DURING MY employable years, no day was more intimidating and humiliating than Valentine’s Day. My colleagues were receiving bouquets of flowers from their loved ones year after year, while my desk remained empty and boring. I could hear the receptionist calling to inform the recipients that there were flowers waiting for them. The recipients would claim their gifts while others cheered them on. There was a sense of joy, pride, and competition I could only envy.
I decided to do something different during my last year of employment. While the annual ritual was in full force, I called a local florist and ordered a flower basket to me, from me, to be delivered to the reception desk. Soon afterward, I was summoned to claim the gift, and upon return to my seat, the department roared and demanded to know who my secret admirer was. “I’ll never tell,’’ I said with a smile, and looked the other way.
