a valentine's tale

8/9/2019 A Valentine's Tale

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Title: A Valentines Tale

Author: Steph and Tina

Characters: John Biebe

Disclaimer: The following story has been written with no intention of claiming

ownership or solicitation, nor does the author claim the movie character(s) as his/herown. The movie character(s) have been borrowed solely out of a love of the particular

movie and is not intended for any other purpose but amusement and entertainment.

~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~ @ ~

Part One

"Well, I guess that's everything," Tina Stewart-Biebe said, looking over the empty space

of her long-time apartment with a mixture of excitement and regret. Although she andJohn had moved into their new house not long before Christmas, the tumult of the

holidays and the post-holiday rush had kept them fairly busy. Now that all of that wasover, she figured now was the time to finish the final steps of the transition.


2/12

Nearby, Laura nodded her head. "I guess Stephanie will be here soon."

"Yeah. She was supposed to be here hours ago..."

"It was sweet of you to let her have this place now that you and John have moved. Her

room was tiny. I don't know why she stayed in there so long. Did you give her the keyyet?"

"No, I gave it to Anthony. I figured she would stop by the Clinic before she came here."

"Do the Boys have to come and move any more furniture?"

"No...No," Tina sighed. "I'm leaving this here." She gestured to the couch, a small table

and chairs, and the four-poster that was still in the bedroom. "Stephanie may want toreplace them later, but there isn't any room at the new house. You know how it is around

here. Most of the furnishings just showed up -- as usual."

The other woman nodded her head, then stooped to pick up the last carton of belongings

the pair were planning to move before heading toward the door.

"Hey, what's this?" the Chicago native exclaimed as they stepped into the hall. Sittingnext to the door was a vase filled with Sunflowers, lilacs, and roses.

Tina's eyes widened. "They're gorgeous!"

Laura nodded her head, then bent to read the card. "'To the Point's prettiest Wildcat...'"She rolled her eyes. "That would be the Kentucky Wildcats, I assume..." She laughed. "I

think they're for you."

Tina smiled and then knelt to pick them up. "How sweet." She inhaled the delicate scentof the blossoms. "John knew how hard this was going to be for me...I guess he wanted to

cheer me up." She smiled to herself, then giggled. "But he knows I'm more a LouisvilleCardinals fan."

"I guess a wildcat is cuter?" They both laughed, then Laura became serious. "Well, you

have a lot of memories here. That was sweet of John."

"Yeah." Reluctantly, Tina closed the door and walked into the hall. She picked up the

vase, and then opened the card.

"What does it say?" Laura asked.

"It's a poem."

"Oh?"


3/12

"It says: 'Roses are Red, Violets are blue, these flowers are to show how much I love you.You are my sunshine, without you I'm blue. Look for more presents, at a quarter to two. '"

Tina's cheeks flushed with pleasure as she finished the verse.

"How romantic!" Laura said, almostjealous.

"He is wonderful, isn't he?" Tina grinned. "I'd better hurry back to the house and showhim my appreciation."

Tina found John in the more informal family room of their new home, taping some red

foil wrapping paper to a box.

"Sunny!" he said with a grin.

His wife beamed. She sat her flowers on top of the TV then crossed the room to kiss him.

"Miss me?" she asked as she nuzzled his neck.

"Of course. All moved out?"

Tina nodded her head. "All finished...and thank you for the flowers. That was sweet."

John kissed her again, and then he lifted his head. "Flowers?"

Tina turned her head toward the vase. "They're gorgeous! You remembered how much

that I liked sunflowers. I know roses are my favorite, but sunflowers just brighten..."

"I didn't send you any flowers."

Tina blinked. "But the card said..." Her confused voice trailed off as the lawman stalked

toward the vase, his eyes darkening as he read the card.

"Where did you find these?" he asked slowly.

"Outside my apartment..." The woman's voice thinned as the realization that John really

hadn't sent the flowers settled in. "I thought that you...but if you didn't, then who...?"

