This is a Valentine's Day contest story. Please give me the support of your vote.

There are no underage characters in this story. All characters depicted are over the age of 18-years-old.

"Baby! Baby! Come Back to Me!"

Fed up with him forgetting her birthday and their anniversaries, a woman leaves her man after he forgets that today is Valentine's Day, the day of love.

"Baby! Baby! Come back to Me! Daddy loves you! All is forgiven. Baby!"

With his heart broken on Valentine's Day, of all days, the day of love, the young man emotionally searched the streets for his baby until he turned violently angry that she left him and was gone, seemingly gone for good.

"God damn it! Motherfucker. Dirty bitch. God damn whore of a bitch. Where the fuck are you? Baby! Where are you? Baby!"

Barely 7 am, despondent and desperate, he walked down the middle of the street while looking from one side of the street to the other side of the street while screaming for his baby.

"Baby! Baby! Come back to me! Baby! Where are you Baby? Baby! I love you Baby!"

Not caring who he disturbed, he continued walking while screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Hey man," said an old, black man stepping out from the darkness of a doorway. "What's wrong with you? Have you lost your mind? Are you drunk? Are you on drugs? You can't be screamin' and swearin' like that over some damn bitch. There's kids in this neighborhood. Even though some women are no better than dogs, you can't be disrespectin' dogs like that," said the old man with a laugh.

The old man looked at the young man with curiosity.

"Sorry," said the young man continuing to slowly walk down the middle of the street while looking for his Baby.

The young man looked at the old man with desperation and sadness.

"Unless you're some crack whore just wakin' up after being pounded all night and lookin' for her next fix, it's too early for that shoutin' shit," said the old man. "Calm the fuck down."

The old man crossed the sidewalk and ventured out in the street to walk closer to the young man. Obviously unafraid to approach a stranger, this was his neighborhood after all. This is where he lives and the young man not only invaded his turf but also disturbed the peace and the natural order of his neighborhood by yelling profanity.

"Sorry," said the young man.

Approaching him with caution, the old man walked closer.

"You're gonna wake up the whole damn neighborhood. Someone's gonna call the cops on you and throw your ass in jail or worse, in this neighborhood, someone's gonna stick a gun out their window and cap your white ass," said the old man giving him the once over.

The old man walked along side of the man as the two men continued walking down the middle of the street.

"Sorry," was the only thing the young man had to say.

With the young man looking off in the distance, obviously looking for his Baby, the old man studied the young man with his unbroken stare.

"What the Hell are you doin' in his neighborhood anyway? You don't belong here and you sure as Hell don't live here. I know everyone who lives on this street. This is my neighborhood. Born here, I lived here all my life. This wasn't always a ghetto, it was once a good neighborhood and a safe place to live, until all the white folk left," he said with sadness before turning his focus back to the young man. "Either you're lookin' for smack, crack, blow, or trouble, that's all you'll find here. Best you look for your damn baby somewhere else."

Seemingly not even listening to him talking, the young man looked through the man while searching the street with his eyes for his baby.

"I'm sorry," said the young man again while not looking as apologetic as he should be for disturbing the peace and for waking up the whole neighborhood for the sake of looking for his Baby. "My Baby is gone. I'm looking for my Baby. I need to find my Baby. I can't live without her. Not realizing what I had until she's gone, my Baby is the only good thing in my life."

The old man looked at him with as much confusion as he looked at him with concern.

"What kind of baby are we talkin' about here, a real baby, an infant or a--?"

The old man pulled out his cell phone as if ready to call the police to report a missing child.

"An infant? No, of course not. She's no infant, trust me. She's not a missing child," said the young man looking at him as if he was crazy. "She's fully grown," he said. "She's an adult. We've been together for three years. I love her and she loves me."

Obviously looking as if wishing the old man would mind his own business, the young man looked at the old man as if he was the one who was nuts.

"Take a breath, calm down, and tell me what happened," said the old man.

Continuing to search the street with his eyes, the young man was unresponsive.

"Baby! Where are you? Baby!"

Persistent in obviously wanting to help the young man, the old man asked him again.

"What happened? Tell me what happened. You don't reach my age without being a good listener just as you don't reach my age without knowing what to do in every situation, in every emergency, and with every opportunity that presents itself," said the old man with a wise, little laugh.

The two men stopped walking to talk.

