AN~ Edited. Still Tom and Cindy, though. Because awwww.
It was almost Tom and Cindy's two-year anniversary, and Tom was searching for the perfect gift- something that would make her happy.
He figured she deserved to be happy, after the life she'd had. First her family, then her jerk of an ex-husband, and now being stuck in this tiny town.
The problem was that he wasn't exactly sure what to get her. Cindy was just too good. She didn't want jewelry or clothes or any of the typical womanly things, and she already had all the entertainment she could want. The only thing she really wanted, as far as he knew, was a new job. She'd been working as a checkout clerk in the local grocery store for decades, now- since before Tom was even born, actually (that scared him)- and she hated it.
She'd told him once that her dream was to help people fix their families the way nobody had helped her. She wanted to make sure nobody rushed into a bad marriage to escape a worse home life.
Of course, stuck in Ferryport Landing, it was hard to do that.
That was when he saw the for sale sign on the radio station.
Tom grinned. He knew what to buy Cindy.
Four hours later, after various talks with the owners of the radio station, who were retiring after a fifty-year stint of running the thing on their own, with the help of college interns, and with the bank across the street, Tom walked home, certain he was the happiest man on the planet. This, of course, was not true (there was a man in Taiwan who had just heard he was cancer free), but he was certainly among the top ten.
Three nights later, after taking Cindy out to dinner at Sacred Grounds, the closest thing to a high-class restaurant in Ferryport Landing, Tom made his wife promise to keep her eyes closed. Once she'd agreed, laughing, Tom pulled her down the street.
"Where are you taking me?" Cindy asked after a bit of walking. "This is taking a while."
"Just be patient," Tom assured her. "We're almost at your present." He had to fight to keep the grin off his face. She was going to love this.
"Why couldn't you just show it to me at the restaurant?" Cindy persisted.
"It's too big," Tom explained. Far too big.
"Is it a car?" Cindy asked. "Tom, don't tell me you got me a car- I know I was complaining about my old one, but really, it's perfectly fine, and you can't afford it-"
"It's not a car," Tom said. He knew how much she loved her old car, persnickety as it was.
"Well, then what is it?" Cindy asked.
"You'll see," Tom said, smiling.
Cindy sighed, but didn't say anything else.
This was lucky, because they'd reached the studio. Tom opened the door quietly and pulled Cindy inside.
The mice had put up a sign the day before that read "Property of Dr. Cindy," and Tom was hoping this would be enough.
"You can open your eyes now," Tom said, "We're here."
Cindy complied. "What are we doing in the radio station? Is my present in here?"
Tom shook his head, his grin growing wider. "Your present is here, actually."
"What do you mean?" Cindy asked. "That doesn't... You're not making sense, Tom."
"It makes perfect sense," Tom said. "I bought the radio station."
Cindy gaped at him. "Tom, you can't afford that!"
"I can, actually," Tom said. "And we'll make enough money off the commercials to pay off the loan I had to take out. You can run a show-" he waved at the sign the mice had put up- "and help people work out their relationships. The old owners have talked me through everything else, and I can run that with the boys. We don't have to worry about the music because there are interns- the whole business is already set up, just waiting for us, Cindy! It's perfect! You can do what you always wanted!"
Cindy, who'd been opening her mouth to protest different things, closed it. "You've thought of everything, then?" she asked eventually, eyes widening.
Tom nodded. "Everything."
Cindy shrieked and threw herself at him, blubbering her thanks over and over.
Tom smiled, wrapping his arms around his wife. He'd found the perfect present.