My alarm went off. I was in my bed, still in the same clothes as the day before. I leaned over to shut it off and threw the covers off of me. I sat up straight and stretched my arms up. I was not fully awake but I knew there was a long day ahead of me. I walked over to the dresser and stared at myself for a moment.My face was swollen from all of the crying I had did. I placed my hands over my cheeks and tapped them gently. I guessed that with enough make-up no one would notice. Then an unfamiliar smell crept its way up my nostrils. ‘Is that … pancakes?’
I looked behind me and noticed that Michael’s pillow hadn’t seemed to be touched. The blanket was still tucked neatly under his side of the mattress. I stood up slowly and walked out of the bedroom. “Oh,” Michael said. “You’re up.” He smiled at me. I looked at him with pure confusion. I looked past him and over to the stove. “Are you hungry?” He asked me. Still smiling, he served me a full plate of a delicious hot breakfast. “I need to brush my teeth.” I said. I stood still for a while completely stunned by the view.

“Oh, okay.” He looked down to the plate. “Well, would you like me to make you some coffee?” I tilted my head in disbelief. ‘Am I dreaming?’ I thought. “Um,” I started. “Sure.” “Okay.” He turned towards the cabinets still wearing a smile. ‘I must be dreaming.’ I walked into the bathroom.

When I was done, I walked back into our eat-in kitchen and sat at the table. My breakfast was served with my cup of coffee and newspaper by my right. There was a glass of orange juice. ‘I didn’t even know we had that,’ I thought. “Wow babe,” I said looking down at how beautifully he had set it up for me. “This is really nice. Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” he said. He was sitting across from me and with a spoonful of eggs in his hand he said, “Enjoy.”

We did not speak of what happened the night before. We ate our breakfast quietly with only the occasional nod and smile to entertain our minds. When we were done, Michael stood up quickly to grab my plate. “Let me get that for you.” “Wow, thank you.” I smiled. He kissed me on my forehead ever so gently and said “You should start getting ready.” I looked over to the clock beside the fridge. He was right, I was running late. Although it was a most pleasant surprise, having breakfast was not part of my regular routine.

I hurried over to the bedroom to search for an outfit to wear. I usually set out my clothes the night before, but with all that had went on, I had went straight to bed after cleansing my soul with heartfelt tears. Finally, I chose something and threw it on my bed. I did not have time for a shower. I had begun to undress when Michael entered the room. He stood there to admire my body for a moment. “You are so beautiful,” he said to me. I blushed.

“Really you are.” He made his way closer to me and held me. I melted into his arms. He hadn’t held me that close in weeks and I had wondered where the romance had went. He looked at me and planted a passionate kiss on my lips. Gazing into my eyes he asked “Do you have to go to work today?” When I tried to answer him, he kissed me again; and again, and again. Before I knew it, we were both lying naked on the bed full of each other’s sweat and juices.

I had fell asleep without having noticed it. When my eyes opens after what felt like a single blink, I saw that it was past noon. I hadn’t called the office to let them know that I was not going into work. “S***!” I wrapped myself in my blanket and when I did I saw that Michael was not laying next to me. I got up to search for the phone and dialed my job phone number. ‘Where can he be?’

The secretary picked up and I explained to her that there was a ‘family emergency.’ I apologized for not calling sooner but my ‘phone was dead.’ I came up with a million and one excuses, but of course she did not care for a single one. I’m sure that she knew that I was lying. Honestly, I didn’t really care. I hung up the phone. “Michael?”