Gemotions

The balloons, deflated and strewn across the living room floor, were the first clue. Sarah had walked in expecting the cacophony of a birthday bash, not this mausoleum of forgotten celebration. Her stomach lurched. The aroma of pizza, which she'd been promised, was absent. Instead, a lingering scent of air freshener assaulted her nostrils. "Hello?" she called out, her voice barely a whisper. Silence. Then, a crumpled note on the kitchen counter: "So sorry. Emergencies. Can't happen."