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The first one catches her attention as soon as she slides into the driver’s seat of her car early one morning before work. The brightly colored card sits cheerfully on top of the dashboard, folded in half, and neatly fastened with a heart-shaped sticker.
Susan smiles to herself as she reaches for the small valentine, instantly recognizing it from one of the boxes that Jackie had tossed into their cart during their latest shopping trip to the Buy ‘N Bag, saying “Andy needs some of these for school,” before they’d headed to the checkout.
Gently peeling the sticker away and pressing it to the front of her coat, she’s not at all surprised when she unfolds the valentine only to be greeted with a bright green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle face on one side of the fold (Michelangelo, Andy’s favorite), and a ready-made message in black type stamped across a red heart on the other.
Dear Susan,
You’re turtle-ly awesome!
Love, Andy
Both of their names are written in Andy’s familiar blocky printing, and Susan chuckles affectionately as she passes a thumb over them. She momentarily considers dashing back inside the house to smother him with a giant hug and as many kisses as he’ll let her get away with, only she knows that he’s still in bed and she’d end up being late, so she resolves to tackle him as soon as she gets home in the evening instead. That decided, Susan pops open her center console and carefully places the card inside for safe keeping, then starts the car and pulls out of the driveway, ready to start her day.
The next one peeks up at her from inside of her purse. She’d gone looking for her ID badge, only to notice the valentine carefully tucked into the largest pocket next to her wallet. Grinning, she carefully removes this heart-shaped sticker as well and adds it to her coat next to the first one. She unfolds the card to find another smiling Turtle face (Donatello, Susan’s own preferred member of the group) and message inside, but soon discovers that this one isn’t from Andy.
Suze,
I’d love to share a slice with you!
(You can even have my mushrooms.)
Jacks
Susan snorts at the part of the message Jackie had added in parentheses. Considering how much time they always spent stealing the mushrooms off each other’s pizza slices, it’s a pretty romantic gesture. She smiles all the way through her walk to her office, and once inside, Susan places the valentine next to the name plate on her desk.
The third one shows up in her packed lunch, nestled between her bag of chips and her sandwich, and Susan can’t help but to eagerly peel the sticker away. This one goes on the front of her blouse until she can add it to her coat later, and she unfolds the valentine to see a third Turtle (Raphael, who they’ve collectively decided is a little too temperamental for his own good, but loveable nonetheless) and another typed message encircled in its expected red heart.
To Susan,
Cowabunga, dude. You’re the best!
From, Andy
She’s still smiling over her half-peeled orange when one of her favorite colleagues drops down across from her at the small table she’d grabbed in the hospital cafeteria.
“Tell me, Dr. McKinney,” her friend says gravely as she sets down her tray of food, “when did this job become more about paperwork and less about, I don’t know, actually healing people?”
Susan gives her an incredulous look. “Tell me, Dr. Coleman,” she mimics, “are you new?”
“Oh, fuck off,” her friend tells her, rolling her blue eyes playfully.
Susan pretends to gather up the remainder of her lunch. “Well, if you’re going to be like that, Alice, I’ll just go eat in my office and leave you here alone to enjoy,” she pauses to look over her friend’s cafeteria provided food with an exaggerated grimace, “whatever the hell that is.”
“But then you’d have to leave without your chocolate pudding,” Alice points out, “which is the only reason you even come down here for lunch in the first place, and it doesn’t look like you’ve grabbed it yet.”
Susan wrinkles her nose at her, defeated. “Fine, you win this round.”
“As if there was ever any doubt,” Alice smirks. She picks up her fork and pokes experimentally at the unidentified noodlely casserole on her plate. “And what exactly are you grinning at over here all by yourself, anyway?”
Susan wordlessly folds the valentine back up and slides it across the table to her friend, who opens it up and reads it before chuckling.
“Jackie’s son, right?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Susan confirms. “This is the third one today. I keep finding them buried in my things. One of them was from her, though.”
“That’s adorable,” Alice says, handing the valentine back with a smile. “You get along with him pretty well, don’t you?”
Susan smiles. “Yeah, he’s a good kid.” She props her elbow on the table and rests her chin in her hand thoughtfully. “I was a little worried he’d resent me once I moved in and things got more serious,” she confesses, “since he’s had her all to himself practically since he was born and all, but it’s been going pretty well, all things considered.”
