Betty was exhausted when she had finished climbing the 5 flights of stairs to her apartment. When she finished relocking all the locks her father had put up, she looked around her place. It was nice enough, but it still didn't seem like home. What ever made her think she needed to be alone. She wasn't having exciting adventures and it wasn't helping her at work. All it was doing was making her lonely.
She was also exhausted from her encounter with Gio. She couldn't believe she actually got up the nerve to go through with telling him how she felt. She had lurked outside his deli several times trying to get up the nerve to talk to him. She had started to feel like a stalker. Tonight, she just decided to go for it. The fact that he was still mad and still hurt made her very unhappy.
In the months since he'd been gone from her life she had thought about him every day. At first it was just regret that her actions had hurt him so badly. She often found herself at her little table just staring at the place where he had told her she broke his heart and replaying the events in her mind. This always made her sad, sometimes she just sat there and cried.
Then it became a longing to talk to him, to see him, even to fight with him. It became a hole in her life. She tried filling it with other people and with work, but the hole was still there. And it seemed to get bigger every day. She was afraid one day the hole would just swallow her. That's when she finally admitted to herself what she had denied for so long - she loved him. It was a relief to finally stop denying it.
Now he was willing to give her another chance, but she had to do all the work. She guessed that was only fair - but she had no idea what to do. Guys had always come after her. She had only gone after one guy and that had been a disaster.
And how could she win him back after what she had done to him. Before, their relationship had grown slowly by seeing each other almost every day at work. Now his business had become so successful he didn't come to her office any more. He had people to do that. How could she make someone like her again when she didn't even see him?
She started to cry. She had been given a second chance at happiness and she had no idea how to get it. She would sleep on it and hope that she would wake up with an answer. She just had to.
Gio was in a bad mood. Traffic had been terrible this morning and he was running late. He had a busy day and he had wanted to get an early start. As he was unlocking the door to the deli, his foot hit something and he heard a strange sound. He looked down and there was a small purple gift bag, He picked it up and looked in it. At first, he was confused. It was a small stuffed Mallard duck. When he took it out of the bag, it quacked when he squeezed it. Now it was starting to make sense to him. He saw a note in the bag and he took it out to read it.
The note said "You were right, I make too many excuses and try to blame other people and events for not having what I want. I have decided to stop making excuses and go for what I want. I hope you have a great day, Gio. Your friend, Betty." He looked at the duck and squeezed it a couple more times just for fun. He had to admit it put him in a better mood. He went in the deli and put the duck by the cash register and went to work.
It was a very busy day, and he had some cranky customers, but whenever he looked at the duck on the counter he somehow felt happier. In the late afternoon he was finally able to take a short break. He decided to call Betty and thank her for the gift. It was the polite thing to do, after all.
He dialed the once familiar number and heard "Daniel Meade's office." He said "Hi Betty, it's me."
Betty's heart stopped for a moment and she said "Hi Gio, how's your day going?"
"It's been pretty busy and stressful, but someone left me a small gift this morning which helped me get through the day in a better mood."
"Really, anyone I know?" she asked.
"Stop trying to be cute, Betty. I called to thank you. It was nice of you to think of me."
"I told you yesterday, I think of you every day."
When Gio didn't say anything, she asked "Do you remember the day we first met? We had at least three fights and I got you fired."
"Yeah, B, I remember." Gio sighed.
"Whenever you look at the duck I want you to remember that day and how happy I am that we met. I also want you to remember that I liked you from the first moment I saw you and no matter what happens between us, you will always have a very special place in my heart. I have to go now, Gio. I have a meeting. Thanks for calling. I'm glad we had a chance to talk."
"Bye, Betty. And thanks again."
He hung up and stared at the phone in his hand. Who was he kidding, it wasn't going to be as hard for her to win him over as he had thought. If a small, stuffed duck could affect him this much, he was doomed. He just couldn't let her know.