"On of all days, the day of love, it's Valentine's Day and my Baby is gone. She's gone. There one minute and gone the next, she's gone," he said with tears welling up in his eyes and looking as if he was going to collapse in the middle of the street."

As if he was his grandfather and the young man was his grandson, the old man patted the young man on the shoulder before gently rubbing his back.

"It's okay. Everythin' will be alright. Take a breath. Let it out and relax. Breath. Do that a few times and you'll feel better. We'll find your baby. Don't worry," said the old man. "Tell me what happened so that I can help you."

As if he was ready to kill someone, the young man suddenly looked at the old man with anger.

"I forgot that it was fucking Valentine's Day. Okay? She made me breakfast in bed and gave me a card and a gift, this watch," said the man holding up his watch for the old man to see.

The old man stared at the watch before staring at the young man.

"That's a mighty fine watch. What kind of watch is that?"

The young man stared at the watch with the old man.

"It's a Rolex Submariner," said the young man looking from the old man to look at his watch before looking at the old man.

The old man suddenly seemed impressed by the young man's new watch.

"A Rolex, huh?" The old man rubbed the whiskers on his chin. "How much does a watch like that cost?"

The young man held up his watch to look at the black face and the silver, metal band.

"Oh, I don't know, around seven-thousand-dollars," he said returning the conversation to what happened with Baby. "I felt like such a shit heel that I had nothing to give her for Valentine's Day but for my erection," he said.

The old man nodded his head as if he was thinking about his past relationships sexual and otherwise.

"Been there, done that," said the old man giving him a knowing nod while still staring at his watch. "Damn, seven-thousand-dollars for a watch, I can't believe that watch cost seven big ones. The best watch I ever had was a Timex. I had that watch for years until I lost it, put it down somewhere and someone took it," he said with sadness. "I, um, happened upon a Hamilton and a Bulova once, years ago, but I hawked those watches to buy food, liquor actually, the medication I use for to ease the pain from my arthritis."

He fell silent as if remembering his old Timex before he returned his focus to staring at the Rolex.

"When I pulled her to me for a kiss me and for us to make love, she wanted none of that and nothing to do with me," said the young man with sadness. "Tired of me forgetting her birthdays, our anniversaries, and now Valentine's Day, she grabbed her things, along with some of my things, and stormed out. Before I could get out of bed and get dressed, she was gone, long gone," he said looking at the old man. "My Baby was gone."

The young man looked at the old man with sorrow and the old man looked at him with opportunity.

"Wow Man, no wonder why you're baby is gone. You're fucked when you forget a woman's birthday or an anniversary but you're double fucked when you forget the day of love, Valentine's Day," said the old man shaking his head. "With you having a woman in bed, how could you forget Valentine's Day?"

The young man put his head down as if he had been a bad dog.

"I know. You're right," said the young man. "It was all my fault."

As if he was chastising himself for forgetting Valentine's Day over the years, the old man admonished the young man with the attitude of a grandfather scolding and advising his grandson.

"What's wrong with you forgettin' that today is Valentine's Day? What's wrong with you for not givin' your baby flowers, candy, perfume, and/or some shiny bling? Especially with her buying you that mighty fine watch, if I was your baby, I'd leave your honky ass too."

The old man looked at him with disbelief while shaking his head.

"I don't know. I'm just spread too thin, I guess," he said hanging his head in sadness. "I've been trying to make a name for myself at work. I've been thinking more about money than I have about love. I've been thinking more about money than thinking about my Baby. Now with my Baby gone, I realize what I lost. I'm nothing without her in my life," he said looking at the old man as if he was about to cry. "I'm nothing and no one without my Baby!"

The old man looked at the young man with as much disbelief as he looked at him with displeasure.

"There, there now," said the old man patting the young man's shoulder. We'll find her. Trust me. I've forgotten enough birthdays and anniversaries to know how important they are to women but I ain't never forgotten no Valentine's Day, especially if I was hopin' to get me some later that night. You just messed up is all. Everyone makes mistakes," said the old man.

The young man hung his head is sorrow and in shame.

"It's all my fault. I've been so busy with work and too preoccupied with making money. I've been distracted lately by the sudden economic surge and the positive gains in the stock market," he said.

Obviously by his disheveled appearance and with him living in this depressed neighborhood, without remotely knowing what it's like to be that busy making money, the old man nodded his head with a sympathetic look.

