"Piece of cake," Basil says to Polly as the guests of the failed anniversary party leave the building, "... now comes the tricky bit."
He re-enters the kitchen, releasing the breath he hadn't realised he was holding. He carefully stepped over all the mess caused by Manuel and Terry's fight and unlocked the cupboard he had trapped Sybil in. He had braced himself for her to lash out at him like she usually would. But instead, she stood still, like a deer in the headlights, a state of shock, Basil presumed. He placed his hands on her arms, as he had minutes earlier, and guided her into the dining room.
They sat at one of the tables together. Sybil just stared at him, completely silent, waiting for an explanation to the scene she had stumbled in on.
"I never forgot," Basil finally said, looking at her. She looked sceptical, after all, just this morning he seemed to have absolutely no clue what the day was. Sybil still hadn't spoken, wanting him to tell her everything. He saw that she wasn't going to say anything just yet, so he continued.
"I only pretended to forget."
She narrowed her eyes at him, showing she still wasn't sure he was telling the truth. "I'm guessing Polly told you," she returned, staring into his eyes. He shook his head in response, "I planned everything weeks ago," she fell silent again, waiting for him to carry on.
He explained everything to her. Starting with how he was only pretending to have forgotten what day it was so he could surprise her later on when their friends arrived. "You should have just told me," she said, a few moments later.
"I wanted to surprise you," Basil responded, breaking eye contact with her because he felt that this conversation was becoming increasingly soppy and he was embarrassed about it. She just smiled at him and reached for his hand, to show that she appreciated the gesture. He looked up at her again, unable to fight the smile that appeared on his face as she squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry," she told him, "I shouldn't have left the way I did."
"And I'm sorry for not telling you."
She stood up and moved over to hug him, at first he just sat there, not knowing what to do, but he eventually just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap where he kissed her forehead gently. She looked up at him and quietly whispered, "happy anniversary, darling."
"Happy anniversary," he replied, in the same quiet tone she had used. Sybil rested her head against Basil's shoulder. They sat quietly together, enjoying this tender moment while it lasts, on the rare occasions where they share a romantic moment, it's best to let it last as long as possible because it could be a long, long time before there's another one.
"What time is it?" Sybil asked, after minutes of no talking. Basil looked at his wrist, "ten to six," he told her.
She got up from his knee, "we should start thinking about dinner. I somehow doubt that Terry and Manuel are now working together in perfect harmony."
"We could get a takeaway?" he suggested, "maybe Andrés?"
She nodded, "that sounds lovely."
After calling André with their order, Basil and Sybil did a bit of tidying in the kitchen. However, there was still a lot to be done, but they had decided they would leave that to Terry and Manuel when they arrived for work the following day.
They also lit some candles in the dining room, before going to the restaurant to pick up the food. André wished them a happy anniversary and even gave them a complimentary bottle of champagne. Sybil was thrilled about it, but Basil knew if his wife drank too much of it, she would get very sentimental and call up everyone she's ever met to say how much she loves them and then he would have to prise the phone off her and put her to bed, which was always a difficult task.
When they arrived back at the hotel, they sat in the dimly lit room, eating their food and talking about their lives together, when Basil remembered something else he had planned for their special day, he jumped up and dashed across the room in search of a radio.
"What are you doing, Basil?" Sybil asked, smiling in amusement.
He found a radio and made sure it was tuned into the correct station before placing it in front of her.
"Just listen," he told her.
Whilst the song that was playing slowly faded out, "we have a message here for a Sybil Fawlty..." the broadcaster started, Sybil sat up straight and looked at Basil in confusion.
"Sybil, your husband says 'even though you wake me up in the middle of the night with the most annoying snores, I still love you and everything you are. Happy 16th Anniversary, my dear."
Basil and the radio host both laughed at the words, whilst Sybil's mouth fell open in shock. The broadcaster carried on "Happy Anniversary to Basil and Sybil Fawlty, this next song is for you!" The man stopped speaking and 'Earth Angel' by the Penguins started to play. Sybil could feel tears welling up in her eyes, that song held some of her most cherished memories, it was playing on the jukebox the night her and Basil met, it was on the radio when he proposed, and then the first dance at their wedding.
Basil stood up and offered her his hand, she took it and moved into his embrace, letting her tears fall, this day might not have got off to the greatest start yet she wouldn't change it for the world. Her arms circled his neck, whilst his were wrapped firmly around her slim waist.
They slowly rocked in time to the music, holding each other as close as possible, they didn't speak, they didn't need to. They just gazed into each other's eyes, thoughts of where this night could go flashed in their minds and before long Sybil had been pushed up against the wall whilst Basil's mouth attacked hers.
Wordlessly, Sybil pulled back, grabbed her husband's hand and very quickly dragged him upstairs.
The perfect end to a somewhat perfect day.
