Valentines

I was back at work by the second week of January. Just as I expected, it was boring! All the employees were back to their usual work stations but it seemed their minds were elsewhere. Mrs. Wright did not report to work that week. I kept on looking at the calendar each and every day hoping January would come to an end quickly.

As days dragged on and on, end of the month finally arrived. The accounts department started preparing salaries for guys early and by 30^th, most of us were paid. Our department didn’t handle a lot of work since most of our work we did before we closed last year. By this time, Mrs. Wright had already returned back to work and taken control of the operations.

Fred and I still had our issues, a month later. Trust seemed like a foreign word to me in our relationship these days. I couldn’t hold on to anything he said to me. We lived like two roommates. We had only had sex once since we came back. I seemed to repel towards him whenever he moved his body next to mine in bed. No one thought of bringing up the subject. We talked about the normal stuff but avoided talking on how or relationship was bordering a silent war.

The month of February came and as quickly as the days came, Valentines knocked on the door. That valentine’s morning, I woke up as usual and prepared breakfast for us. I went to the bathroom and had a shower. Fred was still struggling to wake up as I came back to our room to dress up. He slowly dragged his body and got ready. We had breakfast together before driving to work.

As we stepped in the office, I noticed that the receptionist in a good mood. On her table, there was a big bouquet of flowers.  She greeted us joyfully then handed me a rose.

“Thank you dear.” I said.

“You welcome…happy valentines.” She shouted.

Fred suddenly banged his hands on the table then clicked. He walked away and went to his office. I was stunned so I followed him to find out what was wrong.

“Fred, what was all that about?” I asked referring to him banging the table.

“Nothing really!” he replied taking a seat.

“Fred!”

“It’s just that i forgot today was valentines!” he mumbled.

“Huh? Is that all?” I asked.

“Yes.” He replied.

I walked back to my office. I was angry he forgot about today but the events happening in our lives might have caused it. I decided not to make a big fuss about it and concentrate on work. After about thirty minutes later, I got a text from Fred.  The text was asking me if I could spare time to have lunch with him. I replied yes. It doesn’t hurt to try.

 We went for lunch at a restaurant near the office. It was a lavish hotel. After we had placed our order, Fred started off the conversation. He apologized for the mistakes he had done. He mentioned the calls he had been receiving during the holidays were from a bad decision he had made and promised to change.

“We can’t go on living like this Kate. I need you. I need you back to my life.” Fred said holding my hands.

I was silent.

“Please! I am sorry for making you suffer from my bad actions but please forgive me so that we can move forward.”

“It’s okay.” I replied. “But promise me you won’t repeat that.”

“I would be stupid to repeat that.”

“I hope you will remember that the next time.” I replied.

The food was served and we started eating.