 5th anniversary vacation in three short days. I was harried. Emily sensed that and was restless herself. I became cross with her. To try to distract her, I reached into the back set to turn up the music on her toy I never saw the truck coming.
I woke up four days later in the hospital. Everything from those next few days is still fairly fuzzy, but I remember the moment when Matt told me that Emily didnt survive the crash. All I could think about was the last words she heard from me. I crossly asked her to be quiet for just five minutes.
I slowly recovered from my own numerous injuries. Matt was amazingly supportive, but things obviously werent the same as before. Our Golden Child was gone.
Her birthday was approaching, and I wasnt sure how I was going to make it through. To make matters worse, Matts company was sending him to Zurich, Switzerland, for the 10 days preceding Valentines Day for a special conference. I dont think I ever felt so alone as I did those 10 days.
When Matt landed in New York on Valentines Day, Emilys birthday, he called to confirm that I would be at the airport to pick him up from his connecting flight. He told me that he had a special Valentines gift for me. I told him that I wasnt in a Valentines sort of mood, but he insisted that this would help.
Things seemed infinitely better when I saw Matt coming off the plane. He gave me a giant hug, and then we grabbed his luggage and headed home. When we got home, he sat me down and gave me a small wrapped box. He told me that he hadnt planned on getting me anything for Valentines this year since it was so painful for us both, but he saw these in Zurich and knew that he had to bring them to me.
I unwrapped the box, and saw a brand name that was unfamiliar to me -- DeLafe. I wasnt sure what to expect, but opened the box quizzically. Inside were beautiful chocolates sprinkled with gold. I immediately began to smile and cry at the same time a box of chocolates from our Golden Child. Matt urged me to taste one, and the rich chocolate seemed to explode on my tongue, I had never tasted anything like that in my entire life.
Each Valentines Day gets a little easier. We now have a little boy, Ethan. And each Valentines Day, Matt gets me a box of DeLafe chocolate pralines. These chocolates have become so well-known throughout my circle of friends that we all look forward to our husbands' special purchases of DeLafe for us. But as much as every one of my friends enjoys these gold-flaked exquisite chocolates, I know that mine are a special reminder of my Golden Child. |
