He’s right.
I’m always too busy looking after everyone else, making sure their needs are met, their routines followed, their worlds running smoothly, while mine slowly unravels in the background.
But not tonight.
Tonight, I’m allowing myself this.
Allowing us this.
I tell myself it will be good for the kids too. If Dan and I are happier together, if we feel like a team again, maybe I’ll be less overwhelmed, less stretched so thin, less… shouty.
Maybe I won’t spend my days snapping over cereal spills and misplaced shoes because I’m drowning under the weight of everything else.
Maybe, just maybe, taking this time for us will make me a better me. A better mum. A better wife.
I smooth down my dress and glance at Dan.
He’s watching me with that look, the one I used to see all the time but had almost forgotten.
Like I’m his.
Not just a mother or the keeper of schedules.
But Emma.
The woman he fell in love with.
I smile, and for the first time in a long time, it feels easy.
We sit across from each other at a dimly lit table, and I attempt to channel my younger, flirtier self.
I lean in, resting my chin on my palm. “So. What’s new with you?”
Dan blinks. “Um. You mean, besides the fact that I live with you and see you every day?”
I kick him under the table. “Just play along.”
He grins. “Well. Work is the same. Oscar tried to convince me that wearing socks to bed makes your feet smell better. I don’t think that’s true, but I appreciate his confidence.”
I nod solemnly, swirling my wine glass. “Solid conversation starter. Any new hobbies?”
He considers. “I started stretching before bed.”
We stare at each other.
Then we both burst out laughing.
“Okay,” I admit, wiping under my eyes. “This is actually fun.”
“It is,” he agrees, reaching for my hand across the table. “You know… I feel like we’re dating again.”
I grin. “Then we should probably make out in the car and complain about how uncomfortable the seats are.”
“Deal.”
And the thing is… it doesn’t feel forced. It doesn’t feel like we’re acting. It feels like we’re remembering.
The date goes smoothly, no awkwardness, no forced conversation, just us. Talking, laughing, reminiscing like we haven’t in years.
