Heartbreaking photo shows man taking wife's ashes to Valentines day lunch

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (WVUE) - Alone.

A picture speaks a thousand words, but one photo circulating on social media can be described with one.

He is alone. Dressed in a button down, the man sits in a booth with a card neatly propped on the table. Two plates, two sets of silverware and two glasses of wine lay in front of him.

Across from the otherwise romantic spread sits an ornate bottle, holding what once showered him in loving embraces, laughs and memories.

For just one meal, he was in the company of his wife. And yet, on a day known for being filled with love the meal only further made him realize the absence of it.

Chasidy Gwaltney doesn't know his name, but she took the photo at a restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas and wants everyone to know his story.

Gwaltney was eating lunch on Valentines Day when she saw a man sitting by himself. At first she thought he was waiting for his date, but when she took a closer look at the table, her heart broke.

"I saw something today that has made me remember that we won't always have each other to hold, talk to, love, play with or even just aggravate every now and then," Gwaltney said. "This man looks like he is spending Valentine's Day alone at first glance but that is actually his wife in that very beautiful bottle sitting on the table."

Gwaltney snapped a picture of the man, slouching in the booth weeping into his napkin.

She used the heartbreaking image to give others some unprecedented love advice.

"You know? We are all guilty of taking our other half for granted from time to time," Gwaltney said. "We may forget to give a goodbye kiss, say I love you or just be so caught up in what we are doing at the moment that we don't notice the very little things that mean so much to our special someone."

Gwaltney urged others to use the time they have to love one another.

"Please love your sweetheart while you have the opportunity, you never know what tomorrow will bring or take away," Gwaltney said.

FOX 8 has reached out to Gwaltney for comment, but she has not responded at the time this story was published.

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