"This is probably my brother's idea of a joke," the Alaskan said quickly. There was noneed to say which brother was under suspicion. "Probably," he said again, but his voice

sounded uncertain. "No one has been..." His voice trailed off. "Nevermind. I'm sure itwas Sid," he said at last.

"Well, I guess we'll find out at 1:45."


4/12

Part Two

"Hi Tina! John!" Michelle waved from the front desk as the Biebes walked through the

front door. She was smiling to herself, giving Tina the impression that her Canadian

friend was lost in thoughts about her own Valentine's surprise from Colin.

"Chelle -- hi. Hey, has Stephanie ever shown up? She was supposed to be here this

morning."

"I don't think so. Anthony was here looking for her earlier."

Tina frowned, and then shrugged. "Oh well."

Pushing her absent friend from her mind, the evidence technician climbed the front

stairway, then turned down the hall toward her former apartment. She breathed a sigh of

relief when she saw that the floor in front of her door was empty.

"Well, looks like the joke is over," she said lightly, turning to her husband's face.

Only he wasn't smiling.

Instead, John was glaring at the table in the hall opposite Tina's old front door.

A red, heart-shaped box of chocolates was sitting on the table. Godiva chocolates.

Truffles: Tina's favorites...and there was another note.

Tina lunged for it, but was too late:

"'For my favorite Kentuckian':" John read, spitting the words out bitterly. "'Sweet andsinful. They made me think of you. If you want to know the other kinds of thoughts I've

been having, check out the Tavern at 3:30.'"

Tina bit her lip, not knowing what to say.

"I'm going to kill him," John said coldly.

"Kill who?"

Tina and John both spun around at the sound of Annabella's voice. She was carrying anempty lunch tray back toward the kitchen.

"Sid," the sheriff answered. "He's up to another one of his tricks...trying to make me

jealous about Tina."


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"Trying?" Tina said under her breath. She hated seeing John take this attitude about thewhole thing.

"When I find him, I'm going to make sure he's feeling a lot less funny."

"Get in line," Annabella said with a grin.

Tina tilted her head in curiosity. "Oh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, once Lady gets through with him, there may not be anything else. He let Budgive him advice on Valentine's day presents." She grinned "Let's just say that Lady didn't

find 'The Collected Works of Robert Burns' as romantic a gift as our android friend hadbeen led to believe."

In spite of the tension, both Tina and her husband laughed.

"Oh well," John said, his expression softening. "As long as someone gives him what wascoming to him." He took Tina's hand. "C'mon Sunny. Let's go home...at least we got

some free chocolates out of this."

Tina nervously looked at the clock.

It was 3:36. In spite of herself, curiosity was getting the better of her mind. She had

reread the same page of her book at least seven times. What WAS waiting at the Tavern?Didn't John wonder too?

"Oh, all right," the Sheriff muttered, slamming his own book shut in disgust. "I guess

we're both going to drive ourselves crazy if we don't go."

Tina scrambled to her feet and followed him out the door.

They drove to the Tavern in silence.

The usually bustling bar was deserted. Tina guessed that most of the single guys were

avoiding the main hangouts on Valentine's Day...No doubt the attached ones were restingup for that evening.

The interior of the watering hole was silent and dim...which made the tissue-wrapped

package sitting on the middle of the bartop all the more obvious.

Tina hurried toward it, ripping off the thin paper to reveal a bottle of expensive Charles

Heidsieck 1990 Brut Champagne Millesime. Of course, there was another note:


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"'Dearest DZ: Don't let this champagne go to your head. You don't want to miss what Ihave planned for tonight. Interested? Look in the garden at seven .'"

"DZ?" John asked.

"Delta Zeta," Tina admitted glumly. "My sorority."

"This has got to end!" The sheriff's lips stretched thinly. "Are you sure that you don'thave something to tell me?"

