Love on the Run : Sweethearts Rush About for Flowers and Cards for Their Valentines

If Valentine’s Day, as someone once put it, is an annual attempt to “pack a year’s worth of sincerity into 24 hours,” then the crush often begins the night before in greeting card stores and florist shops across the city.

Ed Stokes, a struggling actor with a worried look on his face, sought a solution Wednesday evening when he walked into Arturo’s Flowers in Hollywood and quickly ordered a dozen roses in a gold box for his girlfriend.

“I’m in the doghouse, I mean I’m in trouble, big time,” he explained while signing his credit card receipt. “And I’m hoping these roses will convince her to forgive me.”

Another customer, Ilan Migdali, a native of Israel, said a surprise bouquet of flowers would be just the thing to keep his wife’s mind off these troubled times, what with the war in the Gulf and Iraqi missile attacks on their homeland. “The flowers make me feel happy, they make my wife feel happy and, for a moment, we are in a kind of illusion,” he said. “We don’t think about the war.”

They were among scores of last-minute customers at Arturo’s ordering roses or colorful arrangements of tulips, carnations or other flowers as part of the annual tradition of giving to symbolize love, affection and friendship.

To handle the rush, the store hired extra drivers for deliveries and brought some regular drivers inside to answer the phone.

“It’s a madhouse,” clerk Oscar Billalobos said, explaining that he sat down at noon to take a phone order and, by 5 p.m., still hadn’t gotten up. “We’ve sold a lot. A lot. The phone doesn’t stop ringing. . . . And tomorrow, who knows what tomorrow!”

Arturo’s clerks said they sold 1,600 dozen roses Wednesday. They had 200 deliveries scheduled for today. On any other day, 15 to 20 deliveries is average.

By late afternoon Wednesday, few florists were willing to guarantee a Valentine’s Day delivery.

Roses were selling for $35 to $75 a dozen. While some clerks blamed the high prices on the recent winter frost, others admitted they simply reflected the demand.

“Every Valentine’s Day, rose prices always go up,” a harried May Liu of Melinda’s Flowers in Los Angeles admitted.

At Betty’s Cardtowne in the Farmers Market, a clerk was too busy to say how busy she was. “Very,” she barked. “No time to talk.”

On lunch hours and between business appointments, a steady stream of men and women trailed into stores in the Beverly Center.

“It’s mostly men buying fancy hearts to give to their honey bunnies,” said Karen Fabian, a clerk at See’s Candy in the center. The four-pound heart, for $44.50, was already sold out.

At the Card Factory in the Beverly Center, the displays were barren. “We’re packed,” clerk Matt Dehaven said. “So is the candy store. And the lingerie store is selling all kinds of stuff.

“I love Valentine’s Day,” Dehaven said. “Now all I need is a Valentine to share it with.”

The day was special for Perry Chappel, who was celebrating his first Valentine’s Day with his girlfriend. “She’s a rose, so I wanted to buy her a dozen,” he said.

For others it was a time to show gratitude to people who work hard.

“I’m buying flowers for the girls on the job who deserve recognition,” said Caprise Arreola, who works in the promotion department at Capitol Records.

But back at Arturo’s, Irma Alvarado, 26, who had put in more than 12 hours cutting and wrapping posies for customers, knew exactly what she did not want on Valentine’s Day.

“I sure don’t want flowers,” she said. “Anything but flowers after a day like today.”