Tommy’s smile went from ear to ear as he peeked through the door and watched his wife enjoying lunch with her friend.

“This is really good!” Kristin commented as she took another bite of the Chinese food she and Fabio had ordered for lunch; he knew she had been craving it all morning.

“Agreed!” Fabio replied as he too took another mouthful.

“Hey Fabio?” Kristin asked and she finished eating and threw the container in the garbage.

“What can I do ya for?” Fabio asked in reply.

“You like Aldo,” Kristin asked. “Don’t you?”

“Very perceptive,” Fabio joked with her.

“Just making sure,” Kristin smiled at him. “But I need to ask you something.”

“Anything for you, my dear!” Fabio replied as he too threw away his garbage and sat back in his chair to look at her.

“Could you leave him alone?” Kristin asked.

“Ouch,” Fabio replied as he crossed his arms across his chest.

“No,” Kristin began to explain. “I don’t mean it that way. It’s just…well…”

“Aldo is straight,” Fabio finished for her.

“Yeh,” Kristin said as she gave him a half smile. “I didn’t want to offend you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Fabio assured her. “It’s not like this is the first time I’ve presented myself as a steak only to learn the diner was a vegetarian.”

”Nice word picture,” Kristin laughed.

“I quite enjoy it,” Fabio smiled at her.

“So, could you possibly…” Kristin’s voice trailed off as she tried to think of a way to say what she wanted to without hurting Fabio.

“Could I stop chasing him?” Fabio asked.

“Yeh,” Kristin said as she hung her head. “I’m really sorry, I really don’t want to hurt you.”

”I understand Kristin,” Fabio told her as he put a hand on her knee. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Really?” Kristin asked as she raised her head to smile at him. “Are you sure?”

”Definitely!” Fabio told her. “No big deal. I’ll behave myself from now on; I promise!”

“You’re the best!” Kristin told him as he leaned forward to give her a hug.

“I know,” Fabio told her.

Aldo walked through the door as Kristin and Fabio were cleaning up the desk to get back to work. Tommy watched as Kristin gave Fabio a look that told him she wanted him to assure Aldo that he didn’t have to worry anymore; he could come into the office without being hit on.

“Hey Aldo,” Fabio called to him. “Could I talk to you for a smidgen of a second?”

“Uhhh,” Aldo hesitated as he gave Kristin a worried look. “Sure, I guess.”

“I’ll leave you two boys alone to have your little chat,” Kristin told them as she got up from her desk. “I need to get something from Tommy’s office.”

Tommy sprinted from the door and crouched down under his desk. He was supposed to be at a meeting but he wasn’t in the mood for negotiations so he’d postponed it. He knew exactly what Kristin would say about that so he thought it would be better to just hide from her at this moment in time.

Kristin came into the room humming something to herself; she always had a song stuck in her head. Today, it was “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton. Kristin had told Tommy quite a while ago that it was one of her favourite songs so he wasn’t surprised to hear her humming it this afternoon.

Tommy watched as Kristin moved around the room studying the photos along all of the shelves. Why would she be doing that? Kristin had seen those photos a million times; in fact, she’d put most of them there. Tommy hadn’t moved one of them even an inch since she’d placed them there.

“Oh my God!” Kristin cried out as she turned around and saw Tommy’s head poking out from under the desk. One hand was over her heart and the other was on her belly. “What the hell are you doing, Tommy!”

“I was just uh,” Tommy began as he crawled out from under the desk. “Just checking for a paperclip I dropped under there.”

“Couldn’t you give a person a little warning you’re in a room?” she asked him and she dropped her arms to her sides. “You scared me half to death!”

“I’m sorry,” Tommy told her, glad she believed his excuse.

“It’s ok,” Kristin smiled at him before her tone became more serious. “You didn’t move the pictures.”

“No,” Tommy replied.

“Even when I was gone,” she said. “You didn’t move them.”

“I couldn’t,” Tommy told her as he took her into his arms. “You’re a part of me, Kristin. Even if I don’t show you all the time or tell you enough; I love you, with all of my heart.”

He pulled her close to him and savoured the feel of her hands circling around his back and pulling him closer to her. Tommy held her like that and after a while he smiled to himself; he had just thought of the best way to show Kristin how much she really meant to him. He wouldn’t tell her, not yet anyway. He’d surprise her for her birthday at the end of July.