Birthday Present

Henry ducked into the flower shop and was immediately met with a myriad of scents.  He didn’t know enough about flowers to identify what he was smelling, but the combination wasn’t wholly unpleasant.  The bouquets and displays before him, however, were overwhelming and made him second-guess this idea altogether.

It was Nick's birthday, though.  Henry couldn’t show up for their date empty-handed, and it was far too late to order something else.  Flowers would at least show he’d remembered, right?  But then there were so many to choose from, how was he supposed to know the right kind of flower to buy?  

His gaze drifted over yellow, trumpet-looking blooms, tulips, roses - at least he knew what those were - and several other flowers in a variety of colors and sizes.  It was easy to rule out the tulips and the yellow trumpet-looking flowers.  Those seemed too feminine for Nick.  Maybe a deep red rose?  Was that too cliche - too Valentine’s Day?  Then he noticed a dark blue, rounded flower atop a long, spindly-looking stem.  It seemed too fragile to hold up, almost like it was floating in the air.

“Do you like orchids?” the shopkeeper asked, suddenly at Henry’s side.

Henry let out a self-deprecating chuckle.  “These are orchids?” he verified.  “I just thought they looked cool.”

She smiled at him and nodded.  “I’m guessing you’re shopping for a gift, then?”

“Yes,” he confirmed with a nod.  “A birthday gift. For someone special.”

“Then an orchid is a great choice,” she suggested.  “Although they’re not exactly beginner plants.  You don’t just plop them in a vase for a week or so and then add them to the compost bin. This is the kind of flower you tend.”

Henry frowned.  Would Nick want something he had to take care of?  “Hmm. . .” he mused aloud.  “Do you have a better suggestion?”

She put a fingertip to her chin in thought.  “How would you describe their personality?  Their characteristics?”

“Elegant,” Henry replied and failed to suppress an adoring grin at the mere thought of Nick all dressed up in a sleek black suit, royal blue shirt, and skinny black tie.  He was youthful, but he moved like silk across a space.  He was sophisticated and suave.  What Nick saw in an average-looking, occasionally clumsy guy like Henry was a complete mystery to him.

The shopkeeper smiled and walked around one of the tables to the refrigerated display case.  “These,” she said pointing to some fluted flowers on long green stems, “are calla lilies.”  They weren’t completely unfamiliar to him, their bloom resembling a leaf rolled in on itself.

“Calla lilies,” Henry echoed.  There were several color variations in the display case and he nodded to the darkest shade.  They were almost black with a deep red trim.  “Those look elegant.”

“Those are the Black Star variety,” she explained.  “Very pretty if your someone special likes darker flowers.”

Henry rubbed at the back of his neck a little nervously.  “I’m not entirely sure what they like,” he confessed.  “But these look pretty impressive - not your average flower.  And they’re not something typical like a rose, right?”

“I would definitely put these in a different category than roses,” she agreed.

He took a deep breath and nodded decisively, “I’ll take the bouquet then.”  He was in danger of being paralyzed by indecision on the matter and there wasn’t a lot of time to spare.  He was supposed to pick Nick up in an hour.  Hopefully, Nick would appreciate something different than roses.

With the decision made, Henry quickly paid for the bouquet and then headed back to the car.  He had just enough time to get home, clean up a little, put on a suit, and head over to Nick’s place.  He rang the bell at exactly seven o’clock, a little breathless, but proudly holding out his gift.

Nick opened the door looking like a million bucks.  He looked almost like the image Henry had envisioned at the flower shop except his shirt was dark green instead of blue.  He’d been smiling, but Henry only caught a glimpse of it because it vanished at the site of the flowers.    

Henry looked down at the bouquet, immediately regretting his decision not to go with roses.  “Happy Birthday,” he said with as much confidence as possible in the situation.

“Thanks,” Nick replied, the disappointment in his voice palpable.  He reached out and took the bouquet from Henry’s hand.  “C’mon in.”  He turned and led the way back into the condo, heading for the kitchen.

Henry followed a little tentatively.  He’d been to Nick’s place plenty of times in the six months they’d been dating.  He’d even stayed over a couple of times.  Nick’s cool demeanor, though, made Henry feel like a bit of an invader, though.  The comfortable seating in the living room suddenly looked too stiff and uninviting to sit on.  The powered-down entertainment center stared back at him with its blank face and Henry could hear it saying, Nice going, idiot.

Henry rubbed at the back of his neck while Nick rummaged around in the kitchen.  His knuckles were white as they clutched the bouquet in his hand.  The rummaging got louder with every cabinet Nick went through. Clearly, he wasn’t finding what he wanted.  He finally stood up and cast around the kitchen with a penetrating gaze as if to look through countertops and cabinet doors to make the search easier.  “Maybe she put them in the hall closet,” he muttered and rushed past Henry into the hallway.