Alice gives up on her casserole and pushes it away in favor of her salad, then looks up at Susan and furrows her eyebrows. “He likes his stepmom, right? Why would you be any different?”
“Well,” Susan shrugs, “Kate is….official. Jacks and I are still…..living in sin, if you will.”
Alice snorts. “You’d marry her if you could though, right? It’s obvious how goddamn smitten you are.”
“You’ve never even met her!” Susan protests, her face flushing a bit as she pops the last piece of her orange into her mouth.
“I don’t have to meet her to recognize that dreamy, faraway look you get when you talk about her. It’s gross.”
Susan gives in and laughs. “Okay, fine. Yes, I’d marry her. But we can’t, and we’re probably never going to be able to. And it hasn’t even been two years yet, so maybe I should slow my imagination down before it runs away with me.”
Alice skewers a chunk of carrot and points her fork at her. “How many straight couples do you think make themselves wait two years before they think about tying the knot? Hell, Steve and I would have eloped to Vegas after three months if we weren’t so terrified of how our mothers would have taken it.”
“That’s very helpful,” Susan says dryly.
“I just meant, Susan,” Alice emphasizes, “that it’ll be two years in a couple of months, right? He clearly adores you; she adores you – “
Susan opens her mouth to speak, but Alice points her fork at her again. “ – don’t interrupt me. If she’s half as smitten with you as you are with her, and I’m sure she is, then you’re as official as it’s going to get until this fucking country gets its act together. Don’t act like you’re not loveable, Kinney.”
“You think I’m loveable?”
“I’d dump Steve for you if I was into women too.”
Susan cackles as she gets to her feet and tosses her trash into the nearby trash can. “You would not. Talk about smitten, I still want to know what he said to you over the phone in your office last week that made you blush bright red.”
Alice flushes and tucks an errant strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Shut up. And don’t forget your pudding.”
She finds the last one when she puts on her coat that evening and shoves her hands into the pockets in search of her gloves. Her fingers brush against the edge of the card, and she smiles to herself as she pulls it out, peels the last sticker away, unfolds it.
My S,
You have a pizza my heart!
(Why won’t you give it back?)
Your J
Yet another Turtle (Leonardo, Jackie’s top choice) and another added message, and Susan’s heart melts into a gooey puddle. Adding the fourth heart-shaped sticker to the front of her coat, she quickly gathers up her things and begins her journey home.
Susan barely gets through the front door of the house before Andy comes running around the corner into the living room and hops to a stop in front of her. He’s already wearing his pajamas, and she’s instantly relieved that she hasn’t yet missed bedtime.
“Did ya like ‘em?” he asks her eagerly.
She doesn’t get a chance to respond before he notices her coat and gives her a huge grin.
“You even kept the stickers!”
Susan grins back and sweeps a Vanna White style hand underneath them. “Yep. And they’re staying there until they lose all their stickiness and fall off.”
Andy giggles and looks back at Jackie, who comes up behind him and playfully tousles his hair before dropping a kiss on the top of his head. “Hey, you,” she teases, “what happened to story time?”
“She liked the valentines!” he declares proudly. He turns back to Susan. “Which one was your favorite?”
“Hmmmm,” she considers, tilting her head to one side and stroking her chin thoughtfully. “Definitely the Michelangelo one.”
That was obviously the right answer. Andy beams and Jackie shoots her a grateful smile over the top of his head.
“I even showed one of them to my friend at work,” Susan continues, finally shrugging off her coat and tossing it onto the back of the couch with her purse, “and she was jealous.”
“Really?” Andy asks, looking surprised.
“Really,” she confirms.
“I can make one for her too!” he says brightly. “I used most of them for school today, but I still have some left, right Mom?” He glances at Jackie long enough to see her nod before turning his attention back to Susan. “Do you think she’d like it?”
“I think she’d love it,” Susan assures him.
“And you can do it first thing tomorrow after school,” Jackie announces. “But for now, bed.”
“Can we at least finish the chapter we were on?” Andy pleads.
Jackie turns her wrist over to look at her watch. “Okay,” she agrees. “We’ll finish the chapter and then it’s bedtime. But only if you promise no stalling tonight.”
“Cross my heart and hope to die!” he vows dramatically in response, drawing a large X shape across his chest before collapsing to the floor in a heap of limbs.
