Jonathan Dalton stood speechless in the doorway, the bouquet of flowers in his hand slowly falling down to his side. He had gotten off work early in order to take his loving wife El on a surprise date night out. He had made a reservation at the Italian resteraunt she loved and gotten them tickets for her favorite musical, he had dry cleaned his suit and even stopped to pick up the bouquet of roses. They had had a small spat earlier in the week but they usually never argued; apparently a small spat could be a lot more powerful than he realized. He just stood there in shock, not knowing what to do as his plans for the night began to collapse. El noticed had noticed him walk in, frozen in apprehension, and then watched his entire reaction unfold without moving. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed. John couldn’t hear her. He turned his back against the doorway and slowly slid to the floor. Suddenly the other man spoke up. John couldn’t understand those words either, but all he needed to do was see the man once to know Elizabeth’s heart had been taken by someone else. Tall, dark, and handsome, he knew this new character was exactly what she had dreamt of since she was younger. Jet black hair and deep “knowing” brown eyes. El was gone. He sat like that for a moment, his mind racing. Everything seemed to move in silent slow motion when he saw the creature stand, cross the bedroom, and begin to lick him on the cheek. He turned to see the hairy, excited face staring back at him, then looked up to El on the bed. The newcomer looked a striking amount like John’s childhood best friend had and he could feel his eyes beginning to burn. “He’s beautiful,” John said, “what’s his name?” “Trevor,” she replied, crawling off the edge of the bed to come close to him. She picked up the flowers and leaned against him. “It seems like we were each going to surprise the other,” she laughed. “It seems so,” he said, eyes still on the Labrador. He was petting the dog’s head and felt like he didn’t know how to express his joy. “Actually,” he thought “there is one way.” Then he leaned into El and kissed her.