"Stock market? I can't say that I've ever been that busy makin' money but I hear ya," said the old man. "I have what little money I have stashed in a sock in the back of my drawer. I ain't never owned any stocks."

The young man looked up to give him a sad smile.

"If only I had remembered Valentine's Day. If only I had remembered to buy her a card, send her some flowers, and to have a piece of jewelry squirreled away somewhere, diamond earrings or a diamond tennis bracelet, everything would have been fine," he said.

With no one else there to talk to, the young man confided in the old man as if he was talking to his grandfather.

"I can't say that I blame her. I've been there and I've done that with more than one woman," said the old man. "Now after buyin' myself one of those big calendars, I have everythin' written on it and circled in red so that I don't forget anythin', especially my medications. Maybe that's what you should do?"

The young man continued searching the street with his eyes.

"Pardon? I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. Do what? What should I do?"

Not listening to him, the young man looked at the old man with confusion.

"Buy yourself one of those giant calendars and a red magic marker," said the old man. "That way, no matter if you're still with this woman or another woman, you'll never forget another birthday, anniversary, or Valentine's Day."

The old man looked at the young man with wisdom.

"Yeah, I'll do that after I find my Baby," said the young man mindlessly staring off in the distance as if expecting his Baby to magically appear from out of nowhere.

Not knowing what else to do, the young man looked at the old man with sadness.

"I'm just givin' you the experience of my years," said the old man. "You don't have to take my advice if you don't want it. I'm just throwin' it out there."

With him looking so sad, so troubled, and so despondent, the young man looked at the old man as if he was about to cry.

"Unable to live without her, I love her and I don't want to lose her," said the young man. "She's the only good, real thing that I have in my life. She's the one that I think about all day and can't wait to go home to while at the office," he said.

The old man scratched his head.

"I don't know if I loved any one bitch like that. To me all bitches are the same. But knowing bitches in the way that I do, maybe she had a change of heart about leaving your dumb ass and she's home waitin' for you to return," he said.

The young man shook his head.

"Nah, I doubled back twice. She's not there. She's gone," he said looking as if he was about to breakdown and collapse on the street crying.

"I'm Joe," said the old man extending his hand. "Old Joe everyone calls me 'cause I'm so old. I'll be 83-years-old next month. What's your name?"

"Jerry," he said. "Just Jerry. I never had a nickname."

Old Joe looked at Jerry's clothes and at his shoes. Obviously, Jerry looked like he had a few dollars where Old Joe had nothing but his Social Security check and most of that went to his slum landlord for rent. Whatever he had left, which wasn't much, went towards booze, food, and prescription medication that he routinely skipped to buy booze before buying food.

"She must have been one beautiful girl for you to be actin' like this," he said shaking his head. "I've had some beautiful bitches in my life but none of them good lookin' enough for me to be out in the street screamin' for my baby," said Old Joe.

As if being interrupted from his thoughts, Jerry looked at Old Joe with confusion.

"Who?"

Old Joe rolled his eyes, shrugged, and sighed.

"Who else? You're girlfriend," said the old man. "Your baby."

As if there was a ray of enlightenment, Jerry responded.

"Oh, her. Yeah, she's beautiful, very beautiful," said Jerry.

"What's her name?"

Jerry looked at Old Joe as if being interrupted from his thoughts again.

"Susan," said Jerry. "Susan Jill Parker."

Old Joe nodded his head as if he knew her when he didn't.

"Susan? That's a nice name. I've always like that name. I don't know any black women named Susan though. So tell me, Jerry, what does this Susan Jill Parker look like? I'll help you find her," said the old man in his feeble attempt to calm Jerry with conversation and by volunteering his help in finding his baby.

Once again preoccupied thinking of other things, he looked at Old Joe as if he wasn't listening and he wasn't.

"Who?"

Old Joe shrugged and raised his hands in frustration.

"You're girlfriend. What does this Susan Jill Parker look like?"

As if coming out of a drug induced fog, Jerry answered the old man.

"Oh, um, she's tall, blonde, and busty with big, blue eyes," he said. "She's beautiful but she's such a bitch to do this to me, to take off on Valentine's Day, just because I forgot that it was Valentine's Day and didn't remember her with flowers or with jewelry."

As if Old Joe had been there and done that over a woman, he looked at Jerry with wisdom.

