flower power
When my friend Iris asked, "Where have all the flower shops gone?" I was afraid she would start singing. Thankfully, she did not. Still, I wondered. Where, indeed, have they gone?
Since early last week, I had been planning to get flowers for my mother and have them delivered to her office. This is, I believe, the first time in my almost 25 years of existence that I would send her flowers. So last Sunday, I managed to convince Iris to go with me to a tiny flower shop I used to see near the office. She said she might even get flowers for her mom, too.
The shop was no longer there. And for some time, I doubted if it ever really existed. We pushed our luck to see if there are other shops in the Tomas Morato and Timog areas (Anabel’s is a given, but we figured it would be too expensive). We found nothing.
Iris said flower shops have folded up probably because nobody sends flowers anymore, with a "’di ba?" I wouldn’t really know as I’m not a very popular Valentine material. But I thought it was almost too depressing. What would the world be without flower shops? Sure, it would be less commercial. But then, who would have the patience in this fast-paced hi-tech times would stop somewhere to grab a wildflower for someone? And where would one find flowers in a busy and heavily polluted metropolis?
My persistence in getting my commercial flowers succeeded last night as I settled for a tiny bouquet of mums (roses and tulips were outrageously priced!) at the posh Podium mall. There were just two attendants there and I had to wait a while before getting my flowers ready since there were some guys who lined up ahead of me. Yep, I was the only girl getting flowers at the last minute and I had to drag another friend, Gerard, to stand there and provide the macho factor for me.
I was relieved that some guys still go out of their way to get flowers for whoever, although it bothered me that some spent thousands for just a few stems.
Anyway, I will have to set aside plans to have flowers delivered to my mom for now. I found out such service to Makati from Ortigas costs way more than the bouquet I got. The consequence of my being a cheapskate, of course, is that at three a.m. I’m still trying to figure out how to give it to her.
I was hoping she would keep her bedroom door open so I can just slip in and put the flowers there while she sleeps. The door opens with a real loud noise that’s sure to wake her up and I refuse to do a telenovela scene and hand it to her with a kiss and a hug. That’s way too dramatic already.
