A few weeks ago, I was shopping in Guthrie, Oklahoma with some friends. Guthrie is a small town just north of Oklahoma City. It has LOTS of flea markets in old brick buildings and an awesome Goodwill, where I always find something fabulous.
While purchasing an Italian Soda at a little coffee shop, I noticed some chocolate hearts by the register. They caught my attention because when I was little, probably first or second grade, my mom had given me one exactly like that and I had never seen one before or since. That morning, my mom had surprised us with a little treat for Valentine's day. A red-foil wrapped chocolate heard on a stick like a sucker. It was such a nice surprise before school and I wanted to save it for my lunch or snack so I put it in my backpack and skipped down to the bus stop. My bus stop was the worst place on earth. It was lonely. Just myself and my brother at the bottom of a hill next to a highway. We were always the last ones picked up. In the winter, the wind was so cold that we had to huddle together for warmth. I do not remember if it was cold that February morning, but I know that I got on the bus as always. When I got to school, I looked around for my chocolate heart and realized that it wasn't in my coat pocket or my backpack. Sadly, I realized that I must've left it at home. When I got home, I searched everywhere and could not find it. Did I lose it on the bus? A week or two went by and one day, as I was crossing in front of the yellow crossing arm to get on the bus, I looked down at the middle of the highway. Beside the long yellow stripe in the middle of the pavement, was the foil heart. Smashed to smithereens, embedded in the concrete. The chocolate had melted away and it was just a silver Rorschach test with nothing recognizable except to me. From then on, I looked for the blemish on the highway whenever I got on the bus and it was still there for years. I had forgotten all about that little chocolate heart until I saw it in the store just after Valentine's day last month.
3 Comments
Julie
3/11/2018 05:24:18 pm
Poor Nellie! What a constant reminder that blemish in the highway must have been for you! Did you buy the heart on the stick?! Inquiring minds want to know!
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Mary Sears
3/11/2018 06:06:16 pm
This is where my parents are buried. I need to go there with you.
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Caitlin Bever
3/12/2018 07:14:14 am
The very sentimental side of me loves that you found this randomly and it reminded you of your childhood. I hope you bought it and got to eat it this time around!
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Mrs. Mitchell
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