"If you ask me that's a lot of fussin' for over a bitch. Especially with you obviously havin' a few dollars, trust me, she'll be beggin' you to take her back. Besides, there's plenty of bitches in the sea," he said.

Jerry shot him a look as if his head was whiplashed in a side impact car accident.

"Oh, no there's not. Not like my Baby. My Baby is one of a kind," said Jerry raising his voice.

Old Joe shot Jerry a look that said no woman was worth the trouble of looking for them after they're gone. No doubt, as far as he was concerned, hoping they'd never return, good riddance to them.

"Bad enough that you forgot Valentine's Day but you must have done something really bad to piss off your baby for her to up and leave you like that," he said.

Jerry shot Old Joe a look of anger.

"No, I did nothing for my Baby to leave me. Baby loves me. I'm good to my Baby. We go out for long walks every day. Every day we play and run together. It's my frigging girlfriend who's fucked up and not Baby," he said.

Old Joe looked at Jerry with as much confusion as he looked at him with astonishment.

"Wait a minute. I'm confused," said Old Joe. "Tell me if I'm wrong but I thought your girlfriend was your baby. Were you two timing on your girlfriend? Is that it? You had another piece of ass on the side? You lucky dog. Been there and done that before only you can't get caught with your pants down like that," said Old Joe shaking his head while suddenly looking off in the distance as if he was remembering all of his sexual affairs and cheating ways.

Jerry looked at the old man as if he was nuts.

"No, it's not like that. That's not it at all," said Jerry.

The old man looked at Jerry with wisdom.

"It's better you come clean. It's better you tell the truth now son. No wonder why she left your white ass. Ain't no woman white or black gonna put up with a man who can't keep it in his pants, especially after forgetting that today is Valentine's Day. You sure are some kind of fool," said Old Joe.

Jerry looked at Old Joe as if he was high on drugs.

"No you misunderstand. My girlfriend is the one who's a bitch. Baby is my dog," he said. "My girlfriend took my dog."

Old Joe looked at Jerry as if he was having a conversation with someone from another country or another planet.

"Say what? Come again? You dawg? Your baby is your dawg? Your woman stole your dawg? All this is about a damn dawg? Baby is your dawg? Hell no," said Old Joe looking at Jerry as if he was crazy making all this fuss over a damn dog.

Old Joe looked at Jerry as if he was the one high on drugs.

"She took my Baby," said Jerry.

Jerry looked at Old Joe with suffering sorrow.

"That's just fucked. I can't believe we've been talkin' about a damn dawg when I thought you we're talkin' about a bitch, your bitch."

Old Joe looked at Jerry with as much surprise as he looked at him with confusion.

"Yeah, that's right," said Jerry. "Baby is my dog. Only, she's not just any dog. She's a champion. Well, she's not a champion but her parents were both champions. I paid six thousand dollars for her.

A look that he continued to have on his face when talking to Jerry, Old Joe looked at him as if he was crazy to be that broken up over a dog.

"Damn! Six thousand dollars for a dawg? Unless she's a Greyhound and you can make money racin' her, ain't no dawg worth six big ones," said Old Joe shaking his head.

Jerry nodded his affection for his precious dog.

"Worth every penny, she's my best friend, my companion, and my rock that I hug and pat when feeling down. Now with her gone, I feel as if I lost so much more than just a dog," said Jerry.

As if he had just lost his best friend and he had, Jerry nodded his head with sadness.

"Excuse me for saying this but your woman is a real bitch. What kind of woman steals a man's dawg? That's just downright nasty for a woman to steal a man's dawg," said Old Joe getting angry.

"Now you know why I'm so upset," said Jerry.

"I used to have a dawg. I loved that dawg. That dawg was my best friend. That dawg was my protector," said Old Joe wiping a tear from his eye as if looking off again while remembering his dog.

"It's okay," said Jerry giving his new friend a hug.
"His name was Dawg, I think. I don't rightly know. I don't rightly remember. Sometimes I don't remember so good. Sometimes I forget things. It's been a long time since I had a dawg and even longer since I had that dawg but I remember that he was a good dawg. A ferocious Pit Bull, he only bit me once or twice, I think, I don't remember. He was gentle and sweet to me."

With him admitting that he was once a dog owner, now Jerry looked at Old Joe as if he was a kindred spirit.

