badseed1980 | Have I mentioned I have the best boyfriend ever???

It started on Wednesday afternoon. I e-mailed

pierceheart to ask him if he had anything in mind that we could do for a date on Friday. He replied, "Yes: wear something dressy to work, and leave the rest to me." Ah, a surprise!

Friday, I wore a nice black skirt and put a black sleeveless sweater with rhinestone latticework in my bag to change into before leaving work. I met

pierceheart outside my building at 5:30. He was wearing a dark charcoal suit with a nice pale blue shirt with white cuffs and collar, matching tie, and a white pocket square. Mmm, what a cutie! He decided we needed a drink, and we agreed to go to Kitty O'Shea's just because it was nearbye. We each had a rather icky dirty martini (the bastard made them with VODKA! ANATHEMA!) and left quickly.

pierceheart led me over to where a bunch of carriages were waiting, greeted one of the drivers by name, and helped me up. Louie and his horse Mickey took us through the streets with a warm blanket covering our laps. We held hands and chatted and watched the city slowly unfold before us, at a more relaxed pace than I usually see downtown.

Louie dropped us off in front of the Common, near Park Street station. We walked hand-in-hand on the Common for a while, until

pierceheart told me it was time to go. We started heading down Winter Street, and I started to get an idea of where we might be going. We passed by a little alley, and then suddenly turned back and went down it. Within a minute, we were being greeted by the hostess at Locke-Ober (for those who don't know it, THE Boston restaurant, where JFK used to eat). We were brought to a table where a beautiful flower arrangement was waiting: red, fuchsia, and brilliant orange roses along with sweetly scented lilacs. There was a candle on our table, and not on any of the other ones. The flowers were just for us, too.

The food was absolutely phenomenal. To begin with, the dirty martinis we had there were perfect. Mmm. I started with lobster stew, a total lobstergasm and a half. OMG. The boy got steak tartare, which was delicious as well. I had roast duck for an entree, with mashed potatoes, and he got roast lamb with asparagus. Dessert was a shared dish of three sorbets topped with plenty of fresh berries. The wine that accompanied all this was a lovely pinot noir. The waiter was friendly and polite to both of us, and at one point, the owner did a brief tour of the dining room, stopping to chat for a moment with each table.

Finally, the foodgasm had to end. We got on the T and headed back to Davis Square. As we made our way through the parking lot of Brooks, on the way to the bike path, I heard a car being unlocked by remote. I figured it had to be someone behind us, but

pierceheart steered me towards a car. "Oh!" I said, "You rented a car!"
"No."
"Ah, your car came in!"

So we ended up driving to Kappy's, where we bought a bottle of blueberry grappa because it interested me and a bottle of Noilly-Prat for martinis. We drove home, and danced in the kitchen to Massive Attack until we finally had to go to bed and collapse with exhaustion and overindulgence. Snuggling up next to my boy, I had to say: he done good.

And that was my surprise. Yeah. He's the best.