As you sit alone at the table, the aroma of freshly baked bread wafts through the air. The candles are lit, the table is set. But where is your host?
Time ticks by with excruciating slowness. You check your watch for what feels like the hundredth time. The clock on the wall seems to be stuck at 7:47. Is this some kind of sick joke?
The phone on the kitchen island rings, shrill in the otherwise serene environment. You hesitate, wondering whether to answer it, but something about the sound is jarring.