Susan watches as Jackie gently nudges his shoulder with her toes, deliberately ignoring the way he’s shaking with silent giggles. “Huh,” she says, “would ya look at that. My kid’s dead, Suze. What do you think I ought to do with the body?”
“I think I heard old Mr. Smith down the hill say something about needing another scarecrow this year,” Susan suggests. “How long do you think he’ll keep if we toss him in the deep freezer?”
Jackie nods, pretending to consider it. “Okay then, you grab his feet and I’ll take his arms.”
Andy’s laughter finally overtakes him completely as he springs up from the floor. “Wait!” he exclaims. “I’m not dead!”
Jackie grabs at her heart. “It’s an almost Valentine’s Day miracle! And since you’re alive, say goodnight.”
Andy dashes toward Susan and throws his arms around her waist, then squeezes tightly and grins up at her. “Goodnight Susan!”
“Goodnight!” she says, bending over to enthusiastically return the hug. “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite!”
Rather than replying with his usual answer of “I won’t!”, he studies her seriously for a moment. “Susan?”
“Mmm-hmm?”
“I’m really glad you’re here.”
With that, Andy gives her another quick squeeze before he bounces back toward a misty-eyed Jackie and pulls her along behind him.
“Suze?”
Susan isn’t sure how long she’s been staring at the ceiling, but when Jackie’s confused voice comes from somewhere behind the couch, she sticks a hand straight up into the air in response.
Two seconds later, Jackie is peering down at her from above. “You okay?”
Susan pushes herself into a sitting position and rests her shoulder against the back of the couch. “He’s amazing.”
“He’s really fond of you, you know,” Jackie informs her with an affectionate smile. “You’re his best Susan.”
“He said that?”
Jackie nods, then climbs over the back of the couch and drops down onto the cushion beside her. “You’re my best Susan too, but I don’t think that’s going to count for as much right now.”
“It counts,” Susan insists. “But I already knew that. I guess maybe somewhere in the back of my mind, I’ve just been waiting for him to decide that he’d rather have nothing to do with me.” She makes a face. “That sounds even more ridiculous out loud than it does in my head.”
Jackie bumps a shoulder against hers. “Not ridiculous. I just don’t think you’re gonna have to worry about that. He’s got good taste, just like his mom.”
Susan chuckles. “You think so, huh?’
“Yeah,” Jackie says confidently. “I do. Those valentines really were all his idea. I just helped out a little.”
“I’m just not sure what I did to deserve it.”
“You love him back,” Jackie says simply. “Kids can tell.”
“I really do,” Susan tells her honestly.
“I know. Moms can tell too.”
That does it. Susan lets out an emotional laugh that makes Jackie pat her on the leg sympathetically. “You gonna make it, champ?”
“Yeah.” Susan runs her fingers under her teary eyes and clears her throat. “I’m good. I’m just feeling really loved right now.”
Jackie leans in and plants a kiss on her lips. “Good,” she says. “Now it’s my turn to make you feel loved. Are you hungry? There’s a dinner plate for you in the fridge.”
Susan smiles gratefully and returns the kiss. “You take such good care of me.”
Jackie grabs her hand and pulls her up off the couch in response. Once they’re in the kitchen, she points to a chair at the table. “Sit.”
Susan obeys, watching as Jackie first turns on the oven and then removes the promised plate from the fridge.
“You made pot roast on a weeknight?” Susan asks her, surprised.
Jackie shrugs. “I didn’t work today, remember? I had the time.”
She moves quickly, putting the meat, potatoes, and vegetables into a shallow baking dish and adding a bit of beef broth before covering the whole thing with aluminum foil and sliding it into the oven to reheat. “If you want some of this for your lunch tomorrow,” she then says as she approaches the table, “I can make you a sandwich out of the leftovers. There’s more in there.”
“Hey, c’mere.” Susan reaches out her hand and laces her fingers through Jackie’s, then tugs her close. Jackie lands in her lap, and Susan wraps her arms loosely around her girlfriend’s waist. “You don’t have to wait on me, you know. You cooked and cleaned up and mommed tonight. Sit and relax.”
“Aw, let me play house a little bit, would ya?” Jackie protests. “I know you’re all proudly self-sufficient most of the time, but I like takin’ care of you when you let me. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t want to.”
“I’m letting you feed me, aren’t I?” Susan points out.
Jackie rolls her eyes. “That’s bare minimum. Can’t you just let me enjoy fussin’ over you a little if I want to?”