“Uh . . . can I help you look for . . .?” Henry offered, thinking he should definitely make some kind of peace offering.

“I found it,” Nick said a little curtly as he returned with a vase tall enough to hold the calla lily bouquet.  With one hand he turned on the kitchen sink and filled the vase halfway.  Then he stuffed the lilies into the vase, not demonstrating any of his usual grace or elegance.  He put the vase in the middle of the table and then looked at Henry.  “Ready?”

Henry stared at the vase of flowers, shifted his gaze to Nick, back to the flowers, and then back to Nick again. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to decide what to do or say.  Should he just nod and get them out of there, hopefully making Nick forget about the offending plants?  Should he apologize for getting it so very, very wrong?

“I . . . I’m sorry,” he stammered, opting for the latter.

Nick looked at the flowers and then back at Henry.  It felt like his penetrating stare was going straight through Henry.  Finally, everything about him softened a bit and he shook his head.  “You don’t have to apologize,” he finally said.

Henry frowned.  “But you clearly don’t like them,” he said. “I guess I should have gone with roses.”

“You shouldn’t have gone with flowers at all,” Nick said in a biting tone.

“What?” Henry asked in profound confusion.  “None at all?  But you love nature.”

It was true.  They’d had a nice afternoon roaming a local botanical garden on their third date.  Nick enjoyed biking in the local mountains.  He relished time on the beach to just meditate on the sound of the crashing waves.  They’d talked about renting a cabin in the woods or a beach house to get away for a weekend, just the two of them and nature.  Henry was positive he hadn’t misread the signs that Nick truly enjoyed nature.

Nick sighed.  “I love nature in nature,” he said.  “And maybe a green plant or two in my place, but have you ever seen flowers around here?  Heck, you just saw how hard it was for me to find a vase.”

“Well . . .” Henry started, preparing to argue the point.

“And have I ever asked you to get me something?  Ever? Did I make it seem for one second that I wanted flowers over Valentine’s Day? Or chocolate?  Or anything for that matter?”

Henry thought back to all the times they’d meandered through stores during the holidays and leading up to Valentine’s Day.  Nick was right, he’d never asked for anything, never even hinted that he wanted Henry to buy him something for the occasion.  “But it’s your birthday,” he argued.  “Surely that’s a different situation.”

Nick shook his head.  “It really isn’t,” he insisted.  “I don’t want things from you.”

It felt like Henry’s heart fell from his chest cavity all the way to his feet.  He’d genuinely thought the last six months were leading to something significant.  “Oh,” was all he could get out.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Nick urgently said and rushed at Henry.  “I didn’t mean it that way.”  The confident man that Henry had become so accustomed to faltered and in its place was someone who didn’t seem confident at all. He seemed tired and frustrated.

“Nick,” Henry said and took the other man’s hands into his own.  “What’s wrong?  What did I do that you don’t want gifts from me - especially for your birthday?”

Nick sighed and looked down at their shoes.  “I just want to spend time with you, to be with you,” he mumbled, almost as if he was embarrassed to say it.

Henry thought for a moment and then grinned.  “Well we’re going to do that too,” he said.  “I got reservations at that Italian restaurant you’ve not so subtly hinted at wanting to try.”

Nick laughed a little and looked up into Henry’s eyes.  “I’m sorry I snapped at you.  You were very thoughtful and I just..."  He broke off and went back to looking at their shoes.

“Just what?” Henry asked, bending down so that he could get back into Nick’s line of sight.

Nick sighed and looked back up.  “I had this sudden anger that maybe you didn’t really know me if you thought that I would want you to buy me flowers.  But mostly I’m just flashing back to all the times my dad said “Happy Birthday” or “Merry Christmas” with an expensive gift as he left for other pursuits.”

The lightbulb went off for Henry and he nodded his understanding.  “To be fair, I didn’t think too much about whether you would want a gift at all,” he confessed.  “I was too preoccupied with what gift to get.  You’re right, though, if I’d stopped to really think back on our time together, you’ve never implied that you would like gifts.  I just assumed.”

“I still shouldn’t have snapped at you like that,” Nick admitted.  He took a deep breath and shook out the tension from his body, the elegant, debonair Nick returning.  “Let’s start this over,” he said and then cleared his voice.  “Oh wow!  Flowers!  Thanks, Henry.  But really, you didn’t have to.  I’m happy just to spend time with you.”

Henry couldn’t help it and laughed at the overdramatic do-over. He played along, though.  “Oh, really?” he asked.  “Then I’m happy to tell you that I don’t plan on getting you home at a remotely ‘decent’ hour.  We’re going to spend all evening together.  You might even get sick of me.”

Nick’s eyebrow tweaked up in genuine interest.  “Oh yeah?”

“I’m all yours.  All night,” Henry promised in a low voice.  With that, he raised his hand to Nick’s face, drew him close, and leaned in for a soft, sensual kiss.