A Red Dress

Harry woke up in a rather suddenly way, with the feeling that something wasn't quite right. The minute he tried to get up, he realised perhaps he shouldn't have drank that much. He also noticed Kate's absence and the lack of a 'brb luv u' note. As Harry shambled across the apartment he couldn't stop thinking that something -other than his hangover- was wrong. With the first sip of his coffee, he remembered. August 18^th was Kate's birthday.

Slightly annoyed with himself for having forgotten his girlfriend's birthday, he decided to make the most out of Kate's absence. Thinking that she may have had some urgency at work earlier and may return unexpectedly, Harry dressed himself as quickly as his still existing headache allowed him to do so and promptly left the building.

He wandered through many clothing shops having Kate’s image in mind. Being a tall and slim woman, most of the time Kate gave the impression of being a high-fashion model rather than a bookkeeper.  Harry’s appearance, on the other hand, was that of a retired football player –a little bald, a little overweighed- because that was exactly what he was. Against all odds though, Harry and Kate looked like the perfect couple, perhaps because of the fact that they both had natural ginger-coloured hair.

After Harry had walked over ten blocks, he found the perfect dress: sleeveless, red, and elegant. It would surely look great with Kate’s long, wavy, ginger hair and she would be delighted to wear it later that night, when he take her out to have a romantic dinner in a fancy restaurant.

While returning home, Harry couldn’t avoid imagining Kate wearing the recently acquired dress. Kate eating in the red dress, Kate laughing in the red dress, Kate asking Harry if the red dress looked good on her… And that’s when Harry remembered. The yelling, the blaming, Kate’s departure, Harry’s reason for having drunk too much.
The headache returned as Harry directed back to the clothing to shop to return the present he had bought.