His & Hers: A Valentine’s Story

His Story

His phone goes off, waking him up. February 14th. The day when flowers cost too much, dinner plans are impossible to keep, and way too many heart emojis are sent. He stands up, takes out his phone, and checks his messages. He only got ESPN and a generic email from a restaurant telling him it’s “not too late to book a romantic evening.” It’s too late, buddy. 

He already knew it—a quick look through Instagram confirms it: his feed is full of posts from couples. Thank you for being my rock, my everything, and my forever! posted at exactly midnight, as if there were a contest to see who is the happiest). He laughs and scrolls down. He takes a quick look at his friend’s Instagram story and sees a picture of his girl with the caption “Happy Valentine’s Day, babe.” Because he knows the guy had no choice, he laughs to himself. You could skip the post and still let him know about it later. Classy. He jumps right into the group chats to make fun of his friend.

He’s really into the holiday spirit by lunchtime. He texts her, “You choose what to eat for dinner tonight.” She doesn’t need to know that he made the reservation already. Later, as he grabs a last-minute card and flowers (because he may or may not have forgotten), he sees another guy in a panic, desperately looking through the empty shelves for something sweet that looks like it would work. He silently wishes him luck. That night, he holds a glass of wine across from his girlfriend while they eat dinner. Valentine’s Day might get a little too much attention sometimes, but he gets it right now. What matters most is that you make her happy, because this day is for her. 

Her Story:

She wakes up to the sound of her phone buzzing. It’s February 14th. The day of love. The day of overpriced flowers, desperate dinner reservations booked four months beforehand, and heart-shaped everything. She sighs, rolls over, and checks her phone—nothing but a Snapchat notification from Snapchat itself, wishing her a very special Valentine’s Day. Cute.

Scrolling through Instagram, she’s already bombarded with couples posting long, dramatic captions about their undying love. Happy Valentine’s Day to the love of my life!!! (posted at 12 a.m., like… chill). She debates posting a sarcastic meme about being single but decides against it. No need to look too bitter. 

At work, someone’s boyfriend sends a massive bouquet to the office. Of course, it’s from “Jack,” because there’s always a Jack. The flowers take up half the lunchroom, and now everyone has to pretend they aren’t secretly annoyed. She watches as her coworker, who swore she “didn’t even care about Valentine’s Day,” suddenly becomes the biggest fan of it. Classic.

By lunchtime, she has fully embraced her single era. She texts her single friends: Let’s get sushi and wine. They agree instantly. Galentines > Valentines. 

Later, while picking up takeout, she notices a guy sprinting through the grocery store in a panic, grabbing a last-minute card and whatever chocolates are left. She feels bad for his girlfriend but respects the effort.

Finally, she settles in for the night with a face mask, a glass of wine, and a rom-com she’s already seen ten times. Halfway through, she starts to think maybe Valentine’s Day isn’t so bad. Maybe one day she’ll have her own overly dramatic Instagram caption and a Jack of her own. Or maybe she’ll just keep celebrating with sushi and sarcasm for the rest of her life…Either way, she’s winning.