After the most uneventful wedding anniversary known to man, with barely two syllables passing through Robert's lips, I had decided lunch with my friend was the perfect medicine to fix my broken soul. We'd agreed to meet at a little cafe we both loved nearby. It was cheap but cheerful with exceptional waiting staff. It was easy to feel at home there. Large canvases of rivers and trees adorned the walls, fresh flowers were on every table. People huddled together, all smiling and enjoying their freshly prepared meals. The chairs were comfortable, unlike the plastic benches often found in cheap cafes. It really was my favourite spot to have lunch.

I'd arrived before Sophie. The waitress with the kind face that I'd come to love made a beeline towards me, small notebook in hand. I smiled brightly as she drew closer, pulling a pencil snub from behind her ear.

"What can I get you today?" she asked in the same cheery voice she always used.

I often wondered if she knew what a bad day was, if life had ever given her a poor hand. She waited patiently as I pretended to scan the menu despite already knowing what I would order.

"Just a cheese and mushroom omelette with chips and a coffee, please. Can I have the food brought out when my friend arrives?"

She nodded, scribbling my order down before laying a large laminated number seven on the table.

"Of course. I'll be right back with your drink."

I muttered a thank you as she turned on her heel and headed back towards the counter where the chef waited, his apron coated in bean juice. Keeping my eye on the door that was held open by a doorstop, I waited. Sophie was often late, always one to make a grand entrance. In no time, the waitress was back with cutlery and my coffee, checking if there was anything else she could do for me. I told her I was fine with a smile. She nodded before leaving me alone with my thoughts.

The drink was divine, the perfect combination of bitter and sweet. I'd half finished by the time Sophie walked through the door. She stopped just in from the entrance, scanning the cafe until she caught sight of me. With a little wave, she meandered through the seats.

"Sorry to keep you chicken. Traffic was a nightmare."

Taking in her freshly manicured nails, I said nothing. It was no surprise that Sophie would take her time making sure she was presentable before she did anything with her day. Hanging her black, fitted coat over the back of her chair, she hailed the waitress.

"Hi, what can I get you?"

"A tea and a tomato and cheese panini, please." Sophie beamed her million-dollar smile, white straight teeth that she'd spent obscene amounts of money on glistening in the light.

"Coming right up. Would you like your food now ma'am?"

The two women stared at me as though I had grown a second head. I nodded, bringing the mug down to the table.

"Oh. Of course, that would be perfect."

Sophie waited until the waitress was out of earshot before leaning close. The smell of her perfume assaulted my nose. I fought hard not to sneeze. Sophie and I, despite being incredibly close, are like chalk and cheese. Material things have never been high on my priority list, yet Sophie makes sure to have the best of everything.

"Tell me everything. What did Robert get you for your anniversary? Thirty years, that's what, the golden anniversary, right?"

"Pearl," I corrected her, purposefully taking another long sip of my drink. "He hasn't got me anything. I guess he wants to take me to choose something."

I know better than to lie to Sophie. With her keen eye, she could read people with such ease it terrified me. I had to avoid her for months after losing Naomi. If anyone was to guess the truth, or as close to it as possible, it would have been her. She leaned back in her chair with a snort.

"Yeah right. If he didn't get you something on the day, he sure as hell isn't going to take you out to pick something. I love you, sweetie, but open your eyes. You're not an idiot."

I opened my mouth, excuses at the tip of my tongue.

"Sorry for the wait. Enjoy."

The waitress laid the two plates in front of us before scurrying away. I watched Sophie whack the base of the ketchup bottle, trying to coax the last of the sauce onto her plate. My food smelled amazing, but my appetite has gone. She was right. I knew she was. It still left a bitter taste in my mouth, however.

"Well, did you get him anything? What did you actually do for it?" she asked through a mouthful of chips.

"I had planned on going out for dinner like we usually do, but that didn't happen. To be honest, we didn't speak the whole day. He spent it in our room. Don't look at me like that. I don't control what he does. I wasn't happy about it."

