Surprise! [fss]

As Bill searched the den for his charger, he realized that Olivia had made a fool of him when he opened the drawer and found a box with a brand new Rolex Submariner. Immediately, he surmised that she’d taken her bonus and bought him the watch he’d wanted forever. Even though they had promised not to buy each other presents this year, he grinned like an idiot. The Submariner! Just like James Bond!

Then came a sobering thought: Bill hadn’t bought her anything. Olivia had probably decided he wouldn’t have stuck to the promise either and she’d be expecting a comparable gift. It was Christmas Eve though, so he’d have to take the plunge and brave the maniacal mall crowds. Yikes!

On Christmas morning, Bill put his gift next to Olivia’s coffee cup as she texted on her phone. He smiled at the thought of how excited she’d be by the two carat (each) diamond earrings he had luckily found at the last minute.

“I have to go to work for a while this morning. What’s this?” Olivia picked up the festively wrapped box topped with a shiny bow. “Remember we said no gifts!”

“I changed my mind.” Bill kissed her cheek while admiring how funny she was to pretend she had nothing for him. “I couldn’t resist getting this for you.”

She stared down at the earrings. “Wow, you shouldn’t have.”

For the rest of the day, Bill anticipated the moment Olivia would give him the watch, but nothing happened. They ate Christmas dinner at her parents’ house as usual and watched Die Hard on cable. She’ll probably hand it to me in the morning, he figured before drifting off to sleep.

As the days passed, he realized his mistake—Olivia intended the Rolex to be his Valentine present. Bill thought about the watch as he donned his tux and how great he would feel once he got to wear it. Too bad it wouldn’t be tonight at the annual New Year’s Eve party at the BMW dealership where Olivia had just been promoted to Senior Sales Rep.

Bill was enjoying a glass of bubbly when one of the junior reps walked over to say hello. As Ryan lifted his glass, Bill spied the gleaming Submariner with its distinctive green dial adorning Ryan’s left wrist. “Nice watch,” Bill mumbled.

Ryan grinned. “Thanks! It was a Christmas morning surprise.”

~*~
Written for Fandango’s Story Starter.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.