"Yep. She did. That's what she did, the bitch. She stole my dog," he said going beyond Old Joe's anger. "Not only did she leave me because I forgot Valentine's Day, because I'm so busy and tired from working to support her to the lifestyle that she's grown accustomed to living and for her to have money for shopping, but she stole my dog. She stole my Baby."

Old Joe looked at Jerry with an obvious question on his mind.

"Baby? That's the name of your dawg? Baby? What the Hell kind of a dawg does a man name Baby? And what the Hell kind of dawg cost six big ones, more than any car on this street? Granted I should have named my dawg something other than Dawg but I'd never name a dawg Baby," said Old Joe. "Only a cracka would name his damn dawg Baby," he said giving Jerry the hairy eyeball.

Jerry made a face and shrugged.

"Kettle black, no pun and/or offense intended," he said. "Just as you named your dog, Dawg, what the Hell kind of a dog does a man name Dawg, especially when that dog is a Pit Bull?"

Old Joe gave Jerry a shrug while looking at him with curiosity.

"So go on, tell me, what kind of dawg is Baby?"

As if he was talking about Susan instead of his dog, Jerry looked at Old Joe with pride.

"She's a Great Dane, a Harlequin Great Dane" said Jerry. "But not just any Harlequin Greet Dane. She's special. At more than seven feet tall when standing, all lean muscle, she's almost two hundred pounds. She's the biggest Great Dane I've ever seen."

Seemingly impressed, Old Joe nodded his head while smiling.

"Oh, that's a big dawg, a real big dawg, and a dawg in search of a better name. I'd be more apt to name your dawg Duke or even Big Dawg than Baby," said Old Joe. "Damn," said Old Joe. "I can't believe she stole your dawg. Motherfucker," said Old Joe. "Bitch!"

Impressed by his passion, Jerry seemingly had a new found friend and a kindred spirit in Old Joe. Seemingly, he had someone who keenly understood his outrage at what Susan did to him by taking his dog. Only, not nearly done yet, Jerry had more to tell Old Joe.

"And she took my truck too," said Jerry.

As if he had thrown cold water in Old Joe's face, the old man bobbed back his head before looking at Jerry with shock.

"Say what? Your truck? She stole your truck too? Bad enough she stole your dawg, ain't no woman should steal a man's truck. That's just as bad as another man stealin' a man's horse in the Wild West."

Old Joe shook his head in disapproval.

"Yeah. She took my truck," said Jerry.

Jerry looked at Old Joe with sadness while Old Joe looked at Jerry with shock.

"Not that it makes a difference being a man's truck is a man's truck and somethin' that a woman should never steal but, just wonderin', what kind of truck did she take?"

With as much pride as telling Old Joe what kind of dog he had, he showed the same level of pride in telling Old Joe the make and model of truck that Susan stole.

"A brand new 2015 Ford F-150, the Platinum Edition," said Jerry.

As if he had just been head butted, Old Joe bobbed back his head again.

"Damn, that's an expensive truck," said Old Joe staring at Jerry as if he was making internal calculations. "I ain't never had a new truck or car. My new car smell was rust and mold. I bought all of my cars and trucks used with more than a hundred thousand miles on 'em. Just to satisfy an old man's curiosity, what does a truck like that cost?"

Old Joe looked at Jerry with suspicion while Jerry looked at Old Joe with kindness.

"Fifty-thousand," said Jerry. "The list price was even higher after options, closer to fifty-nine thousand dollars."

As if he had been head butted yet again, old Joe bobbed back his head again.

"Fifty-thousand? Fifty-thousand dollars? Damn, that's a lot of bread for a truck," said Old Joe looking around his neighborhood. "That money would buy me any house in this neighborhood. Pardon me for saying this but your woman, Susan, is a dirty bitch for stealing your fifty-thousand dollar truck and your six-thousand dollar dawg, your baby," said Old Joe.

Old Joe looked at Jerry with anger while Jerry looked at Old Joe with sadness.

"That ain't the half of it," said Jerry. "She took my guns too, a double barrel shotgun that I keep in the truck, my Glock 9 mm that I had locked in the glove box, and a .38 snub nose that I had in the nightstand by my side of the bed," said Jerry.

Old Joe looked at Jerry wild-eyed.

"God damn filthy bitch of a whore," said Old Joe. "What woman steals a man's dawg, a man's truck, and a man's guns? That just ain't right. No, that just ain't right," said Old Joe with outrage while shaking his head.

