Getting rid of dry roses

When it was almost Valentine's Day nearly a decade ago, my ex-guy brought me a dozen roses. I loved the sweet gesture. I had the roses dried. They remained in a nice vase, on my desk, ever since.

A few days ago, I threw them away. It was time. It felt good.

I never got fresh flowers from him. It was a one-time deal. I suppose that's why I kept the roses for so long. I wanted to hold on to that special time.

I decided to let that special time go. The memories are fond, but they need to stay that way.

Turkish delight and tastebuds

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up two boxes of Turkish delight that my guy has bought for me from Istanbul. He left them on my desk at work. I picked them off after having flown in from Shanghai and had to pick up my car at the office. I have grown to love Turkish delight.

Years ago, I tried the Turkish Delight candy bar that you get at the local convenience store. I disliked it. It tasted gross.

The authentic, flavourful version from Istanbul is yummy. My guy and I went into a store and I sampled raspberry Turkish delight. It was so good. I have longed for it ever since. I asked my guy if he could get me some.

My guy apologized that he couldn't find any. I was so sick with bronchitis that my tastebuds were shot. I had a cube of Turkish delight once I got home and imagined that it tasted like raspberries. I could only figure out that there was some acidic flavour in there, but couldn't make out what flavour I was eating.

My tastebuds are back. He got me two boxes of assorted fruit flavours, with rose ones mixed in. The orange, lemon, and strawberry and yummy. I have always enjoyed the rose.

He did well. I am also thankful that I can enjoy tasting what I eat again!

Sweet memories of roses

On Tuesday afternoon, my guy and I chatted on Skype. It's pretty often that we do not celebrate Valentine's Day because we are not physically in the same city.

This fact hasn't bugged us. We know that we love each other.

We talked about when he got me a dozen roses just after Valentine's Day a few years ago.

"I liked when we walked to our cars and you were looking around before giving me a beautiful bouquet of roses," I said.
"Yes, I wanted you to have them," he replied.
"They were beautiful. I took a photo, which is on my Nexus 7's lock screen. I still have the dried version of those roses, but I could use some new ones," I said to him lovingly.
"If I were in town, I would definitely get you a replacement," he advised.
"I know. It was a romantic gesture that evening and it's a wonderful memory," I remarked.
"Yes, it was night. I wanted something special for you," he recalled.

The moment seems so fresh in our minds. It's nice.

Sort of celebrating Valentine's Day

My guy and I haven't exactly celebrated Valentine's Day since we've been seeing each other. Last year, he was on the road for work. We exchanged e-cards and e-mails, which we both loved.

We're not the type of folks who must celebrate our love, affection, and friendship on one specific day of the year. We try and do it all as consistently as we can throughout the year, as most couples tend to do.

I wasn't at work on Valentine's Day this year. My guy was in the office helping a client. It was a complete reversal from last year.

On the 13th, I decided to give my guy a couple of small gifts when we were in the office. One was a box of Lindt chocolates. They were solid milk chocolate hearts. I had visited the Lindt factory outlet a couple of weeks ago. I was in heaven. I couldn't resist getting all things chocolate.

The other gift was something that we had discussed in the past. I got him a USB battery charger. He is always on the road and his cell phone seems to be on its last charge at all times.

My guy liked both gifts. The battery charger reminded him of a vibrator. It does look like one. He also hinted that he wouldn't use it to charge his vibrator, either. Funny!

My guy came back to my desk and handed me a pyramid-shaped tin of Toblerone chocolates. Can you tell that we both have a thing for chocolate?

I wasn't expecting what my guy had up his sleeve.

We called it a day at the office, packed out stuff up, and headed to the elevators. We got an empty one.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" he said to me, as we hugged. He kissed me on the cheek. I reciprocated.

We walked out to the parking lot.

"Where are you parked?" he asked me.
"I'm there," I said, pointing about five cars down from where we were standing. "You?"
"I'm here," he pointed, which was a car away from us, in front of the building's main doors.
"Did you get to work super early?" I asked him.
"No," he said with a smile. "I went out for lunch."

My guy has a secretive side to him. We are similar that way. He looked around briefly.

"Come over here," he said, walking to his car's trunk.

My guy normally pops his car's trunk open to put his laptop bag in there. Today, he did something different.

"These are for you," he said.

It has been a long time since I have received a dozen roses. He completely surprised me.

I loved that the bouquet had handles! The roses were pretty. I thanked him for them.

My guy is truly a sweet man. We are both practical folks. Roses don't exactly last too long. He had thought about getting me a practical gift, which we both know that I like. However, he wanted to make me feel special by giving me roses. He succeeded.