date night

It was Date Night a couple of weeks ago at a warm cosy French restaurant in the city. A single long stalk of the conventional red rose elegantly wrapped in simple black paper and a shocking red plastic mesh secured with a black ribbon greeted me on the table reserved for two. It was the most beautifully presented floral gift I have ever received even by the standards of a person who's not that into flowers. Or maybe I should say especially by the standards of someone who's not half as appreciative of flowers as the average female; this one was impressive enough to awe me.





The intricate wrapping aside, the thought, effort and efficient coordination by the friendly staff at Uptown Florist and La Guillotine that went into organising this elaborate presentation of a simple gift to me were most commendable and worth complimenting over and over again. Because Date Night was on a non working day for the florist, they delivered it to the restaurant a day before with a special personalised handwritten instructional card on caring for the flower such that it remained fresh and beautiful on presentation. It was also worth mentioning that contrary to what was expected, it didn't cost an arm or a leg, probably merely a main dish at a local thai takeaway.

And the restaurant staff took tender loving care of that lonely flower for more than 24 hours. I gathered it must have been a challenge for them to find a suitably cool but not overly cold fridge of an adequate size to fit the extremely long package which must have been about at least a metre from tip to tip without squashing it. It was also obvious that they timed its removal from the fridge such that it didn't feel icy cold in my hands upon my arrival.

As cliché as this whole receiving a red rose on Date Night affair was, I was touched by a few simple things that are not measurable by how much was paid or spent or how sophisticated the setting was: The Florist's love for their products and pride in their work; The looks on all the staff's faces when handing over the rose to me were one of excitement and that blew me away as this simple gesture of making a complete stranger happy genuinely meant something to them; and of course the sweet intentions from the brains behind this plot.

Now that the bar has been raised, I await with much anticipation on what comes next. ;p