Scent Notes: A gigantic, sparkling bouquet of dianthus, heliotrope, linden blossom, honeysuckle, and poppies.

“I think I’m giving up on dating,” Mary said with an overdramatic sigh, throwing another dress on her bed. Both of her roommates rolled their eyes in response. “You are absolutely not giving up,” Rachel said. Michelle nodded in agreement and added, “You just moved here not even two months ago. At the very least you need to go on dates to meet people and make friends!” They were all in Mary’s room, helping her get ready for a date she was considering canceling at the very last minute. “Who meets for the first time at a coffee shop at like 10:30 on a Sunday?” Mary asked from deep in the recesses of her closet, where she was trying to find something to wear. “Lots of people! Besides, you love coffee. What’s wrong with coffee? And you’ve been talking to this guy on that app for, what, almost a month already? Just go!” Rachel was making a point, Mary had to (begrudgingly) agree with. He seemed nice. She did love coffee. Mary considered all of this as she stepped back out of her closet in a new dress. “Oooh!” her roommates squealed. “That’s it, that’s the one,” Michelle said while Rachel clapped her hands in glee. “I don’t knoooooow,” Mary said as she took the two steps across her small room to put on a little makeup. “I’ve been on several dates the last few weeks and they were all terrible. I haven’t felt that special spark with anyone, and it’s been so long since I have. I just feel like, maybe I don’t date for a while? Maybe this is a good time to focus on me.” Rachel threw a pillow at her. “Just because you’ve had a few terrible dates doesn’t mean this one will be terrible.” “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Mary said as she finished her makeup. “I guess, worst case scenario, I’ll have found a nice coffee shop to go to?” “Exactly!” Michelle said. “And you’ll have another terrible dating story to tell us later over wine, and to look back and laugh on when you’re an old married lady. But hopefully this date is a little bit of light in the darkness.” Mary rolled her eyes and turned off the light in her room. “Okay, everyone out, I have a date to get to.” Michelle and Rachel wished her luck, and demanded a debriefing that evening when they were all home together again.

This was the first thing Mary thought about when she woke up, years later, on her wedding day to that man she went and met in the coffee shop. She poured herself a cup of coffee and looked at her gorgeous bouquet, delicately placed in a large crystal vase, practically twinkling in the sunlight. All these years later, she still felt that spark she’d felt pop up in her stomach the moment she’d laid eyes on him. Those bad dates in the weeks before they’d met were long forgotten, and she sipped her coffee, knowing soon enough she’d be bombarded with people helping her get ready to meet this wonderful man, though this time, it was at the end of an aisle.

Scent Notes: A gigantic, sparkling bouquet of dianthus, heliotrope, linden blossom, honeysuckle, and poppies.