Tina's eyes flashed with anger. "Just what are you implying, John Biebe?"

Realizing that he was out of line, the Alaskan relented. " I KNOW thatyou haven't done

anything...but is there someone who might have a crush on you? Someone who has beenespecially sweet to you lately?"

"No."

"Maximus knew that you were going to be at the apartment today..."

"WithLaura!" Tina's voice was heavy with exasperation. She had been excited to receiveher flowers that morning, but she was starting to get nervous.Didshe have a secret

admirer at the Point? The fact that Sid was out of commission was comforting, but itdidn't explain what was going on. She felt a wave of foreboding as she thought of what

she might find back at the Inn.

Part Three

The minutes until seven p.m. dragged by slowly. The romantic dinner that Tina had

planned at home was all but forgotten as she and John waited near the garden gate. This

time, her husband was determined to catch the would-be lover in the act, but with thecrowds heading to and from the restaurant for holiday supper, it was almost impossible to

whittle suspects away.

"I guess he isn't coming." The sheriff sounded almost disappointed that his rival had

decided to give up. His wife, on the other hand, was relieved.

John shook his head and chuckled. "This is ridiculous, darlin'....Remember lastValentine's? How I didn't think you were going to show up cause you had court and were

tied up all day?"


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"Remember? I'll never, ever forget that! I was so upset thinking I wouldn't get here intime. That's why I wanted this year to be different...and it's our first Valentine's as

husband and wife."

"Yeah..." John sighed. "And instead of us being at home enjoying ourselves, we're on a

freaking stake-out." The realization made them both laugh.

"The night's not over. Let's go get something to eat," Tina said soothingly. "We can

worry about this later..."

John nodded his head. "Okay. I'm sorry to ruin our day, Sunny. I know I'm

overreacting...this is probably just a harmless prank...or maybe Kim or Dom or...well, Iguess some of the boys are lonely--and it's easy to see why anyone would fall in love

with you."

Tina beamed happily. "Thank you honey...and you know that I would choose you over

anyone else anyway. There isn't any other man in the world that I would rather have for aValentine than you."

John kissed his wife tenderly, and then took her hand. "Come on," he said quietly. "Wecan try to get a bite at the restaurant. It's closer if we cut through gardens."

Tina squeezed his hand and followed, walking closely behind him as they meanderedthrough the even rows of neatly trimmed hedges.

"What the...?"

Tina halted abruptly as John stumbled, and then cursed. He bent to pick something up,then stood again. He had a piece of yarn in his hand. One end of the string was tied to thelowest branch of a Magnolia tree. The other trailed off around the corner and into the

night.

Mrs. Biebe gasped when she saw what else was tied to the tree: a red paper heart and a

gift bag. With shaking hands, she took the parcel out of the tree. "Oh my god!" shegasped as she removed the present from its wrappings, then hastily stuffed it back inside.

"What is it?" John demanded.

"Nothing!"

"Sunny..."

With a small sound of fear, Tina surrendered the bag.


8/12

John's eyes widened as he extracted a tiny black corset, and an even tinier matchingthong. "And just what does Mr. Loverboy have to say for himself this time???" the

Alaskan thundered.

Tina licked her lips, her throat suddenly feeling tight and dry as she read: "'To my own

Southern Blossom: I couldn't get my mind off how good you would look in this...until Istarted thinking of how good you would look out of it. You've got me on your string --follow it for your last surprise...'" She took a shuddering breath. Would they follow?

John's expression was deadly intent as he pinched the yarn between his finger and thumb

and took a step forward into the night...

A half an hour later, they STILL hadn't reached the end.

Tina was baffled. As impossible as it seemed, no one had seen the secret admirer at hiswork. They had all been too distracted by their significant others to pay any attention.

"Looks like we're headed upstairs again," Tina said. They had just turned the corner by

the front desk, and started once more up the grand suitcase. It was a relief to see that onlyone thin strand remained...surely they were almost finished! She sighed again as they

took a left on the landing, and started up the front hallway. They rounded a corner,looped through the supply closet, back to the staircase, to the right, around the legs of the

table and then...

