LOVE JUNKIES

R uth Spencer on five people you’ll see on Valentine’s Day

Ruth Spencer on five people you’ll see on Valentine’s Day

Love is in the air, everywhere you look around. Valentine’s Day is like Christmas for lovers, in that it’s a minefield of stress and pressure with a lot of themed merchandise and makes people on their own feel sad. Here are five peop ple you’ll see on Valentine’s Day. THE LASST-MINUTE WONDER

He dashhes into the dairy on the way home, grabbingg the only remaining flowers, a bunch of pale yelllow chrysanthemums. He knows this won’t fly on itss own, so he adds a box of Roses that have been on the shelf so long there are still peppermint cremes ini there. There’s a queue at the counter; the server haas taken pity on his flock and is wrapping an endleess stream of tired bouquets in heart-print paper. Itt’s romantic in a sad sort of way but, in remembbering the flowers, the Last-Minute Wonder willill still incur the wrath of his beloved, because he’s about to forget the milk. THE TRUE LOVER

She loves Valentine’s Day. Loves the pink, the red, the shine of the foil around the chocolate hearts and the gypsophila (she calls it Baby’s Breath) in the single rose cellophane tubes. She’s buying a teacup with “You’re My Cup of Tea” printed on it. She’s going to make a trail of rose petals (silk, so they can be used again, as a tradition) from the front door to the bed and light fragrant candles with names like Romantic Fireplace and Sex Bomb. Next year she hopes to meet someone to share it all with, though secretly wonders if that might spoil it a bit.

THE EXHIBITIONIST

He’s booked a table, ordered champagne in an ice bucket and had flowers ostentatiously delivered during the entree by a promo model dressed as Cupid. He’s stared into his date’s eyes for the recommended 60 seconds and now, as