“Okay,” Susan agrees, giving in. She rests her head against Jackie’s arm and pulls her closer. “Does that mean I might find more notes in my lunch?”
That earns her a grin. “Maybe.”
Susan puts on her best faux masculine voice. “Then make me a sandwich, woman.”
“Excuse me?” Jackie asks, amused.
“I thought you wanted to play housewife,” Susan teases. “I’m just getting into character. You know, the typical old-fashioned husband who goes off to work and makes all the money while the little woman stays home and takes care of all the thankless housework?”
“So, you’re bein’ a sexist pig?” Jackie clarifies dryly, standing up and heading back toward the fridge.
“Yeah,” Susan grins. “And this is the part where I talk about how I slaved away all day while you sat around eating bonbons.”
“Lucky me,” Jackie quips. She moves around the kitchen gathering ingredients together for the promised sandwich before pausing and turning to look at Susan with a roll in one hand and a knife in the other. “What is a bonbon anyway? I’ve always wondered.”
“I’m actually not sure,” Susan confesses, “but I think they’re French.”
Jackie nods and finishes wrapping up the sandwich she made before holding it up. “This’ll be on the top shelf.”
“Thank you,” Susan says. “So, what else did you do today?”
“Oh, more housewife things, I guess.” Jackie leans back comfortably against the kitchen counter as she considers her day. “Cooked, cleaned, took Andy to school and back. Watched some soaps.”
Susan pretends to study Jackie’s sweater and jeans critically. “And what, no skirt and heels? No pearls? What kind of housewife are you?”
“The kind that’ll happily burn your dinner if you keep it up,” Jackie threatens playfully.
Susan chuckles. “Point taken. So how are your friends at Bay Gardens Medical Center?”
“Full of drama, as usual. Alyssa had triplets.”
“Again?”
Jackie pushes off the kitchen counter and walks over to the oven, then grabs the nearest potholder. “No, Melissa had the first set. That’s her twin sister. You know, the one who almost fell into the volcano but was rescued by the park ranger at the last second?”
“Oh, right.” Susan nods. “Her second husband.”
“Pedro,” Jackie clarifies. “She left Rick for him.”
“Well, who wouldn’t? He saved her from suffering a fiery end.”
The kitchen timer goes off just then, and Jackie turns it off before opening the oven. She plates up the food and brings it over to the table along with a set of silverware, then sets it all down in front of Susan with a flourish. “Bon appétit!”
“Merci,” Susan jokes.
“You’re welcome,” Jackie says, joining her at the table. “Pretend that was in French.”
Susan grins as she takes the first bite of her food. She closes her eyes and sighs happily, and when she opens them again, Jackie is watching her with a triumphant smile on her face.
“Good?”
“Delicious,” she says sincerely. “Thank you.”
“You want anything to drink?”
“You don’t have to - ” Susan starts before Jackie gives her a mock glare.
“A soda would be great,” she corrects herself sheepishly.
Jackie gets up from her chair long enough to toss her one from the fridge, then settles back down to keep her company while she eats.
“Thank you,” Susan says again. She takes another bite before suddenly pausing. “Wait, I thought Alyssa was infertile.”
Jackie shrugs. “Not anymore, I guess. So, how was your day?”
“Oh, the usual. Patients, mountains of paperwork, sweet nothings hidden in my things. Oh, and Alice is leaving her husband for me.”
Jackie snorts. “She is, huh? Do I get a say in this?”
“You’ll have to fight her for me,” Susan informs her, her eyes sparkling mischievously. “She’s as feisty as you are though, so good luck.”
“Eh,” Jackie shrugs. “She’ll hand you back over once she realizes that your dirty clothes never quite make it into the laundry hamper.”
Susan makes a face at her. “They get close.”
“And how you snooze your alarm clock about eighteen times before you finally get outta bed in the morning,” Jackie continues teasingly.
“Wow,” Susan deadpans. “Suddenly I’m feeling a lot less loved than I did earlier.”
Jackie grins. “You’re awfully pretty, though. That makes up for a lot.”
Susan raises an eyebrow at her. “You remember that the next time I hang the toilet paper the wrong way.”
Jackie just laughs.
They sit and chat until Susan finishes eating, and just as she’s about to get up and carry her dishes to the sink, Jackie scoops them up instead.
“Wow,” Susan comments, standing up and following her across the room. “You are really committed to this tonight.”
