CHAPTER 12: RED ROSES AND ROMANCE
As Alex was driving he would always and quickly glance at Rose who was busy enjoying the ride and the beautiful scenery of Brighton City. Rose had asked him where they were heading, but Alex just smiled saying, “You’ll see,” He first stopped at the flower shop to pick up the flowers he had pre-ordered. It was a bouquet of red fresh roses; he paid for them and left the shop. When he left the shop holding the bouquet of roses, Rose noticed and gave Alex a very unpleasant look while trying to understand what was going on and why Alex was carrying a bouquet of red roses he just got from the flower shop. She wanted so badly to ask Alex these questions but decided against it and just went with the flow. She had also thought that maybe the flowers were for his mother thanking her for everything she had ever done for him, more like showing his thanks and appreciation, but then again she thought, ‘a bouquet of roses for his mother,’ she quickly erased that thought and once again decided to go with the flow and see what happens.
When Alex got into the car, he turned around and handed the bouquet of red roses he had just bought from the flower shop to Rose (Rose in shock and speechless).
Alex: These are for you my dear Rose.
Rose: For me (feeling embarrassed and shy especially after all those thoughts that had been racing in her mind)?
Alex: Yes for you, I wanted to start our date by giving you a wonderful surprise of a bouquet of roses for my Rose. Do you like them?
Rose: Aww, they are so beautiful. I love them (giving Alex a hug and a kiss on his cheeks) thank you so much (holding and smelling the lovely fresh roses) very nice and thoughtful of you Alex (kisses him again on his cheeks).
Alex: You are welcome my dear (smiling feeling very happy and proud of what he did). I am happy you like them and now on to our second surprise for the afternoon.
Rose: Another surprise, wow! How many surprises did you prepare?
Alex: You’ll see I just hope you will like all the surprises I’ve prepared for us today.
Rose smiled at Alex as she watched him driving along the streets of Brighton City. At around six o’clock they had arrived at The Brighton Times Square Mall Basement Parking lot. Alex found a parking spot where he quickly parked his car, got out and went over to open the car for Rose. Before she got out she placed the beautiful bouquet of red roses carefully at the back seat then got out of the car.
Rose: What are we doing at The Brighton Times Square Mall Alex?
Alex: (Holding Rose’s hand) you’ll soon find out my dear.
They got into the elevator and went straight up to the sixth floor. While in the elevator Alex was holding Rose’s hand when he turned around and kissed her cheeks.
Alex: A kiss to say ‘thank you’ for coming on a date with me and for being my girlfriend. You truly are a very special and amazing woman Rose.
Rose became quite shy, her cheeks were blushing. She was rather speechless as to how to react or respond to what she just heard. She looked at Alex’s handsome face and smiled saying, “Thank you.” Just as she was about to continue the elevator stopped on the sixth floor. When they walked out of the elevator Rose realized they had arrived at one of Brighton’s largest cinemas. It was at that moment Rose remembered all the details Alex had sent her of their plans for today, which not only included watching a movie at this very venue Brighton Cinema but also the name of the movie they were going to watch <
Alex: Welcome to surprise number two, where we shall be watching a movie. Wasn’t quite sure what kind of movies you liked so I chose one that has all the genres; romance, action, comedy, thriller etc.
Rose: To be quite honest, I love the movie choice you selected. I happen to be a huge fan of Marvel and DC Comics. You made a perfect choice (thumbs up).
Alex: (Looking at Rose in amazement) you’re also a Marvel and DC Comic fan? Oh my goodness, this is so cool, this is so awesome (all happy and smiling) I am so glad you liked my choice, wasn’t sure if you would like it or would get mad at me for selecting a kids’ movie.
She kissed him on his cheeks saying, “You made the best choice and chose the best movie for our date.” Alex went to the counter to get the tickets and some snacks they could eat while watching the movie. They had five more minutes before the movie started. The movie <
Rose: This is awesome and so cool. I didn’t know that The Brighton Times Square Mall had such a massive and beautiful cinema.
Alex: This cinema is actually the second one opened in Brighton City. The Everton Bright Company worked with an architectural company from out of Brighton City to not only construct the entire mall but the cinema as well. It took almost eight years to complete the building of the entire mall.
Rose: You guys definitely did a fantastic job on the mall, even from the outside and the entire parking lot you can see how perfectly the construction was done from top to bottom, very accurate and professional (giving thumps up to Alex) great job, well done.
