Shane's nails swiftly clacked against the keyboard. Oliver, sitting behind his section leader's desk nearby, had seemed engrossed in a beverage-stained letter. However, in the last five minutes, no pages had been turned and he finally realized that his eyes had been darting here and there, the scrawled words utterly meaningless to his preoccupied mind. Often throughout the day, his eyes had wandered to the calendar on his desk.

Two years. The O'Tooles had shared nearly two whole years of more than happily wedded bliss, yet lately, something wasn't quite right. Interrogation had seemed futile, and Oliver hadn't wanted his wife to feel that she wasn't trusted. However, the constant sense of secrecy that Shane emitted while in his presence was more than troubling. There were undisclosed texts to her phone and calls that she refused to take while around Oliver, not to mention the "errands" she often ran at odd times during the day, as well as girls' night with Rita becoming more and more frequent.

When he'd asked, Shane had assured him that nothing was wrong. Her excuse was often a mysterious piece of dead mail that she had attached herself to, seemingly determined to solve it on her own, yet her progress appeared to be virtually nonexistent. Norman and Rita had certainly noticed her mysterious demeanor, and it was now affecting life in the DLO in addition to the increasing strain in the O'Toole residence. It seemed that everyone who had any kind of relationship with her was perplexed and had begun to worry.

Except Joe.

The elder O'Toole had shown very little concern regarding Shane's behavior and only slight empathy for Oliver.

"Dad," Oliver had said stiffly, when the duo had met for lunch at the Mailbox Grille earlier that day. "I'm worried about Shane."

"Oh?" Joe had answered, nonchalantly taking a sip of water. He set the glass down and eyed Oliver. "What's up, son?"

"I don't know," he replied flatly.

"Well, there's gotta be some...reason...you're worried about her."

"She's not quite been herself lately. She's exhibited an unusual degree of quietness, secrecy even. She is constantly preoccupied with independent activities and I…." He shook his head dejectedly, a small sigh of frustration exiting his lips.

Joe squinted one eye at his son. "Say it, Ollie."

"I miss my wife. For the past several weeks, she's been absent. And when she is present with me, it feels as though she isn't."

Joe nodded slowly, contemplating a few moments before responding. "Have you talked to her about this?"

"I have tried, but to no avail." Oliver sighed.

"Has something upset her?" Joe inquired.

"Not that I know of," Oliver replied with a shrug. "When I express my concern, she simply assures me all is well and that she loves me. She only seems irritated, and sometimes even disappears, when I press her with questions. What if—what if something is seriously wrong and she doesn't want to worry me?"

"Oh Ollie. Shane wouldn't hide a serious matter from you. I'm sure she's fine! You're borrowing trouble, you know." Joe wagged his pointer finger at his son.

"Yes, I know." Oliver sighed, his eyes watering. "It's just that if anything ever happened to—"

"Wait a minute. Isn't today your anniversary?" Joe squinted his eyes. "The first one?"

Despite his anxiousness, Oliver smiled slightly, his lips bunched. "The second one."

"I thought your second one was next week."

"It is."

Joe appeared perplexed. "But you just said—"

"Ahh," Oliver said, putting his hand to his head as though he felt the effects of an oncoming migraine. "Today is the second anniversary of our first wedding. Next Monday is the second anniversary of our second wedding."

"I'm glad you can keep that straight." Joe chuckled as Oliver grinned and shook his head. "How you're going to make it through life with two wedding anniversaries is beyond me."

Oliver's worries seemed to fade momentarily as he laughed along with his father. "I am blessed that the two events occurred only seven days apart. That makes them easier to remember." He paused, a happy nostalgia filling Oliver's twinkling blue eyes. "Actually, forgetting those days would be more difficult. That week was the most memorable—although the most..."—he cleared his throat—"challenging—of our marriage thus far."

"I have always imagined that to be the case." Joe eyed Oliver knowingly.

"Well, uh, you know, it was, uh—." Oliver scrunched his nose awkwardly, a slight pink rising over his facial features. "These past two years have more than made up for the, uh—the—" He stammered, then finally stopped talking and cleared his throat once more.

"Frustrations of that week?" Joe inquired, a glint of amusement emanating from his eyes.

Oliver opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed his lips and licked them. "Yes. However, the last couple of weeks have unfortunately served as a dreadful reminder of that….tension."

Joe raised his brows in surprise at Oliver's admission. "Oliver, if you want my advice—"

"I do," Oliver stated, raising one brow to show his approval.

"You have to communicate with her."

Oliver sighed. "It just isn't that simple, Dad."

"Okay, so try a different approach. Now that life is returning somewhat to normal, why don't you take Shane to dinner tonight—I suppose you had already planned that—"

"Yes," Oliver affirmed. "But she insists that we stay in because it's a work night and celebrate at a later date."

"You have to be more aggressive, Oliver."

"Uh—are you saying I should force Shane to go to dinner with me? I'm not in the habit of being forceful with my wife."

"Of course you're not. Come on, Ollie—get a little creative here! Make the reservations and tell her they can't be broken—"

"Uh, we've actually broken reservations a few times," Oliver stated, his words choppy.

Joe ignored his son and continued with his suggestion. "That if she doesn't go with you, you'll be obligated to go alone. I highly doubt she'll say no to that. Then after dinner, when she's not likely to escape, have an honest conversation with her, as tough as it may be—"

Oliver grimaced.

"Just trust me. Once everything is out in the open, surprise her by whisking her away to a honeymoon suite at the Brown Palace. Hide her phone—"

"Uh, I'm not so sure—" Oliver's lips turned upside down.

Joe continued, unaffected by his son's protests. "All she needs is you. Remove all distractions so that you can really focus on each other. It'll be good for the both of you. These past couple of years have been challenging enough for everybody. Maybe you just need to switch things up a little, and a change of scenery just might do the trick."

"Perhaps. But what if—what if that doesn't work?"

"What if it does? You owe it to your marriage to give it a try."

"Yes. Yes, I do." Oliver blew out a breath. "I will extend another invitation to my wife for a special anniversary dinner. I never actually canceled the reservations anyway."

"I figured you hadn't." Joe chuckled, knowing his son was nowhere near without hope. "By the way, I'll handle the room. Consider it an anniversary gift."

Oliver grinned. "Oh! Well, thank you, Dad."

"Just make sure you make it to that suite before the night's over, no matter what." Joe had winked at his son, a sly grin on his face.

Oliver now found himself staring at his wife as he had reflected on his conversation with his dad. He inwardly sighed, wondering how he was supposed to rectify this problem when he had no clue what the problem actually was. It was their anniversary, yet Shane had barely spoken to him all day and had rejected having lunch with him, seemingly more enthralled with her online research than she was by her husband. The newlywed phase of their marriage was waning, and a night of closeness seemed impossible.

Yet Oliver O'Toole wasn't going to give up on his wife or his marriage. They had been through too much together, and his determination outweighed his frustration. He loved Shane more than life, and he knew she loved him. And with God on his side, all things were possible….right?