Jackie looks over her shoulder at her from where she’s standing at the sink and smiles. “Only the best for you, honey.”
Susan narrows her eyes suspiciously and walks over to stand behind her, then places a hand on either side of the counter at her hips and leans in close to her ear. “Okay, enough. How many laws did you break and how many bodies do I need to help you bury?”
Jackie laughs and turns around to face her. “I’m just trying to be sweet and romantic. Quit ruinin’ it and go to bed already.”
Susan yawns then, as if the mere mention of sleep was enough to remind her of just how tired she really was. “You’re not coming?”
“Go on,” Jackie insists, waving her toward the bedroom. “I’m just gonna wash this stuff up quick.”
Susan pouts a bit for show and loops an arm around Jackie’s waist, trying in vain to gently pull her away from the sink.
“Just leave it for tonight and come to bed,” she suggests. “I’ll wash them tomorrow.”
Jackie waves a serving spoon threateningly in her general direction. “What did I say about arguin’ with me while I’m tryin’ to play housewife? I’ll just rinse them and be right in, I promise. Go.”
Susan gives up and salutes her before turning around and heading off toward the bedroom.
Her pajamas are still tucked under her pillow where she left them that morning, only now there’s also a folded-up piece of notebook paper placed neatly on top of them. It’s not a valentine in the same way that the others were, but she snatches it up anyway, eager to see what’s inside. There are no identifying names or initials this time, not even any Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but the short message is obviously penned in Jackie’s unmistakable scrawl.
I’m really glad you’re here too.
Susan bites her lip and smiles as she lowers herself down onto the edge of the bed. There’s a sudden noise from the doorway just then, and when she looks up, Jackie is standing there with a satisfied smile on her face. “I wasn’t really gonna do any more dishes tonight,” she confesses, “I just needed to get rid of you so I didn’t give it away.”
“All this and it’s not even actually Valentine’s Day yet,” Susan points out. “You two are too much.”
“You know us, makin’ a big deal out of holidays is a family tradition. Welcome. You’re stuck with it now.”
“I don’t even need the valentines or the housewife routine, you know. Just knowing you both want me here is enough.”
“Hmmmm,” Jackie hums, approaching the edge of the bed. “Well, if that’s true, then I guess maybe you won’t be interested in the last thing I’ve got up my sleeve for tonight.”
Intrigued, Susan waits until she gets close enough, then reaches out and grabs her by the waist. “I guess that depends on what it is.”
Jackie smiles mysteriously and slides a knee between Susan’s thighs, forcing them apart so she can stand between them. She then takes her girlfriend’s hands in her own and slowly guides them up underneath her sweater. Susan is more than happy to play along until her fingers brush against the soft lace covering the flat of Jackie’s stomach, and her eyes go wide.
“Oh,” she says, surprised.
“Oh?” Jackie echoes mischievously. “That’s all you’ve got to say? Here I was thinkin’ you’d be happier about havin’ something to unwrap.”
Susan doesn’t even react to the cheesy line. She’s too busy eagerly pushing Jackie’s sweater up and off her body. The lingerie set she’s wearing underneath is all one piece and made of sheer black lace, save for the two tiny pink bows on the straps near her shoulders.
“You like it?” Jackie purrs. “That’s the other housewife thing I did today. Went out and spent all your hard-earned money.”
Susan swallows hard and threads her fingers through the belt loops on Jackie’s jeans, tugging her closer and into a kiss. “You’re gonna kill me,” she murmurs appreciatively against Jackie’s lips, and she can feel her smile in response as they continue to trade kisses while Susan’s nimble fingers make quick work of the button and zipper before she pushes the denim off Jackie’s hips and down her legs.
Jackie pulls away long enough to kick the jeans away, turning her body just enough for Susan to discover that the bottom of the piece leaves even less to the imagination than the top. She reaches out again greedily, only for Jackie to catch her hands before Susan can touch her again. Susan lets out a frustrated huff, and Jackie lets out a suggestive chuckle.
“Patience,” she admonishes her teasingly.
She laces her fingers through Susan’s so that they’re palm to palm, then exerts enough pressure so that Susan takes the hint and lets herself fall backward onto the bed.
Jackie adjusts her grip so that she’s pinning Susan’s wrists together above her head, then gives her a wicked grin before leaning in to kiss her again.
“Happy early Valentine’s, honey.”