“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today….”

   

 

    “Happy Single Awareness Day mister,” I said as I gave him a huge hug. It had been one of those days when it was great to see a familiar old friend.

      “Happy Single Awareness Day right back at ya.I was going to stop at Rite-Aid and get you one of those chocolate hearts but I was running late…” He jested as we walked through Chinatown, the one place I knew that wouldn’t have needed a reservation weeks in advance or violin players in the background as we dine.

As we were waiting for the light to change, I glanced over at him and noted the dark collared shirt against his winter coat. Hmmm…snazzy. Wait, he had dark pants and leather shoes on too. *eyes him suspiciously* This was the guy I’ve known for 4 years whose uniform consisted of an ironic  print t-shirt, baggy jeans and favorite green cap with his initial on it. “Hey wait a minute…did you dress up???”

“Huh? What? Who?” He feigned innocence and tried to shift aside. That’s when I got a glimpse of it…

    “OMG…You’re wearing a TIE too!!! You did dress up…you’re going to ditch me and find your crush aren’t you??”

He laughed and swiped me away. “K fine, I did dress up but no, I’m not going to go out with her today. Believe or not, I dressed up for you. I’ll tell you why when we get to the restaurant and I can take my coat off to get the full effect..” I raised my eyebrow at his last statement, ‘uhoh’ I thought. Maybe he’s turned all preppy on me.

When we did reach the quiet empty restaurant, he went “K, k are you ready?”

“Sure…” 

He proceeded to take his coat off. Beneath the winter coat was a dark maroon pinstriped shirt, black skinny tie and dress pants. “See, check out how I’d matched my piercings to be reddish-black for the entire look!” he declared proudly and pointed to his ears. He even had a leather belt with a polished buckle on…I’ve to admit he does clean up very well when he has to. I was flabbergasted.

“Very snazzy… I’m impressed. You dressed up for Valentine’s dinner with me?”

He pointed out his finger like a magician pausing to show the final trick. “Not just any Valentines…. I’m dressed for a FUNERAL…”

“Ah, I hate love and all that stuff?”

“No…I’m celebrating a funeral for YOUR last Valentine’s Day as a single… you’ll find someone amazing soon…”

I looked at my friend and beamed. “Awwwww…… ” He does always know how to make me smile.

And then we ordered our greasy chinese grub.