On the kitchen table was, of course, a birthday cake with a few lit candles, and a present.

Julia gasped. “Oooh! But—however did you know it was my birthday?”

I just shrugged. “You told me, remember?” Of course she didn’t remember, but assumed she had just forgotten.

She impulsively hugged me, then ripped into the present. “Oh—the Lord of the Rings boxed set! This is just what I wanted!”

I grinned. “Glad to see I guessed right.”

The rest of the evening went just as well. We watched Fellowship on the new DVD player—it worked for playing ordinary DVDs, too—and then…well, you know. It was a big change from how the day had gone the first time around—Julia had gotten increasingly cross as the evening wore on without ever actually telling me why. It was probably the main thing that led to our break-up.

Afterward, when it was just about time for bed, I asked Julia to come help me with the DVD player again. Then with Julia safely paused, I went to bed. I had more work to do on our relationship the next day.