Evan sat in the bedroom wrapping Zoe's present. She was on her way home from work and Evan knew she was going to be a little while.
Evan had been planning on proposing to Zoe for almost six months now and after consulting Zoe's family and his mother, they all agreed that Christmas was the ideal time to do it. So they all agreed to fly into Cincinnati to watch Evan propose on Christmas morning.
He looked at the diamond ring in the box and smiled. The ring had a somewhat larger, square diamond in the centre and it was surrounded by sapphires. Evan thought the ring was beautiful and Cynthia and his mother and even Meredith, had assured him that it was the perfect ring for Zoe.
He put the small wrapped box into larger and larger boxes until the final box was big enough to fit a printer. He put a bow on it and heard the front door open. He carried the box into the spare room and shut the door.
"Hey babe! I'm home!" Zoe yelled.
"I'm just putting something away!" Evan yelled back.
He heard Zoe walking around downstairs and he walked down to greet her. He wrapped her small frame in his arms and hugged her tightly.
"How was work?" Evan asked.
"It was fine. Your present came in the mail finally." Zoe said.
"My present? What did you get me?" Evan asked.
"I can't tell you what I got you. Then it won't be a surprise." Zoe said. She put her purse down on the kitchen counter and Evan smiled.
"Is it a puppy?" Evan asked. Zoe smiled and grabbed a glass.
"I'm not telling you!" She said smiling.
"Is it a new phone?" Evan asked.
"You don't need a new phone." Zoe said laughing.
"Is it a watch?" Evan asked.
"Stop trying to guess your present!" Zoe said. Evan smiled and kissed her.
"What do you want for dinner?"
"Can we order Chinese?" Zoe asked. Evan nodded and opened the takeout menu drawer. He shuffled through them until he found the Chinese takeout menu.
"Normal?" He asked. Zoe nodded and pulled her blazer off.
"I'm gonna get changed." Zoe said. Evan nodded and pulled his phone out, dialling the number of the restaurant.
+++
Zoe ran upstairs and hung her blazer up before unzipping her skirt and letting it fall to the floor. She picked it up and hung it up before grabbing one of Evan's hoodies. She took her blouse off and pulled the hoodie on. She grabbed a pair of leggings before pulling her tights off and throwing them in the laundry basket. She pulled her leggings on as her phone rang.
"Hello? Oh hey 'Lonnie. No he's downstairs. Yes! It came in this afternoon! The delivery guy almost dropped it and I thought I was going to have a stroke. No I don't smell burnt toast. Because I'm not actually having a stroke 'Lonnie. I just hope he likes it. I just thought he needed a new one. He's mentioned it a billion times. I think he will. He's ordering dinner. He won't hear. I'm also in my closet. Chinese. No you can't come over. I have no idea what he's getting me and it's driving me ridiculous. Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll love it. Hey, I gotta go. I'll talk to you tomorrow? Okay. Love you too Alana. Okay. Bye." Zoe hung up and pocketed her phone before walking downstairs.
+++
Evan looked up as she walked into the kitchen.
"Who were you on the phone with?" He asked.
"Alana." Zoe said.
"And by the way, you're going to love your present." Evan said.
"What did you get me?" Zoe asked excitedly.
"I'm not telling you." Evan said. Zoe sighed and looked at Evan.
"Is it a puppy?" Zoe asked.
"No."
"Is it-"
"Zoe you'll never guess." Evan said.
"I can try." Zoe said.
"You'll never guess it." Evan said. Zoe shrugged and kissed him.
"Whatever. How long until dinner?" Zoe asked.
"Guy on the phone said 30 minutes maximum." Evan said. Zoe smiled and kissed him again.
"Okay. Can we watch a movie while we eat?" Zoe asked. Evan nodded and the pair walked into the living room.
"We haven't watched Love Actually yet. Do you want to watch that one?" Evan asked. Zoe nodded and Evan grabbed the movie.
"Up in the bedroom or down here?" Evan asked. Zoe shrugged.
"There's a coffee table down here. It'll be easier with takeout." Zoe said. Evan put the DVD into the player and turned the tv on.
"Then we'll eat down here." Evan said. He sat beside Zoe and she curled into his arms.
"So you're sure my present isn't a puppy?" Zoe asked.
"It's definitely not a puppy." Evan said. Zoe sighed and looked at him.
"Stop trying to guess your present. You'll never guess it Zoe." Evan said.
"You don't know that."
+++
30 minutes later Zoe and Evan sat with takeout containers spread out on the coffee table. Zoe picked up a pair of chopsticks and a container of noodles and pressed play on the remote. The movie continued to play and Zoe smiled.
"So it's for sure not a puppy?" Zoe joked. Evan stole a mouthful of noodles and smiled.
"It's not a puppy."
"Evan, I swear, if there's a dog under the tree on Christmas, I'm going to be a teeny bit upset that you lied." Zoe said. Evan kissed her and smiled.
"I promise. It's not a puppy."
