A yellow rose in full bloom. A dining room with empty tables. Yet another illustration of The Duality of Man™.

It’s that time again! It’s Valentine’s Day and the internet reactions are more divided than ever. One camp hates the occasion consistently annually and never wants to hear about it again, which is fair. Another camp is bitter because current events and has exercised their freedom of choice to be captivated only by endless sources of bitterness. Meanwhile, Anne and I escaped the house for a short while to enjoy each other’s company before the rest of the world emerges to glut up all the establishments.

Our destination: a restaurant called Cobblestone, a Zionsville fixture since 2000 that revamped itself a few years ago.

Our brunch appetizer: giant biscuits. Fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside, served with strawberry jam, apple butter, honey butter, and just honey.

For Anne, a salmon asparagus quiche with a side of corn casserole with a spicy kick to it.

For me, the other special of the day, Prime Rib Eggs Benedict.

Only a few parties occupied other tables. As always, Anne and I enjoyed the neighborhood quaintness, chatted up a storm, kept masked up when appropriate, and declined to check social media while comparing notes on our week’s reading matter and our emotional health. Then we fled to the safety of home. We exchanged gifts and now we hunker down to hide from the evening’s looming snowstorm forecast and the impending Valentine crowds in their varying states of contagiousness. I surprised her with one last dollop of overwhelming adorableness before we settled back into our cozy routines and our ordinary average mealtimes of easy crockpot recipes and Spam ‘n’ mac ‘n’ cheese.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Love safely out there!

Red hearts and chocolates are okay, but when you want to melt the heart of the Star Wars fan you love most, you can’t go wrong with Grogu. He even comes with his own brunch!