Old Joe gave Jerry a hard look while Jerry focused on finding his dog.

"Baby! Here Baby. Come to Daddy," said Jerry. "Baby!"

As if sizing him up, Old Joe studied Jerry for a minute while staring down at his shoes.

"Lemme ask you a question?"

Old Joe stared from Jerry's watch to stare down at his shoes again.

"What's that?"

Jerry looked down at where Old Joe was staring.

"Those are some mighty fine shoes. Are they Florsheim? I used to have me a pair of shiny, black Florsheim shoes back in the day when I had my Buick Electra 225. Damn, those were better days," said Old Joe looking as if he was remembering his Buick Electra 225 and his Florsheim shoes. "Only a couple of my brothas from different mothas took possession of my car. They said I was too old to drive my own damn car," said Old Joe with unrepressed anger.

Old Joe looked at Jerry impressed that he had a pair of Florsheim shoes.

"Floresheim? Do they even make those shoes anymore? They're Cole Haan shoes," said Jerry.

Jerry made a sour face.

"Pardon me for askin' but how much did those shoes cost you?"

Jerry looked from Old Joe to look down at his shoes before looking back at Old Joe.

"I don't know, around three-hundred dollars with tax," said Jerry.

Jerry looked at his shoes again.

"Damn, I ain't never had me a pair of no three-hundred dollar shoes," said Old Joe.

Old Joe looked from Jerry to look down at his shoes before looking up at Jerry again.

"Made from the softest leather, they're very comfortable," said Jerry.

In the way that he had with Jerry's Rolex watch, Old Joe seemed to have an unnatural interest with Jerry's Cole Haan shoes.

"What size shoes are those shoes?"

Old Joe looked from the shoes to smile up at Jerry.

"Eleven," said Jerry.

Old Joe now had a big smile while staring at Jerry's shoes again.

"How 'bout that? We take the same size," said Old Joe.

Jerry ignored Old Joe to concentrate more on calling his dog.

"Here Baby! Come baby," said the Jerry. "Baby! Come to Daddy! Daddy loves you!"

No longer interested in the dog, Old Joe was more interested in Jerry's shoes and watch.

"So lemme get this straight. You're walkin' the streets in this neighborhood, my neighborhood, unarmed? Is that right?"

Old Joe suddenly had an aggressive look on his face.

"Yes," said Jerry. "Licensed to carry, I feel naked without my guns."

Deservedly so, Jerry suddenly had a look of fear on his face.

"Not as naked as you're gonna feel oncer I take them shoes, your watch, and your wallet," said Old Joe pulling out a handgun from his pocket.

Jerry took a step back with thoughts of running but he could never outrun a bullet.

"Listen, Old Joe, I'm having bad enough day without you robbing me too," said Jerry.

Jerry looked at Old Joe for the same sympathy that he gave him when he told him that his girlfriend stole his dog, his truck, and his guns.

"Not as bad a day as the day you'll have when shoot full of holes and leave you layin' in the gutter dead, if you don't give me those shoes, watch, and wallet," said Old Joe.

Jerry put his hands up in the air while looking around for help but no one in this neighborhood was about to help him defeat Old Joe.

"What if I give you a few dollars for your concern and for your trouble? How's twenty bucks sound?"

Old Joe made a face.

"Let's make that a hundred dollars. I'll give a hundred dollars and I'll be one my way," said Jerry pulling out his wallet.

Old Joe grabbed his wallet. He rifled through his Jerry's wallet for the cash and for his driver's license.

"Five hundred bucks. What kind of fool walks around with five hundred dollars in this neighborhood? You're lucky I got to you first instead of some of the real bad brothas who live here," he said with a snide laugh. "I'm doin' you a favor, a public service, by takin' your money before you get hurt, really hurt bad by someone who's not as nice as me," said Old Joe.

As if trying to hide his watch, Jerry pocketed his hand.

"I didn't realize where I was. I just kept walking while looking for my dog," said Jerry.

Old Joe tossed Jerry his wallet.

"I took your cash and your driver's license. I know who you are and where you live but you don't know who I am and where I live," said Old Joe.

Jerry pocketed his wallet.

"Thank you for the return of my wallet," said Jerry.

Jerry put his hands back up in the air hoping that a passing patrol car would see him being robbed but patrol cars didn't patrol this neighborhood. Cops never came here unless in full force and in riot gear when there was real trouble.

