the ticking of the kitchen clock seemed to be mocking you with each passing second. covered dishes of delicious food you’d spent most of the afternoon preparing now gone cold. the candles on the neatly laid dining table flickering their final embers, only when they were burnt out did you finally give up waiting for simon to return home for your anniversary meal

how could he forget

the thought lingered in the back of your mind the entire time you cleared away what was planned to be a special evening spent sat together in your shared home, reminiscing your time together over the meal you both had on your first date

another hour or so passed before a key unlocking the front door was heard. your expression set in steel as simon turned into the living room. his tiredness forgotten, swiftly turning to guilt, when he spotted you on the sofa and the last lingering smells of the home cooked meal hit his senses

‘shit… i’m sorry darlin’. I forgot about tonight like a bloody fool’