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FEBRUARY 28-DAY CHALLENGE
Day Six: The Most Romantic Gift I’ve Ever Received
Meet Herbie.
I’m not sure how I chose his name, except I likely considered him my love bug. But how so? It’s not a typical name for a goldfish. My former husband gave him to me as a Valentine’s Day present. Although goldfish are one of the easiest pets to take care of, this isn’t why Marty gifted him. No, this fish was so much more special than that, and Marty knew it.
We weren’t married. We weren’t even seriously dating. What I mean by this is that we were serious about each other. We just hadn’t yet named our commitment. I was keener to name our relationship than Marty was. I thought introducing him as my boyfriend had a nice ring to it—much nicer than “Hey everyone, come meet my ‘boy’-friend.” So, there I was, trying to figure out what we were, when suddenly, that February fourteenth, Marty gave me a fish, a bowl, and the gift of his love by officially asking me to be his girlfriend.
I loved this goldfish. I looked after Herbie with the utmost care. But why was this gift so special? It’s because I saved his life, not from the pet store, but from the jaws of predators. Herbie was a feeder among many bought as food for Marty’s piranhas. I know the red-bellied monsters needed to eat, but watching them eat their food live bothered…
