It was the day of Kevin's birthday dinner and Raymond and Ron were now in Raymond's office discussing an appropriate gift for Raymond to give to their new friend and colleague.  It was already mid afternoon and with only a few hours to go before they leave for Kevin's place time was pressing.

"I say a bottle of wine," Ron suggested and looked at Raymond for his approval.

Raymond shook his head, "No that's too simple and impersonal.  Plus, Kevin is more of an expert on wine than I am."

"What do you have in mind then?" Ron asked.

"If I knew I wouldn't be sitting here asking you for advice now would I," Raymond retorted which gained a chuckle from Ron.

Leaning forward in his chair Ron said conversationally, "You see what I mean."

Confused by the comment Raymond asked, "What are you trying to get at now?"  He saw the impish grin on Ron's face and added, "I really wished for once you would just get to the point instead of having to utter a string of nonsense.  Have you any idea how annoying that is?"

Ron laughed loudly but quickly sobered up when he saw the scowl on Raymond's face.  "What I mean is that if you had a girlfriend then you wouldn't be in this situation.  Your girlfriend would automatically purchase the gift on your behalf."

"Alright, I get it.  You want to remind me how lucky you are to have Tavia right?" Raymond quipped.

Chuckling softly, Ron said, "Sort of but not entirely.  I just feel that if you and Myolie were together then she would have saved you the trouble of thinking for a gift for Kevin.  That's just my thought."

Before Raymond had a chance to say another word a soft tap sounded on the door.  "Come in," he hollered and to his pleasant surprise it was Myolie.

Myolie smiled at Ron before turning her attention to Raymond, "Am I interrupting anything?" she asked meekly.

Ron quickly stood up and answered cheerily, "Of course not.  Come in.  Come in.  We were just discussing what Raymond should get for the birthday boy.  Do you have any suggestions for Ray here?"

"Actually I do," Myolie said softly then stepped into the room shyly and held her hand out.

Raymond noted the bag and with raised brows asked, "What's that?"

Myolie continued to walk slowly into the office with a slight flush on her face.  She arrived in front of the desk and placed the bag on it, "I know that men aren't good at buying gifts for people so I hope you don't mind that I went ahead and bought one on your behalf."

Stunned by Myolie's thoughtfulness, Raymond could only gasp, "What?"

"Let me see what it is," Ron exclaimed and with Raymond and Myolie watching him he stuck his hand into the bag and pulled out a beautiful hand carved onyx pen holder.  "Nice," he beamed as he studied the detailed handiwork.

Myolie looked over at Raymond and asked hesitantly, "Do you like it?," then sputtered, "W-What I mean is are you okay with me buying the gift for you?"

Raymond couldn't seem to respond.  All he could do at this moment was stare at her while a warm fuzzy feeling began to build within him.  It has been a long time since anyone, besides Ron, did anything thoughtful for him.

Ron saw the heightened flush on Myolie's face and leaned over towards Raymond to whisper, "You can also be just as lucky as me.  Think about what I said before."  Standing straight up again he gave Myolie a dazzling smile, "I have something to finish up.  Meet you guys downstairs after work," then sauntered out of the office closing the door behind him.

Alone with Myolie now, Raymond stood up from his chair to stand beside her.  Taking her hand he said simply, "Thank you."

Myolie waited for him to drop her hand but when he continued to hold it she looked up at him in question and was taken aback by the sudden tenderness on his face.  Although they have a very good business and personal relationship, somehow Myolie knew it was going to change to something more.

Raymond looked down at her and drawn by their closeness he bent his head to kiss her softly on the lips.

Looking shyly down at the floor, Myolie asked timidly, "Is this your usual way of thanking someone?"

Raymond picked up her other hand and brought it over to rest on top of the one he already held.  Covering her hands with his he waited for her to look up at him.  When she did, he said softly, "It is when it comes to my girlfriend."

-------------------------------------------------

Kevin unlocked the front door and swung it wide open while he waited for everyone to file in.  He could hear Charmaine bustling in the kitchen and the tantalizing aroma of the dishes she had prepared filled the apartment.  "Please feel free to make yourself at home," he announced joyously.  As Raymond and Myolie passed him he nudged Raymond in the arm and whispered, "Well done buddy.  You and Myolie are a perfect match."

Smiling with glee Raymond looked over at Myolie and was met by her tender smile.  Turning back to Kevin, he said, "I think so too."

When everyone was in Kevin dutifully shut the door and began to play host.  He pointed at a bar in the corner of the living room and said, "Help yourself to anything there.  I have non-alcoholic beverages in the mini fridge under the sink as well."

Ron stood up from his seat and with a look of amusement aimed at Kevin he asked, "While we are serving our own drinks what would you be doing?"

Kevin smiled sheepishly at them and exclaimed, "Helping my wife of course!"  After listening to a few jabs and jokes from them, he turned and headed for the kitchen.

Raymond walked over to the bar, where Ron was already helping himself to a glass of wine.  "Pour me a glass of that too and a gin and tonic for Myolie."

Ron flicked a glance at Myolie who was chatting and giggling with Nancy and teased, "Already looking out for her?"

Raymond looked over at Myolie and with a content smile said, "I plan to.  This time around I'm not going to mess things up."

Ron held out the glass of wine to Raymond and said, "Let's drink to that."

Raymond smiled then took a sip of his wine.  While Ron was preparing the drink for Myolie, Raymond's eyes wandered around the cozy living room.  His eyes rested on a glass standing cabinet.  Five evenly spaced out shelves lined the interior and on each shelf were pieces of crystal figurines.  The placing of the figurines reminded him of how Charmaine used to spend a lot of her time placing her own crystals in just the right position.  Pushing the sudden thought of her from his mind, he let his eyes wander to a bookcase.  His eyes immediately fell on the row of ducks lining one shelf.  Dazed and curious he walked over to it for a closer look.  Ducks in a variety of colors and sizes filled the space.  The collection seems eerily familiar to the one Charmaine used to have on display in her apartment.  Feeling uneasy with the coincidences, Raymond's eyes moved slowly above the display of ducks and froze.  A pinkish vase with heart shaped legs in a loud green color was the only occupant of that shelf.  He would recognize the vase anywhere because of its originality.  Unable to look away from it, Raymond continued to stand there as dread filled him.

Ron looked over at Raymond's back and noticed that he had been standing there for some time now.  "Ray?"  When he didn't get a response he called his name again, "Ray?  You okay?"

Hearing his name, Raymond snapped out of his trance and turned to Ron.

At the same time Kevin was returning to the living room with an arm around a woman.  "Everyone, I want you to meet my lovely wife."

Ron stared in shock at Charmaine but the shock on his face was nothing compared to Raymond's.