Tina sucked in her breath. This was the end. The string snaked limply on the carpet for a

few more feet, then ended in a bow around the doorknob to Room 205.

Tina's apartment.

The Kentuckian swallowed as she reached for the handle. A final note, on a piece of heartshaped paper, was there as well.

"'Valentine, I hope that this was worth the wait. Perhaps you should slip into something

more comfortable (like your last present?) and come inside.'"

Tina's hands shook as she turned the knob.

Was there actually a MAN in there, waiting for her? Was there someone at the Point

deluded enough to believe that she would choose them over John? Taking her husband'shand, she stepped inside...


9/12

As if on cue, soft music began to play. It was "Moonlight Sonata." The quiet, hauntingnotes of the piano swirled around her in the darkness.

There were candles too. All around her, little tongues of flame flickered and danced,

scenting the air with the fragrance of gardenias. A trail of rose petals littered the floor.

They led to the bedroom.

Tina could hardly breathe as she walked toward the familiar double doors. She was filled

with a sense of fear, but there was undeniable excitement as well. It was upsetting, but atthe same time, it was so romantic. It was almost as if the person leaving the presents

knew her as well as John...

Tina paused with her hand on the bedroom door and repeated the thought in her mind.

...as well as John.

A wide smile broke across her features as the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place.

No wonder John had made such a show of being angry! This was his idea all along! The

flowers, the chocolates, the champagne...

She started to turn and throw her arms around his neck, but stopped herself. John hadworked so hard on this surprise...she wouldn't ruin it for him now.

Tina grinned suggestively. "Maybe I should change into my present..." she teased.

"What?" Even in the darkness, she could make out the cloud on his features. John was agood actor! Then again, she shouldn't be surprised...the creator had won an Oscar, after

all.

"Then again, maybe I'll save that for later," she whispered sensuously, then kissed him onthe cheek and swung the doors open with a flourish...

It was impossible to tell who screamed first.

All Tina knew was that this was a hell of a lot more of Anthony Girardeau than she hadever expected to see in her life.

It was possible that John had screamed too.

The doctor definitely had.


10/12

One moment he was laying in the middle of the bed, propped up on one shoulder with acome-hither smile on his lips and a pair of silk boxers -- and nothing else -- on his body!

In the next, he was nothing more than a pair of wide eyes peeking from beneath a pile of

sheets.

"Anthony?" the evidence technician gasped, almost too shocked to think.

"T-tina?" the former priest answered, his voice high and thin.

The sheriff bounded forward. "Now just what the hell is the meaning of this???" he

bellowed.

"I was about to ask the same thing myself."

All three pairs of eyes turned toward the doorway. Stephanie was there, her overnight

case tucked beneath her arm. Arching her eyebrows curiously, she turned her attention tothe figure bundled beneath the covers. "I'm sorry to be so late. I tried calling the Clinic,

but there wasn't any answer."

"I was setting out your presents..." the doctor answered at last.

"My presents?" Stephanie frowned.

"Herpresents?" John asked.

"Oh no!" At last Tina understood what had gone wrong. "To my Wildcat....You

meant...Oh my God. Stephanie is a Wildcat too!" Her husband tilted his head to the sideas she continued, "And a Kentuckian, and a Delta Zeta and...oh no!" The horror she had

felt a moment earlier replaced by a sense of utter hilarity.

"You mean...?" Anthony said slowly.

"Oh, yes..." Tina tried to stop herself from laughing long enough to tender the gift bag of

lingerie to her friend. "I...uhm...think this belongs to you," she said. Then she gave thedoctor a look of apology. "I'm...afraid that we ate the chocolates, Anthony. Sorry

but...they were my favorites, and I hadn't had Godiva in forever."

