I love you.

Thursday is Valentine’s Day. Like the heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and the vases of flowers, those three words will be delivered across the nation to countless people. For some, the words will roll off their tongues with hardly any thought behind them. For others, they will arrive with great difficulty. For some, those three words will be delivered for the first time, and on the other side of Cupid’s proverbial coin, the words “I love you” will be uttered by some who have said them for years. And for those who are unable to wrap their lips around the words, you can pay Hallmark to say them for you. Either way, those three words will get a lot of play on Monday.

While there will be no shortage of the words “I love you” on Valentine’s Day, what happens on Friday ... Saturday ... the day after that ... and the day after that? As the chocolates in those heart-shaped boxes begin to vanish and the flowers begin to bow their heads, will “I love you” also begin to vanish and wilt?