Every flower from here to Baton Rouge he had said.  Well, baby steps were not always a bad thing.  So, no shame in starting off small.  Or, small in comparison.  He had stopped by a flower shop or two, but none of it seemed to fit his purpose.  The florist had looked at him a bit oddly when Declan described his desire.  And the people driving past were looking at him just as oddly.  He supposed it wasn't everyday a man walked down Esplanade Avenue with a bloody big heart shaped flower arrangement on a stand.  Perhaps they thought he had robbed a funeral home.  And the old 80s style boom box he had bought at Goodwill strapped over his back made quite the picture, he had to admit.   The tape?  Well, the tape had been a bit more difficult to track down.  Nobody sold cassettes anymore outside of flea markets and garage sales.  Declan, however, was clever.  A blank tape, recorded from a cd player, mic to speaker.  So, it might sound a bit boot-leggy.  Who was counting. 

He placed the flower stand in the middle of the yard, bent behind it, looking upwards as he adjusted the angle.  Not much point to all of this if it wasn't aimed just right at her window.  He moved to the other side, making sure the roses were all fluffed and looking their best, an adjustment here, a fluffing there, a nod as he stood back.  Now for the tricky part.

As he had done once before, he climbed up the wall towards her window.  Bracing both feet on the window below him, one hand latched onto the side as he unslung the boom box from his back.  Shit.  He had not considered the logistics of this plan.  He used his chest to hold the boom box on the ledge of her window, reaching down with his free hand to remove the roll of duct tape.  Using his teeth to start the roll off, he secured the box, then reached into his back pocket for the index card.  On the card, in black sharpie was written 'PRESS PLAY".  He slid it in front of the box, securing it with a small piece of tape.  Well, that hadn't been so bad.  And that was right around when his foot slipped and he plummeted into the hedge below, landing on his back with a thud, the duct tape roll smacked against his forehead.  He winced, but then smiled.   The boom box held!! Score.

He crossed the yard, one last check of the flowers before he made his way back to the sidewalk, his phone drawn out from his pocket and slid open.  He quickly keyed in a text to her. 

"If you are home, look out your window."  he pressed send with a smile, though it quickly faded into a frown.

"If you aren't then when you get home, look out your window, and ignore the yard."  Clever Declan. 

Either way, once she pressed play, he had the tape set on In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel.  He'd seen it in a movie once.