Page 134 of Glitched Play

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"I just..." Her voice cracks. "I wanted to do something nice for you."

The sentence settles somewhere beneath my ribs.

I look around the kitchen one more time.

The parmesan.

The dishes.

The burnt food.

Every misplaced object tells the same story.

Not carelessness.

Effort.

She spent hours trying to make me happy.

Without thinking, I close the distance between us. My hands settle gently around her waist.

She stiffens for the briefest second before melting against me, burying her face against my chest.

"I thought you'd hate me."

"No."

"I thought you'd see all this..." She gestures weakly toward the kitchen. "...and only see the mess."

I tip her chin up until she's looking at me.

"I do see it."

Fresh tears gather in her eyes.

"I see flour."

A tiny laugh escapes her through the tears.

"I see tomato sauce on the ceiling."

"I don't know how that happened."

"I believe you."

I brush another tear from her cheek with my thumb.

"But mostly..."

I smile softly.

"...I see someone who spent an entire evening trying to do something kind for me."

She closes her eyes. "I ruined dinner."