"Happy Birthday, Aiden."
"What? It's not my birthday." Aiden had been sitting in the break room, flipping through an anthropology journal when Flack had walked in the door. Now she stared at him, wondering just why he was giving her birthday greetings when her birthday wasn't for another six months. And he knew it too. She knew he knew it because six months ago he had given her the subscription to the journal she now held in front of her. What was his deal?
"Then I guess you don't want this." He brought his hand from behind his back and plopped a misshapen and clumsily wrapped gift on the table. She furrowed her brow and started to reach for it, but Flack snatched it away.
"Nuh-uh, it's not your birthday." His eyes gleamed with amusement. She noticed and decided to play along.
"Aw, c'mon Flack, you went through all the trouble to get it and wrap it, you may as well give it to me, right?"
"Well…"
"Please?"
"If you insist."
"Of course I insist." She reached her hands out again and Flack laughed as he handed over the package. She felt it for a moment, her eyes squinting as she tried to guess what it was. Finally she pulled off the tape and ripped into the wrapping paper.
"A rubber duck? A pink rubber duck?" she asked.
"Yeah, you like it?"
She chuckled and pulled the duck out of its nest of wrapping paper. A piece of string around its collar caught her eye.
"Flack, don't you know you're not supposed to leave the price tag on, it's—oh."
As she turned the duck over in her hand she realized that it was not a price tag attached to the string, but a plain gold ring with a diamond set in it. She looked back up at him, her eyes wide and her mouth parted in shock.
"Flack? Is this…?"
He looked at her, his face suddenly a perfect picture of seriousness. He gently took the duck from her and slipped the ring off the string. He held it out to her, his eyes questioning.
"Aiden? Will you—?" His voice choked and he cleared his throat to cover his emotion. She reached out her hand, nodding, and he quickly slid the ring onto her finger. They sat for a moment, neither saying a word but both staring at her hand.
"Surprised?" Flack asked.
She looked up at him and laughed. "Let's just say I never expected to be asked at work."
"Well, I figured if I took you out to a classy restaurant you might know what was up."
She laughed. "What was with the rubber duck, then?"
Flack shrugged. "I dunno, I saw it and it made me think of you."
"A pink rubber duck made you think of me?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.
"A lot of things make me think of you," he answered and leaned over to kiss her. "I'll take you for that classy dinner tonight to celebrate, deal?"
She kissed him back. "Deal."