It was New Years Eve, the dawning of the new year, and here they were getting ready to crawl into bed at ten o'clock just like any other night of the year. No amount of coaxing could convince Derrick to stay up to celebrate . . . "we can celebrate tomorrow", he said, and Anne , though she was a bit miffed, decided that celebrating tomorrow would just have to do.

Being somewhat of a night owl, Anne always enjoyed reading in bed before going to sleep.  Derrick, on the other hand, was gone the minute his head hit the pillow. This night was just like any other . . . or was it?

The day before, Derrick had gone to the store and purchased a copy of the book Anne was currently reading, and that afternoon he had replaced her copy with the one he had bought.  Only, this one had a little surprise in it.  About fifteen pages beyond where Anne had stopped reading last night he had carved a perfectly-shaped little niche for the stunning emerald ring he had bought her to celebrate the beginning of a new year together.

As Derrick climbed into bed, Anne had just picked up the book and started reading.  He put his head on the pillow, closed his eyes, and a few minutes later heard her laugh in pure pleasure. She exclaimed, "Oh my gosh!  You are the most wonderful man in the whole world!" as she grabbed him and began to shake him.

He rolled over with a dumb, sleepy look on his face, and said "Happy New Year sweetheart"  . . . then pulled out the champagne and two glasses he had stashed under the bed.