When he arrived at work, something felt off.
His coworkers were gathered together, their faces tense and worried. The moment they saw him, they rushed toward him, checking if he was okay. His delay—something so small—had unsettled them. It was the first time it had ever happened.
"I'm fine," he said calmly, his expression unreadable.
Without another word, he went straight to his desk and began working as usual.
Yet his mind wasn't as focused as he wanted it to be.
Without realizing it, his thoughts drifted back to the veterinarian from that morning. Her voice. Her smile. The way his mind had gone blank when she spoke to him. The realization irritated him. He shook his head slightly, forcing the thoughts away, and buried himself in his work.
At the end of the day, as he was getting ready to leave, a coworker approached him.
"Do you want to join us for dinner?" she asked.
It was Linda.
She already knew his answer—or at least, she thought she did. She had liked him for a long time, and he had rejected her twice before. Still, she hoped. Just a little.
She was already preparing herself to walk away when he spoke.
"Okay. Let's go."
She froze.
"And Linda," he added calmly, "I have something I want to talk to you about later."
Her heart skipped. He had never called her by her first name before. And wanting to talk—really talk—was completely unlike him.
She nodded, stunned, and returned to her friends.
Dinner passed quietly. He spoke little, observed more, and surprised everyone simply by being there. When it was time to leave, he offered to walk Linda home.
She agreed.
The walk was slow and filled with silence. He was nervous—not outwardly, but inside. Linda noticed. Something was weighing on him; she could feel it.
Trying to ease the tension, she spoke first. She asked about his life, his work—anything to make the awkwardness fade.
"Everything's the same," he said. "Not much changes."
Then he stopped walking.
After a brief pause, he spoke again.
"Will you marry me, Linda?"
She stopped too.
The world felt suddenly quiet.
Linda stared at him, shocked, unable to process what she had just heard. Questions flooded her mind. What changed? Why now? Was this real?
She didn't know whether to be happy or afraid.
But her heart didn't hesitate.
Before her thoughts could catch up, she answered softly, "Yes."
And just like that, his life—once rigid, once untouched—took a turn he had never planned for.