November 1st. To most people this date meant nothing, it was just any old day. November 5th was a much more notable and important date...not for Nicole and Richard Watterson however. For them, November 1st was the date of their wedding anniversary.
Now, you'd expect them to have spent it romantically, going out for a meal, having a party or just relaxing together.
Unfortunately, you'd be wrong.
They had instead spent their evening at school attending their kid's parents' evening, which unfortunately happened to be scheduled on the same day, and were now walking back to the car as it poured down with rain.
"Well, that went better than I expected..." Nicole said as they climbed in and pulled their seat belts on.
"Gumball and Darwin are doing a lot better than I thought. I'm really happy they're finally making an effort to improve their grades..."
Richard started the car, drove away from the school and began the drive back home.
"They're finally taking a page out of Anais' book, huh?" Richard chuckled.
She nodded. "Gumball's study sessions with her are doing him a world of good..." She lamented. "I'm glad they're enjoying them so much."
"They even managed to avoid setting the pool on fire this time!" Richard joked.
She laughed. "Yes, thankfully..."
Richard sighed. "I'm just glad the meeting is over. I've never liked going to them and it's a pretty crummy way for us to spend our anniversary."
Nicole's ears lowered as, despite it not being her fault, she still felt guilty.
"I know, I'm sorry we couldn't go out for that romantic meal together as I promised honey, I had it all planned out and it was all good to go up until the kids brought back those letters from school two weeks ago saying their parents' meeting was on the same day..."
"It's fine, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known and there was nothing you could do about it."
She sighed. "I know, it was just very unfortunate timing..."
She sniffed and let out a small whimper.
"I was heartbroken when I found out we couldn't go...I was looking forward to it all October. I mean, is it really too much to ask to have one special night to ourselves?"
Richard sighed. "Me too, but it's alright. I mean, hey look on the bright side, we'll look forward to it even more next year!"
She smiled weakly.
"Yeah, I guess we will...thanks, Richard."
He thought for a moment then smiled and placed his paw on her shoulder. "Besides, just spending time with you is all I need."
She teared up slightly and smiled. "Aww, Richard..." She leaned over and kissed him.
They sat in silence for a while, Richard focusing on driving as Nicole rested her head against the window, gloomily staring out of it, at the rain falling, ears flat against her head, deep in her thoughts. Eventually, she teared up slightly and sighed again.
Richard noticed and frowned. He hated to see her looking so upset. "What's wrong honey?" He asked softly.
She sat back up with a sigh. "I know it's only a small thing and that I shouldn't be so worked up over it but I can't help but feel disappointed that none of the kids have remembered it's our anniversary today..."
She listened to the patter of the rainwater outside, watching as it dribbled down the window.
"I understand they have a lot going on, with school work, exams, relationships and hanging out with their friends but I hoped they'd at least care enough about us to remember our important day. I mean, they haven't even done so much as mention our anniversary, let alone do anything to celebrate it. Do they really care that little about us?"
Richard gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't be so hard on them, I'm sure it just slipped their minds, that's all. Of course they care about us, they've shown that many, many times before. It's clear how much they love us both, anyone can see that. Sure, it's a little disappointing they forgot but it's really nothing to get that upset over."
She sighed. "I know, I know but I just can't stop thinking about it. I tried to hide my disappointment from them as I didn't want them to feel guilty but I'm pretty sure they noticed I was upset with them about something and I feel really bad about it now...I don't want them to worry about it..."
Richard noticed how guilty she was feeling and rubbed her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay, they probably aren't that worried, more annoyed they forgot something. They're probably wracking their brains together and trying to work out whatever it is they forgot." He chuckled.
She sniffed, her eyes welling up again, a few tears rolling down her face as she rested her head on the window. "I doubt that..." Her voice was very downbeat and waivered slightly as she was trying to keep it together. "They probably just shrugged it off and went on with their day. They have more important things to worry about than why their mother is upset..."
He frowned, then took and held her paw, squeezing it tightly. "Of course they didn't. They care about you, so much. Of course they care that you're upset, they wouldn't just brush something like that off. They hate seeing you upset, just as much as I do, they'd do whatever it took to cheer you up again!"
She paused, thinking about what he'd said then sighed again, letting out another sniff. "Oh, your right, I'm being too hard on them. It's not their fault they forgot, I can't hold it against them..."
They finally arrived and pulled up at the driveway of their house and parked the car.
Nicole looked at the house in confusion when she noticed the lights were off.
"That's odd, the lights are off...you don't suppose something happened do you?"
Richard thought for a moment then shrugged. "Perhaps they went to bed early?"
"I mean, I suppose they could have but knowing them I highly doubt that..."
She sighed. "Well, there's only one way to find out. We'd better get in quickly to avoid the rain..."
She went to open the car door.
Richard placed his paw on her shoulder. "Wait."
She turned back around and looked at him confused. "Hmm? What's wrong?"
He suddenly pulled her in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, before hugging her. "Happy Anniversary honey."
She was momentarily stunned at his sudden sign of affection, before she snapped out of it and chuckled, placing her paw on his cheek as she smiled. "Happy Anniversary Richard. I know this isn't the best anniversary but we can still turn it around..."
"Really? How?" He asked, trying to think of what they could do in such a short amount of time.
She thought for a moment before her face lit up. "How about we do something with the kids to cheer us up? Perhaps order a takeaway and watch a movie with them?"
Richard's ear's pricked up. "Takeaway?!"
She laughed. "Yes, and you can pick what we get, within reason of course."
"I can?!"
She chuckled. "Yes honey, of course you can. I mean, it is your anniversary. Sorry, our anniversary." She corrected herself.
"Yes!" He excitedly began listing off ideas of what he wanted to get as Nicole chuckled and rolled her eyes, happy to have successfully turned their moods around.
"Come on you, if we sit here all night we'll never order anything..."
