Fifth Day is Valentine's Day, too

2-13-13

While Leona was out with her friend from Tainan at an 85 Degree Coffee Shop in Tan-Zih, I was out riding the bike into the Westside of Taichung. I put on Johnny Winter and headed down Tai-Yuan Road until it ended at Taichung Kang (Port) Road, (soon to be renamed Taiwan Road.) There it turns into Jing-Cheng Road. I followed it as it curved south a few blocks to Da-Ye Road and turned right to find Salut Pizza in an alleyway on the left. I knew it wouldn’t be open until 6pm but I sat and rested outside and looked at the map. I rode back to Taichung Kang Road, turned right, passed Sogo Department Store and the New York Bagel Restaurant and in five minutes was in front of Caves Book Store on the promenade in front of the National Museum of Natural Science. I chained the bike up to a light pole covered with a waxy substance which I discovered to be insect repellent and went into Caves to browse. I bought Grimms’ Fairy Tales for 80NT ($2.76us) then I got back on the bike and rode home the way I came. It was a pleasant ride with not that many cars and hardly any motorcycles or scooters on the street this being the morning of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year and people still on vacation; only the highways were jammed. I got home at noon (a little while before Leona returned) and had a plate of leftover spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. We stayed home for the rest of the day and into the evening, reading, eating, watching TV and taking naps.

2-14-13

      Today is Valentine’s Day! I want to get a flowering plant and a card for Leona and a kumquat bush for myself to put on the balcony. I’ll take a walk over there now. For lunch, we are going to the Westside to have Indian food at Andrew’s. I’d rather go there later in the afternoon so I can ride the bike but I’ll leave it up to Leona; I could always ride the bike after we get back.

Leona and I had a nice dinner at Andrew’s Indian Restaurant on the Westside. Afterwards, we got a few New York Bagel bagels and went into Sogo where Leona bought a pair of shoes. Afterwards, we sat in a 7-11 where Leona opened up the card I gave her. She didn’t give me a card. “I will be your present,” she said. From the refrigerator, I took out and showed her the Ferrero Rocher chocolates I’d gotten her as I usually do on Valentines’ Day for twenty-two year, even mailing it to her in Taiwan from Brooklyn. We made love to each other before falling asleep.