Alex: Thank you. Oh the movie is about to start.
Once the movie had started, they began enjoying their snacks while laughing at some of the funny parts in the movie. In the middle of the movie Alex had placed his arms around Rose’s shoulders while she laid her head on his right shoulder while they relaxed and enjoyed the movie. It was truly a special and wonderful moment for Rose, a date that started off with awkward negative thoughts that were quickly changed to a perfect beginning with a bouquet of red roses followed with a romantic episode of what was going to be one of the most memorable dates ever had.
At around eight o’clock the movie ended and as everyone was leaving the cinema Alex decided to take a picture with Rose using his phone as a remembrance of their first date at the Brighton Cinema at The Brighton Times Square Mall.
Alex: So what did you think of my second surprise and the movie?
Rose: Very unexpected but truly loved it a lot, thank you Alex, thank you for the wonderful surprise.
Alex: I still have one more final surprise for you.
Rose knew that the final surprise was a dinner at ‘The Mexican Grill Restaurant.’ She understood that it was just going to be an ordinary dinner then go back home but little did she know the surprise that was in store for her as the evening continued. They left the mall arriving back to the basement parking lot. Alex opened the car for Rose and once she was seated, Alex rushed to the driver’s seat helped fastened Rose’s seatbelt before fastening his seatbelt. They were quite shy just looking at each other even their cheeks were blushing. Alex quickly started the car and they drove off heading for dinner at ‘The Mexican Grill Restaurant.’ The restaurant was twenty minutes away from The Brighton Times Square Mall. When they arrived, they parked the car in the parking area, and then walked holding hands into the restaurant. At the reception area they were warmly greeted and welcomed by Mr. Hugo, the manager who happens to be good friends not only with The Peterson family but also with one of The Anderson’s son Jeffrey. Mr. Hugo ushered them to their reserved table and presented them with the food and drink menu and left them discussing their meal and drink choices for dinner.
Alex: Have you ever tried Mexican food before my dear?
Rose: No, this is my first time, but I do eat spicy food so I am good with that.
Alex: Great, because I was a bit worried about you not eating or being able to handle spicy food plus had been debating whether this would be suitable for you or would have gone somewhere else for dinner.
Rose: Oh our whole family loves spicy food; we grew up eating spicy food. How did you know about this place it looks very exquisite with a warm and lovely atmosphere and with great interior design and decoration.
Alex: My colleagues from The Everton Bright Company often order lunch from this restaurant. I ordered and tried out their food one time and was very impressed not only with their delicious cuisine but their serviced as well, so thought I’d take you out for Mexican on our first date and see what you would think, whether you would like it or not.
Rose: So far, I love it, it has been the best day, the best date ever (holding his hands) and best restaurant, thank you Alex.
Mr. Hugo: Are you ready to order?
Alex: My love, why don’t you order first while I look at the drink menu?
Rose: Alright. I’ll have the small size taco dip for appetizer and one enchilada and one burrito.
Alex: I’ll have the chicken enchilada dip small size for appetizer and tacos and fajitas for the main course.
Mr. Hugo: And for the drinks?
Alex: Yes, could we have a bottle of the red wine house special and a bottle of sparkling water- San Pellegrino please?
Mr. Hugo repeated their order, took the food and drink menu and left.
Rose: Did we order too much food (laughing)?
Alex: (laughing) no worries, if we can’t finish it we can take it home and have it for tomorrow lunch at the office. By the way your family is very lively, warm-hearted welcoming and funny especially your brothers, but also very protective which is a good thing.
Rose: Yeah, my brothers are very important people in my life, they have always been there for me, watching over me, and looking after me but most importantly very encouraging and supportive just like my parents which is something I will always cherish in my life.
Alex: I think your family is very lucky to have you in their lives.
They continued talking about other topics when they were interrupted by Mr. Hugo who brought their drinks. They tasted the house wine and it was tasty and very suited for their meals. Mr. Hugo poured the wine in each glass, opened the sparkling water and also poured it into their glasses, placing the bottle on the table before returning to the kitchen. Rose picked up her wine glass and waited for Alex to make a toast.
Alex: A toast to a wonderful afternoon and evening spent with my girlfriend Rose Anderson. Thank you for an amazing date with your boyfriend Alex Peterson (cheers) to our first date and many more to come.
Rose: To our first date and many more to come.
Mr. Hugo served them their appetizers which he placed on the table saying, “enjoy.”
Alex and Rose: Thank you Mr. Hugo.