"I don't do credit cards," said Old Joe. "With all the cameras out there today, that's the easiest way to end up in the slammer."

Jerry smiled happy to have his wallet and credit cards returned.

"Thanks for the return of my credit cards," said Jerry. "It would be a pain in the ass to cancel all of those credit cards."

Jerry returned his hands to the air after putting away his wallet.

"Unless you want me to shoot you where you're standing, put your hands down. I don't want to draw unnecessary attention. I don't want one of the other rats who live here bustin' in on my good time and on my petty crime," said old Joe. "Now gimme those shoes and that watch."

Jerry handed Old Joe his shoes and his watch.

"Here take it. None of that matters to me without Baby," said Jerry removing his shoes and his watch.

With one eye on Jerry with his gun pointed at him, Old Joe kicked off his ratty shoes and put on Jerry's shoes. Then, when Jerry handed him his watch, he put on the watch too.

"The least that I can do, I'll put the word out. Trust me. If you're baby is out there, I'll find your Baby within the hour," said Old Joe with confidence. "How hard can it be to find a beautiful, busty blonde driving a new truck with a Great Dane sitting in the front seat? What color is the truck?"

Old Joe already had his phone out and was calling someone.

"Thank you," said Jerry. "Ruby red. The exterior is ruby red and the interior is black leather."

Leaving Jerry standing there without his cash, his watch, and his shoes, Old Joe turned to leave.

"Now count to a thousand so that I can make my getaway. I don't run much faster than I can walk and that's not very fast," said old Joe. "Happy Valentine's Day Jerry. Maybe next year you'll remember this special day of love."

Jerry smiled after the old man happy that he didn't shoot him while wondering if he could put the word out to find his Baby.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Old Joe," said Jerry waving to him. "A day to always remember, I'll never forget Valentine's Day again."

A lesson learned, by the time Jerry returned home, Susan and Baby were there waiting for him.

"Baby!" Baby ran to Jerry and standing on his hind legs as if he was a giant grizzly bear, he put his giant paws on Jerry's shoulders and licked him as if he hadn't seen him in a month. "I'm sorry," said Jerry to Susan. "I promise never to forget another birthday, anniversary, or Valentine's Day. I'm glad you're back," he said smiling at Susan with the love he had for her but didn't show.

Obviously still angry with him for forgetting Valentine's Day, she looked at him with hurt.

"I had no choice in returning. Otherwise, I would have been gone for good," she said.

She looked at him as if she had some bad news.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

She looked as sad as he looked when she took off with his dog, his truck, and his guns.

"Four, black men in an old Buick Electra pulled me over and took your truck and your guns. We walked home," she said. "One of the men was a wicked old man, a kind man. He kept smiling at me as if he knew me. He told me to tell you that he liked your dog but that you should rename him Duke."

Jerry smiled knowing that Old Joe helped him to get both his babies back and all that was really important to him.

"What else did he say? Did he say anything else?"

One day he'll tell her about Old Joe but not now. With the truck insured, once he reports the loss, his insurance will reimburse him for his watch and guns.

"Yeah, he said to tell you that I was a keeper and that I should be more important to you than your job and your damn dawg," she said with a laugh.

As if he had won the lottery, Jerry was beaming. It took Susan to leave him and Old Joe to find her for him to realize that the truly important things in life weren't his job and making money.

"He's right," said Jerry with a shrug. "Keeping things in perspective from now on, you are more important to me than my job and/or my dog."

Susan threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Oh, honey, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," she said laughing while rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry about your truck and your guns. I know how much you loved that truck."

As if never letting her go, Jerry held her tighter.

"Don't worry. I can always buy another truck," said Jerry. "The important things are what I have here with me now," he said giving her a big hug and a wet kiss.

"I love you, Jerry," she said.

She kissed him again.

"I love you, Susan," he said.

He kissed her again.

"Now that I have my family back, let's leave the dog home, take your car, and go shopping to buy you a proper Valentine's Day gift, a diamond engagement ring," he said falling to his knee. "Susan Jill Parker, will you marry me?"

Susan looked at him stunned. Not even thinking about her answer, she responded immediately.

"Yes," said Susan kissing him and hugging him.

"Happy Valentine's Day Baby," he said to Susan instead of to his dog.

THE END

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