Memorable Rose

I have a secret. Or, should I say, I’m about to divulge a secret. So if any of you happen upon Cameron, you don’t know anything. Know what I mean? Just feign innocence, and you won’t get me into trouble.

So, here’s the story. Yesterday Cameron asked me to stop at Safeway so he could buy his Valentine a card and gift. Thankfully, I was driving and facing forward so Cam couldn’t really see my reaction. “Wow,” I thought raising my eyebrows. “Cam’s first real Valentine!” So, on the way home we stopped at the grocery and spent some time walking around the floral department, checking out the beautiful displays. Eventually, he decided on a nice box of chocolates and a card. But I could see him still gaze longingly toward the flowers.

A nice woman designing flower arrangements noticed his indecision and asked if he wanted to pick out a special flower from her collection. He walked behind the counter and chose this red rose from a variety of colors and sizes. He watched as she wrapped it carefully in tissue paper, tied a ribbon around it and handed it to him. He carefully attended to the rose until we got home, where we placed it in a small vase until he could present it to her.

Unfortunately, they weren’t able to see one another today (she attends another nearby school), so the rose stayed with me. I spent some time photographing it and compiled this HDR image so he could email her a copy tonight for Valentine’s Day. Although I’d like to think today’s photo shoot was for Cam and his Valentine, I believe this photo might end up holding a special place in my heart, too.