Flowers

March 25th, 2025

I took my grandson, Asher, to his therapist this morning. I do that every Tuesday. He’s an active and talkative four-year-old whose been through a great deal of trauma in his young life. The therapy seems to be helping him. His sessions last for an hour. I wander around for a while until he gets done. This time I needed to talk to the doctor in charge of the clinic after Asher’s time with the therapist was over. The doctor had to make sure that the credit card I used for a copay went through the system. She wasn’t in the office when I dropped Asher off, so I waited for her to arrive when his session was done.

I didn’t have to wait long. She breezed through the door and into the reception area right after Asher finished his therapy. Dr. A was smiling and she held a bouquet in her hands. She looked at me and said,

“These are for you.”

All I could think to say was, “Oh”, as she handed me the bouquet.

Still smiling, she told me that she and the office manager had wanted to give me something to show how much they appreciated how I cared for Asher. She quipped,

“Men don’t usually get flowers, but we thought they would be okay.”

I replied, ” I have never gotten flowers before in my life.

The office manager, Eli, chuckled. Dr. A went into her office to check on the status of my payment. The therapist took Asher into her room to play until the doctor was finished doing whatever she needed to do. Eli looked at me and said,

“Dr. A and I talked about it. We wanted to get you something to recognize the good job you are doing with Asher.”

I told him, “I’m just doing what needs to be done.”

Elic nodded and smiled. He said,

” I know. It’s organic with you. It’s like second nature. That’s what makes it so amazing. You know what a man should do, and you do it. Not every man does what you do. Some gentlemen leave it to somebody else to do. You step up.”

Dr. A came out to tell me the payment went through with no problem. I went to the therapist’s room to gather up Asher. He looked at the bouquet and said,

“I don’t like those flowers! Don’t take them home!”

I convinced the boy that I should keep them. Actually, I bribed Asher.

When we got home, my wife put them into a vase. Asher didn’t like that either.