Shattered Vows

February 14th

why do we know but act like we don't?
-SEEKER

February 14th

She walks arm in arm with Fay down the sidewalk of their town's main drag. The bright glare of the sun has melted most remnants of snow, though the air is still bitter cold. Jules curls her toes in her shoes, trying to ease the numbness.

    "I just..." Jules trails off, biting her lip. She looks out at the road filled with couples, celebrating the most intimate day of the year.

    "You're allowed to say it, Juliette," Fay says, stopping them. She grabs Jules's shoulder, spinning her to face her. "You're allowed to say those words."

    "I know," she rubs a hand down her face, "I just...I can't yet." Her cheeks are red, her nose running, and the tips of her ears burn. If the air wasn't so dry, she probably would have cried too.

    "Okay, okay," Fay says, waving her hand between them. "Let's just pause this conversation and get the present we came here for." She continues to stride down the sidewalk, spinning in front of the store they came looking for.

    "Is this even a good idea?" Jules sighs, shaking her head. She follows Fay into the store, secretly grateful for the warmth. It engulfs them, the heater blasting right above their heads. Soft carols crackle through the speakers.

    "Yes, now come one," Fay rolls her eyes, dragging Jules by the hand. She leads her to the wall of assorted bears, each a different color. Fay goes for the wild one, a monster looking animal, while Jules opts for a simple white teddy bear.

    "Now you go over to that machine and it fills it up with the cloud stuff," Fay points to the machine. It whirls around what looks like white cotton candy.

    "You mean the stuffing?" Jules snorts.

    "Shush and go," Fay rolls her eyes, dragging her. The store is mostly filled with children, all of whom give the two girls a curious stare. Fay glares at them, Jules nuding her in the shoulder to stop. It's never that serious.

    Taking the white teddy bear, she takes the pink heart that the woman offers her and places a kiss on it to seal it. Filling the bear with stuffing, she turns to leave.

    "Do you want to leave a message in it?" The woman asks, smiling.

    "What?" Jules asks, she turns to look at Fay, but she's turned her back, her phone pressed to her ear. From what it looks like she's talking animatedly into the phone, so Jules turns back to the woman with a questioning frown.

    "You can put a message into it, and when you press on the bear's hand, it will play it," the woman offers her the speaker. "That bear seems pretty special."

    "It is," Jules mumbles, taking the speaker from the woman. With Fay's back still turned to her and the woman's focus on someone else now, she gets enough courage to mumble two words quietly into the speaker box.

    Te amo.

    She hands the box to the woman, whose attention is now turned back on her. Her fingers shake when she takes it from her and seals it into the bear forever. Her words for Nico, there on display, unable to take back.