One and Only

Written for https://fivedotoh.com/2024/02/20/fandangos-story-starter-137/

It was five in the morning and Carla still hadn’t received the phone call from her husband. He said he would ring when he got there. Scrolling through her contacts, she rang him again. ‘This person’s phone is switched off, please leave a message at the end of the beep.’

She called the police, an hour ago, and they weren’t listening to her. He had to be missing for twenty-four hours. Had she contacted any friends? They insuated he was having an affair. Steve wasn’t like that. From their first date, he rarely wanted to be apart. It was on her insistence he took a night off.

She wasn’t by herself, and her carer was just a buzzer away. Her illness, MS. A night alone, and he was reluctant to leave. It was easier to send a message using the voice recognition software. ‘Call me.’

His figure in the door, minutes later, and she wasn’t sure wasn’t sure whether to be angry or relieved.

‘Sorry, I know you said I could have space. It isn’t the same without you. I meant to ring, but then I fell asleep on the sofa. A night away you said. It kind of was, because I got to sleep. I trust the carer, but you are my wife. If it were the other way round you wouldn’t leave me.’

‘No, I adore you …’

‘You wanted me to find someone else.’ Steve produced a red rose. His arms careful on hers, he adjusted her pillow. ‘You are the one and only,’ he sang the words, slightly out of tune. ‘Nobody will ever do.’

‘You are my one and only,’ she said, closi