"I think I ate most of them," John added sheepishly. He squinted at the doctor in neardisbelief. "You wrote those notes?" He said, incredulous. "Sweet and Sinful..."

"We'll replace the chocolates!" Tina spoke over her husband, noting that the doctor's

complexion had darkened from scarlet to crimson.

"No, no, don't worry about it," Anthony said. He raised the sheet a little higher.


11/12

Stephanie remained bewildered. "Istilldon't get what's going on? Why is Anthony...? Imean...what are you two...three... doing here?"

The attorney was immediately hit with an onslaught of voices, all attempting to explain

the past few hours at once. She felt like a judge on the bench, as she tried to sort out their

stories from the cacophony. Somehow she was able to make sense of "I didn't know Tinawould find them..." "I can't believe I was getting jealous -- again when I know Tinawould never..." "And I started thinking maybe John..." in the midst of the other words.

Eventually though, she put her fingers to her lips and gave a whistle.

"Time out guys!" she called. "Thank you. I think I get what happened."

"I'm glad you do," Anthony admitted, suddenly realizing that in his urgency to be heard,

he had dropped the sheet. He wriggled beneath the blankets once more. "Now...if you alldon't mind...I'm...uhm.. naked here," he stammered.

During all the discussion and explanations, Stephanie had been moving closer to the bed;now she sat on the edge of the large four-poster. She crossed her legs at the knees,causing her coat to gap slightly. That was when Tina noticed her sorority sister's sheer

stockings and garters. Not only that, but Tina thought she also glimpsed...well, she wasalmost certain there was little else underneath! She couldn't help smiling when the

younger Kentuckian told Anthony in a soft voice, "Not yet you're not, Doctor."

"Stephanie!" he exclaimed.

"I...think that's our cue to leave, John," Tina said, taking her husband's larger hand so as

to tug him along. "John?"

"Huh? What?" The Alaskan - still dumbfounded by the former priest's innuendo -- wasstaring at the other couple. He finally realized that the scene was becoming intimate.

"Oh? Oh...! You're right, darlin'. Yeah...I think we ought to be leaving....Uh...have a greatrest of your Valentine's Day."

"Yeah...Happy Valentine's," his wife called to them, doubting that the attorney and her

boyfriend even heard them as they drifted into a world of their own.

The Biebes closed the double doors. Peals of soft laughter and then quieter, more intimate

sounds followed them as they moved away from the bedroom, and stepped further into

the living room.

"Sorry darlin'." John whispered his apology as he eased his arms about Tina's waist. "I

feel like such a..."

"Shhh...don't say anymore, Teddy Bear," she told him as she twisted about to face him,letting a hand run along his jaw.


12/12

"I'll give credit Anthony for one thing. That was pretty imaginative. I'm just sorryIdidn'tthink of it myself." In the candlelight he could see Tina's sparkling brown eyes as she

smiled.

"Can we go home now? It's not too late for us to fix a nice, romantic Valentine's

dinner....Just the two of us."

"Just the two of us," he nodded in agreement. "Sure Sunny. Whatever you want." She

smiled at him as they walked across the nearly empty room, the Alaskan sayingsomething about them finding Annabella, to see if she could arrange to have some

Godiva chocolates and Champagne sent up to room 205 later.

"I'll have her put it on my bill," John joked as he opened the door, listening as Tina softly

giggled. "Hell, it's the least I can do after we almost scared Anthony to death."

He stepped into the hallway first, but then realized his wife was lingering just in the

threshold, staring back into the apartment. On returning to her side, he saw tearsbrimming in her eyes as she gave the beloved suite a final look. "Tina?"

"I hope they do make good memories here, just like us," came a choked reply.

"Sure they will, darlin'. Sure they will." One arm linking with hers, he kissed the top of

her head. "Come on sweetheart. Time to go home and make some new memories of ourown."

With a deep contented sigh, Tina nodded and shut the door before she and John quietly

walked away.

a valentine's tale

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