The notes pouring out of bouquets from a Chicago florist all contain similar messages: “look forward to celebrating in person.”
“The notes are not sad,” said Kate Prince, a co-owner of Flora Chicago in the North Side city. “They are hopeful.”
On this Valentine’s Day, Americans are looking for ways to celebrate love in the midst of so much sadness and isolation as the coronavirus pandemic extends beyond its anniversary. Some cling to hope, seen in the most vulnerable and front-line workers being vaccinated, to loosen restrictions on restaurants in the most difficult places, as numbers begin to decline. But the death toll continues to rise toward half a million dead in the United States and many remain locked up in their homes.
Prince said florists scramble to keep up with the onslaught of orders from people trying to send their love at a safe distance.
“We are devastated,” she said.
Phones ring off the hook at restaurants in cities that have lifted restrictions on indoor dining just in time for Valentine’s Day, one of the busiest days of the year for many eateries devastated by downtime designed to spread the virus. delayed.
In Chicago, the mayor this week lifted restrictions on indoor food. After limiting restaurants to 25% and 25 people per room, it should now stay at 25%, but it can serve up to 50 per room.
The Darling restaurant is fully booked for this weekend and has been for weeks.
Sophie Huterstein, the owner of the restaurant, said COVID-19 allowed the 2-year-old eatery to achieve the impossible: make people happy to agree to a reservation at 4 p.m.
“People are very flexible,” she said.
They are also prepared this Valentine’s Day to do something different over a weekend where the high temperature will reach teenagers and the low point will drop below zero.
“We have 14 greenhouses and people come out in full ski equipment,” she said.
In the city of New York, the America Bar restaurant in the West Village is also fully booked for Valentine’s Day, with a long waiting list and a huge demand for the newly allocated 25% capacity for indoor tables, said David Rabin, a partner in the eatery, said. More seats, coupled with the governor’s decision to allow the closing time from 22:00 to 23:00, enabled him to give more shifts to his workers.
“For us, it’s a welcome gift,” he said. “It was wonderful.”
T Bar NYC Steak and Lounge on the Upper East Side is also fully booked. Tony Fortuna, owner, says some of his customers are not going to eat indoors, and that he does understand, but for those trying to return to restaurant meals, 25% is a good start. It gives people a gleam of normalcy at a heartbreaking time.
“It’s getting everyone motivated, we’re seeing some hope,” he said. “It’s all about perception: you see people go out and move it, make everyone feel in a different mood.”
In Portland, a couple who have been married for 55 years have special Valentine’s Day plans.
Gil and Mercy Galicia have barely left their home in nearly a year since the closure period began, their daughter Cris Charbonneau said. They saw their close family, three children and six grandchildren spread all over the country.
Like many seniors, the year has been particularly difficult for them. They emigrated from the Philippines in the 1960s and have been living in a half-acre plot for over 40 years.
Mercy, 80, is a cancer survivor and was diagnosed with an early onset of Alzheimer’s. Gil, 88, regularly walks into the mall daily to stay active, but he has not done so for a year. He’s afraid that isolation has put them back, and he does not know how much longer they can manage to live alone.
“We’re been losing years, COVID stole so precious this time,” Charbonneau said.
They do not have a computer. When the vaccine was available, Gil called everywhere and could not get through. Charbonneau was on a video call Thursday and saw a tweet from a local news station that the grocery store near their home had opened appointments online.
She scrambled to get two appointments. She does not notice the date. She told them she had booked it for Sunday, February 14th.
“It’s Valentine’s Day!” exclaimed her father, smiling at his wife.
“What a wonderful way to celebrate my love for you.”
They hung on. Their daughter cried.
“That was what we needed,” she said, “a little hope.”
___
Babwin reports from Chicago and Galofaro from Louisville, Kentucky. Associated Press journalists Tom Hays and Julie Walker made a contribution from New York City.