Flowers from My Husband

Every year, without fail, my husband would send me flowers on my birthday. This tradition started from those days when we were still courting and it still continued after we got married. Alhamdulillah…

Each year, the flowers would be different from the year before. Huge bouquet of roses one year, pretty pink and white lilies the next year, orange daisies and purple carnations thereafter, and so forth.

His flowers were always very nice and different from the others which I’ve seen. Even the florist would tell me, “Wah.. your husband banyak sayang sama you, ya… tiap2 tahun mesti hantar bunga..”

I would always become the envy of my colleagues whenever the flowers arrived at the office, “Waaahhh… Bestnya!!!” “Sooo nice!!!!” “Kena ambil gambar ni to show my husband so he gets the hint!” Hee.. Hee..

But these are the ladies talking. The men, they would just keep quiet, probably thinking, “What a waste of money…” or “I hope my wife doesn’t see this!”  I heard one saying, “Beli makanan lagi bagus!”, which were quickly rebutted by another lady friend who said, “Makanan lainlah, oii ..!!”  Hee.. Hee…

However, this year, the flowers were different. They came, alright, but they were not the kind which he usually sent. Not the big-over the top-kind of flower arrangement which I usually received. This year, for the first time, he sent me yellow roses in a small vase.  It looked more like a friendship bouquet which I would send to my girlfriend.

I wasn’t happy. I asked him, “Who ordered the flowers this year coz it’s so not you?!” He said, he did, but he just wanted to be different that’s why he chose yellow.

 I wasn’t convinced.  Even my kids thought it wasn’t their baba. There was no “feel” in the flowers. The message read, “Happy birthday and many happy returns of the day.” “MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY??” Formal nya!!!

I knew he was busy that day and perhaps he didn’t have time to put some thought into the flowers. So I guessed, he had simply asked his secretary, who didn’t really know his style, to order it online. That’s what I thought. There was no personal touch to it. In addition, there were a lot more leaves than flowers in the vase. So I sent him a nasty message, “Next year, no need to send me flowers. Just send me baja coz the leaves would last forever!” He replied, “Perli I ya…”

I was still not satisfied but I said thank you anyway. Merajuk jugak lah.. how could he not put some effort into the flowers? Dah lah he was not around on my birthday (he was in JB). Even my good friend, SW, managed to top my husband’s flowers this year. She sent me a really beautiful bouquet of pink lilies, roses and purple carnations. The kind that made you go “Wow…!” in amazement. Thanks, Shila!!

I spoke to him later that night and again, he convinced me that it was him who ordered the flowers and the color yellow was picked intentionally to be different. Didn’t he know that yellow roses meant “True Friendship”? Am I just a friend to him now instead of “My Lovely Wife”? Sigh…

Anyway, the next day, I went to work with a heavy heart. Tak sanggup nak tengok the yellow roses which I purposely left on my desk.

When I reached the office, I received a call on my HP from an unknown number. “Puan, ada delivery untuk Puan.”

Eh, dari siapa pulak?

So, I went downstairs anxiously (delivery boys are not allowed to come up to our offices) and when I approached the lobby, I saw the delivery boy standing by the reception with a pretty basket of red roses. “Untuk Puan. Tolong sign”, he said.

I glanced at the card which accompanied the flowers. It read, “I am really sorry I am not around on your birthday.. Love you always.. NJ”. It was from him – my husband!

I was smiling with glee. This was more like him…. J

I BBM him (now BBM saja… telephone conversations are limited to VERY important matters only) and said, “This is more like you. Thank you!” I told my kids and they were convinced that the previous day’s one was a slip-up.

I was happy. Two bouquets of flowers on my desk from the man I love. Friends were quick to remark, “I think, you complained a lot lah yesterday.. that’s why he sent you another one…”  Well, he should make up for it, right? I didn’t ask him to, but since he did, I was thrilled.

The day after, ie. 3^rd day after my birthday, I received another call on my mobile phone. The number looked the same like the previous day’s.

 “Puan, ada delivery untuk Puan.”

Ayy, siapa pulak lagi ni? I thought it could be from another friend who had just texted me that morning. I was curious. Tak kan husband I nak hantar bunga lagi… gila ke apa?

So I went downstairs, hoping that it’s just a small gift coz I dah segan nak bawak naik bunga2an tu.

When I reached the lobby, the same delivery boy was standing there. This time, with a big bouquet of sunflowers in his hands.  Waaahhh… what a lovely sight! I immediately knew it was my husband! This time, the message read, “Again, so sorry I’m not around but insyaallah I will be back later tonight. Love you..”

What can I say? 3 days in a row! This has never happened before! I’ve seen it on TV tho, where the girl would receive flowers from the guy who admired her and the flowers would fill-up her room. In my case, it didn’t quite fill up a room but it did make my work station look like a garden!

When I asked him whether he had planned it all long or whether the last 2 were sent to make up for the first one, he just smiled and said, “As I always said, I don’t want to be predictable..”

Oh well, whatever his reasons, he surely made me feel very special!

Day 1

From my dear friend, SW

Day 2

Day 3 - I love these!!

Little Rascal and sunflowers