Bent’s text message was brief. Too brief! All he wrote was ‘k’. Sarah blinked at the message. Was that really all he was going to say? She left the store and carefully placed her new purchase into her Jeep’s trunk. She was almost skipping, she felt so giddy. She couldn’t wait to wear the new gold dress tomorrow night.As she closed the trunk, she spotted a familiar face. Kurl was in his Porsche at the corner of the main road and the avenue. He had his blinker on, waiting to turn. The roof of his convertible was down. His blonde hair blew freely in the breeze. When the light turned green, he pulled the car off the main road and entered the shopping avenue. With a cry of alarm, Sarah dove quickly behind her Jeep. She giggled to herself as she watched Kurl park a little farther down the street. “Wonder what he’s up to?” she thought aloud. Rummaging through her bag, she snatched up her sunglasses and a black baseball cap. She put them on, incognito-style.Keeping low behind parked cars, Sarah hurried after Kurl on the sidewalk. He entered a flower shop.Sarah kept herself flat against the wall. She was half-concealed by a bench and a tree. Kurl’s buying flowers? Sarah wondered. She inched closer to the store window. Keeping as far as possible to the side, she peered through the glass. He stood in front of a row of refrigerated flower bouquets, examining one after another. He turned his head towards the center of the room, and called out to someone.A florist hurried into view. He was very plump and bald. Sarah leaned closer to the door, trying to hear their conversation. She could just make out the words. “I need red,” she heard Kurl say. The florist coughed. “Ah, yeah. I think I got some more. Has to be red?” “Yes,” Kurl told him. “Who’s the girl?” the florist asked, as he shuffled his feet around inside the store. She could hear Kurl opening and closing refrigerated doors. “Her name is Sarah.”OMG OMG OMG!!! Sarah’s hands started shaking.The florist scratched his head. “If you want red, she must be cute. I mean, other gals, they don’t get red. That’s why I have lots of other colors. Big bouquets of blues, pinks, purples –“”Red!” Kurl laughed. “She’s beautiful, all right, man?” Sarah’s heart did a funny flip inside her chest. Kurl thinks I’m beautiful!!! And he’s buying me flowers!!!A car alarm rang. Sarah flinched at the sound and ducked. She couldn’t risk Kurl glancing out the window and seeing her.The car’s owner shut off the alarm. Whew! That was close. “Do you have any bears?” Kurl yelled to the florist. Sarah put her hands over her mouth. No way. This could not be happening. The florist carried out a handful of colorful bears. There were white, black, brown, and red bears. “I got rainbow-colored bears too, if you want one of those,” the florist said. Kurl studied the bears carefully.Sarah laughed to herself. Never in a million years did she think she would witness Kurl, of all people, buying her a teddy bear. And with such a serious expression!Kurl took two of the bears. One was brown, the other was red. “Should the bear match the flowers?” He looked really unsure. Sarah had to pinch her nose to keep from bursting into more laughter. The florist held up his hands. “You got me. They all look the same to me, too.” Kurl finally chose the brown bear and straightened the ribbon around its neck.He tucked the bear under his arm and pointed at the refrigerated flowers. “Can you make it two dozen?”Sarah’s jaw dropped. Two dozen roses? “Great. I’ll stop by to pick everything up tomorrow,” Kurl told the florist. He handed back the bear and headed for the door. Sarah quickly darted behind a parked car. She watched him stroll down the sidewalk, whistling to himself. She let out a sigh of relief. If she’d been any slower, he would have seen her.