The missing detail

He arrived, he was tired, it had been an exhausting day, he got into the elevator with a feeling of anguish pressing on his chest, he looked at himself in the mirror, composed his face; he thought, she shouldn't know about his worry.

He opened the door and the silence surprised him, she always listened to music. He called her, looked for her, no one answered. He went to the kitchen, the table was set for one person, which meant «Don't wait for me».

He served himself the food, he had trouble swallowing and a crazy urge to cry. He thought «Men don't cry», he burst out laughing and said out loud, What a lie!

He went to the bedroom, his pajamas were laid out, as always, on the bed, he put them on and went back to the dining room. He turned on the TV and curled up like a child on the sofa.

Little by little tiredness overcame him. Suddenly he startled, he didn't know where he was, the television was off, he sat up and saw her standing in the doorway of the dining room with teary eyes and outstretched arms, they embraced and she said to him «There now my love, it's all over now, let's go to bed».