He couldn't believe it had been only a year since he proposed to Padma, but the picnic they'd had had reminded him of just that. Still as the night closed in and the dinner he was supposed to have had with Blaise on Monday finally closed, Theo was forced to drag himself back to reality (and away from his wife and son) and get ready.
He was of course impeccably dressed by the time Blaise arrived, just as the dinner was perfectly arranged and the dining table perfectly set. Nothing was ever left to chance in his house, and somehow he seemed to notice that the elves were even more eager to help than usual. They too had missed normal life.
He let Mimsy answer the door, though instead of waiting in the drawing room, he stepped out into the entrance hall to greet his friend.
'Blaise,' he said as Mimsy let him in and took his coat. 'It's been too long.'