"Oh, good, the sign's still here."

"Which sign?" Haley stepped around the small, cylindrical seahorse tank, just managing to keep up with her girlfriend, who for some reason had just darted off through The Seas with Nemo & Friends. "Ellie? What's going on?"

Ellie flashed a wide grin over her shoulder. "You know what sign." She stepped aside, pointing at the little rectangular sign attached to the anemone tank, the one where the little orange clownfish swam around with the blue tang, making visitors of all ages ooh and ahh over the "Nemo" and "Dory."

Haley stepped forward to read it. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Ah. Right."

"Four years ago, I was standing right over there, trying to figure out where one moray eel ended and another began..."

"Do you have to tell this story every time we come here?"

"Yes, I do."

Haley shook her head, opening her eyes just to roll them.

"So there I was," Ellie continued, "minding my own business, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of this theme park aquarium, when suddenly that peace was shattered by a woman, shouting... do you know what she said?"

"Yes. I was there."

"She said -"

"Ellie! There are kids here!"

"There were kids here then, too, but that didn't stop you from shouting 'HOLY SHIT' at the top of your lungs!"

Haley turned, looking all around at the nearby families, but they were all too engrossed in their own aquarium activities to pay any attention to one incredibly embarrassed twenty-nine-year-old and her terrible, merciless girlfriend.

"So I run over to see what's wrong, because why would someone be totally freaking out in the Living Seas -"

"They haven't called it that in like ten years."

"- unless they're getting eaten by a manatee or something -"

"Manatees don't eat people."

"- and all you could do was just point at this sign..."

Ellie tapped the sign, drawing attention to the big block text on a field of blue bubbles: 'Did you know that clownfish stray no farther than one meter from their home during their entire lifetime?'

"...and you said, 'I'm sorry, I just, Marlin was WAY out of his comfort zone!'"

A man laughed on the other side of the tank. So someone was paying attention after all. Haley shook her head again, blushing. "Yeah, I did."

"And that's when I knew you were the perfect girl for me."

"Oh? Right then?" Haley crossed her arms and leaned against the clownfish tank, looking at Ellie, who was rummaging in her backpack pocket. "Is that why you continually torture me with this incredibly flattering memory?"

"Well, normally I'm just trying to get on your nerves. But, today, it's a lead-up to a question." Ellie found what she was looking for - a little black box - and set down her backpack. As she did so, she dropped to one knee, holding out the box. "Will you marry me?"

Haley gaped at her. "Holy shit."

"There are kids here, Haley," Ellie said, winking at the nearest guests. Now everyone was paying attention to them.

"Really? I hadn't noticed!" Tears filled Haley's vision, and she fell to her knees herself, hugging Ellie. "Yes, of course I'll marry you!"

Applause echoed through the aquarium as they kissed.