Tears threatened to spill. I blinked them back. Sophie wasn't one to respond well to someone crying.

"I'm just saying, the man's a tool. You don't do that to your wife on your wedding anniversary. The least he could have done was get a card and make some effort."

I glanced from her empty plate to my near full one. Sophie had never been married, didn't understand the hardships that came with it. She was a little younger than I, but the idea of committing like Robert and I had was so alien to her.

"I get what you're saying. I really do, but we have had a lot going on lately. Robert isn't working anymore and I've been trying to get somewhere full time to work to keep us afloat. It hasn't been easy lately."

She threw a napkin onto her plate, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Everyone has shit days, excuse my French, but that doesn't excuse what he did. And what do you mean he's not working anymore? Since when?"

I let out a breath, telling her everything. Well, almost. She nodded, and hmms but says nothing as I speak. A weight lifted from my shoulders as the words poured from me like a faucet on full blast.

"Look, sweetie. If you want my advice. Bin him. As the great Joe once said, no-one can make you feel inferior without your consent. So don't give it to him."

"Eleanor Roosevelt."

I said as I stacked our plates. She crinkled her nose at me.

"What?"

"The quote, Eleanor Roosevelt, is the one who said it. Not Joe."

"I don't know who that it is. I was quoting The Princess Diaries." she responded with a shrug.

We paid for our food, hugged one another and left with the promise of another lunch date in the near future. Her words danced about my head as I head home. I knew she spoke with only the best of intentions, but it wasn't as easy as she thought it was.

—————

I fought against the front door. Something was stuck behind it, preventing the thing from opening to its full capacity. It takes all my strength to prise it open enough to squeeze in. The sight before me rips the breath from my lungs. Our home. Everything in it was thrown about. Photos lay broken at my feet, drawers ransacked.

"Robert!"

My voice echoed back. I stepped over our belongings, careful not to cause further damage. Each room that I enter is the same. Someone had no doubt been looking for something. Only the photos in the hallway were damaged, as though someone had thrown them in anger as they left. At first glance, it didn't appear as though anything was missing, which only added to my confusion and worry. What exactly had happened here?

I tried ringing Robert, but each time it would go straight to voicemail. I left countless messages begging him to come home, crying down the phone to him, letting him know the state someone had left our home in.

After carefully checking every room, I'd been shocked to discover only Naomi's remained untouched. I couldn't understand why someone would break in, vandalise every room yet leave our daughter's alone. It made no sense.

Still, I tried to reach Robert. I suppose in my panic I didn't think about ringing the police. I needed my husband. With each failed attempt, I could feel the uncertainty sink deeper. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to clean, to make sure nothing had been taken that wasn't immediately obvious. The jewellery box in my bedroom, that sat atop my vanity unit, was closed with its contents untouched.

Though I knew it probably wasn't the wisest of ideas, I couldn't leave the house in such a state. My skin crawled at the sight of the mess. I just had to clean. I had started with the living room, righting furniture and putting everything into its designated space so that it would be easier to do an inventory. With the room finally back to normal, I could see nothing had been taken. The kitchen followed the same suit.

I stepped into our bedroom at last. That room had been hit the hardest. There was almost not a single area of the room had been left alone by whoever had done this. Our mattress hung awkwardly on the bed, boxes pulled out with their contents discarded. My bedside drawer was pulled out, its innards tipped onto the bed. Robert's side remained as it had when I left earlier that morning. It took over two hours to get the room back to how it should be. I lay on top of the duvet, aching and confused. Nothing was missing. Not even a singular stud earring. I just couldn't understand it.

The exhaustion of the day hit me like a tonne of bricks. I couldn't muster the energy to stay awake and wait for Robert to finally ring me back or come home, whichever he would decide to do. Still fully clothed, I crawled under the blanket, pulled it up to my chin and let its comforting hands soothe me to sleep. Whatever had happened here, I decided it could wait until morning for Robert and I to work together to figure it out. It could wait until morning.