Gemotions

The balloons were still inflated, bobbing haphazardly against the living room ceiling. Sarah blinked, a strange pressure building behind her eyes. Why weren't people here? The caterers' truck, with its promise of miniature quiches and champagne flutes, remained parked across the street, its engine dormant. She’d spent all day baking the cake, a triple-layer masterpiece with chocolate frosting. Now, a deep hollowness resonated inside her, mirroring the empty space of the room. She kept fiddling with the ribbon on the gift she'd painstakingly wrapped.