Funny how time didn't seem to pass, nothing seemed to change, one didn't feel any different, and then some day, one would look around and notice the many changes, realizing how much time had truly gone by.

As I thought of all the time we'd known each other, I was struck by the fact that we'd been housemates for almost six months. It didn't feel like a lot, but that was half a year! Mulling over it, reminiscing, I saw the things that had changed – both big and small.

The sofa that I used to sleep on was thrifted in exchange for an ergonomically healthier divan bed. I finally had a fair paying job as a store clerk at Walmart. It all reeked of tokenization and me being the company's CSR initiative and virtue signal, nonetheless, it was hard to be offended by or even care about any of that when I had a steady income and some sense of financial security. At long last, I could pay my share of the rent, we could split the expenditure two-ways on our Sunday outings, I could buy you your nutty chocolates and peach and mango ice-creams.

We'd acquired one more housemate – a docile, stray tabby cat you'd brought home. She'd clung to your chest, ugly and shivering, and you'd said you wouldn't let her freeze to death out there, not if you could help it. So, just like me, Mimi was another random stray that you'd rescued from nature's wrath until she was promoted to a permanent member of the household. Eventually, she wormed her way into my heart, too.

We also grew closer. You opened up to me significantly, as I did to you. I learned so much about you – your habits and preferences, things that made you happy and those that peeved you out. You were my best friend which made me the luckiest person alive. You never missed a chance to remind me that I was worthy of good things and deserved all the joys life had to offer. My life was the best it had been since Mum's death and you were the reason why.

The most important change for me, however, was falling in love with you. I was never more certain of anything in my life than I was about this: I was completely besotted with you.

Enamored. Head over heels. All of it.

I didn't know when it happened. Maybe it was at the very beginning, when you'd skipped down the stairs to my basement entrance nook and greeted me like a new neighbor; that was also the first meal you'd brought me. Or when we'd had our earliest real conversation beyond greetings and awkward small talk and shy smiles; we'd talked about your art because you were carrying a large sketchbook that had grabbed my attention. It could have been the night you saved me from the storm too... or it could have been everything together, my affection growing in degrees day by day.

Another thing I didn't know was how it happened. But I did have a theory regarding what probably played a big part in it. You. You made it easy to love you, so it was almost inevitable.

Well, the when and how weren't as urgent as the need to be candid with you. All this time, I'd been reticent and patient, satisfied with whatever course our relationship was fated for. Of course, I'd still wanted to tell you of my true feelings, but I was always quite afraid of losing what we had between us.

Not today though.

You ever had those days when one great thing after another occurred until you were convinced that nothing could go wrong? That, for once, you were invincible? Yeah, today was that for me. I got promoted to the post of inventory supervisor and while the pay raise wasn't too impressive, it came with a high deductible health insurance. Going through the policy documents, I found that it would cover a huge chunk of yearly prosthetic services. Absolutely over the moon, I was almost jittery from the superfluous confidence and optimism unfurling in me. Naturally, in my mind, today was working up to be a perfect day for confessing my love to you.

I wasn't afraid; I was powerful. Everything I wanted to say was lined up from my brain to the tip of my tongue – ready to be most amorously articulated. Reasoning with myself that you must have some attachment to me to trust and tolerate me as much as you did, that if I didn't say anything now, I'd never put my restless heart at ease and forever regret it, I grew surer and surer. And another thought that tempered my misgivings was the belief that we'd stay friends, no matter what. We were all we had in this world and I had faith that neither of us would cast that aside for anything.

The longer I thought it over, the more everything fell into place. It was now or never.

So, on the way home from work, I purchased a bouquet of your favorite flowers – pink and blue hydrangeas – and a bottle of champagne that the salesman described as "sweet starbursts—like the sparks of passion." There was a long list of requisites and I had only two-and-a-half hours. I got to work right after I finished showering; Mimi observed from her spot on my divan bed, occasionally expressing her thoughts in soft mews.

Your plants were watered and had their dead leaves plucked off so they looked livelier. The living room had a tasteful sprinkling of candles here and there. The hydrangeas were arranged in a jar which became the centerpiece of the kitchen island. I'd tasted the champagne beforehand so I could cook with flavors that would pair nicely together – if we were drinking starbursts, we'd eat stardust. I cooked until I'd assembled a lavish dinner, and almost lost the sensation in my stubs in the process. One item for appetizer, two for main course, and two for dessert. Draping a red, velveteen tablecloth on the teapoy, I laid the food out and spent what felt like hours tweaking the aesthetics. Mimi tracked my movements, her tail flicking from side to side.

"I understand you're annoyed," I told her, "but I need everything to be flawless."

Hopping down, she rubbed herself against my crutches, purrs rumbling through her. I paid her due attention by scratching her behind the ears, and when she had enough of it, she trotted off to find someplace I wouldn't be puttering in.

Once everything was in order, I spun the wheelchair, taking in my handiwork. My magnum opus. Dedicated to you. I was proud of it. I was ready.

At the sound of the rattling keys, Mimi and I both beelined for the front door. Of course, she reached you first, streaking right between my wheels. She leaped onto the shoe cabinet to headbutt and snuffle at your hip. I approached, starting, "Solé, I—"

The tightness of your jaw, the ire in your scowl, your flaring nose, all but wrangled my words to silence. We stared at each other from two ends of the tiny passageway and I could almost see a dark cloud gather and rain down on you. Your shoulders drooped, your glower melted into tears, and with a sob, you fell to your knees. Spurred forward, I reached for you.

"What's wrong?"

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