My husband skipped 0ur 15th anniversary dinner to watch soccer with his friends. When …

That was where, years later, he had taken my trembling hands across the table and asked me to marry him.

So when I told him I had booked a table there, he smiled and said, “Perfect. I’ll meet you after work.”

For weeks, I held onto that word.

Perfect.

The Empty Chair

On the day of our anniversary, I felt nervous in a way I hadn’t felt in years.