A bead of sweat ran down Martin's forehead, his left hand drafted the requested documents, while his right hand did the math through the calculator on his cell phone, the wall clock with its incessant ticking reminded him that there were only minutes left for the work shift to end.
Friday night, another week that would end under the same monotonous pressure of every week; this Friday was not just another Friday, this one was supposed to be special, or at least it was before, it is Friday February 29th and Jasmine his wife waited for him at home with a dinner like no other, it is their special anniversary, it has been happening for years, since they became high school sweethearts, they always waited for leap years to celebrate something magnificent.
But Martin has forgotten it the last few years, and although he never forgot leap years, this day, that doesn't cross his mind, several nights he has been late home, so Jasmine is exhausted from trying to fill Martin's lack of interest with her strength, so although she tries hard on their anniversary, if he forgets it will be the end, she has divorce papers in case what she knows in her heart will happen.
Martin hasn't realized what is happening, the dark circles under his eyes were the first signs that he should make a change, he decided to ignore them, thinking they would go away with a little sleep, but even when he tried to get his 4 hours of sleep which was what he now allowed himself insomnia began to creep in.
Spots on his face and back, plus gray hair that was nothing but a sign that something was wrong, but he chose work over life, health took a second place that he never attended to and Jasmine who came in third place in his life was left as a crockery in the house of someone who hates visitors.
The clock struck 6:00 pm, in the distance the cathedral began its chimes, while Martin just kept writing and focused on his work, when the third chime sounded, an air that something was forgotten entered his head like a stitch, for a moment a flash followed by a dark spot in the view blinded him, but he blinked, centered the view and although somewhat blurred he saw again as if nothing.
-I must be exhausted, perhaps a glass of brandy wouldn't hurt at this moment.
He looked at the clock again, it was already 7:00 pm, and for a few seconds his eyes caught sight of the date, a thought that said -it's already leap day again- was overshadowed by the balance of the month that the boss was sending to his e-mail, so Martin decided that it would be another day of overtime.
-I'm really exhausted, it's really hard to go on like this. Maybe this year I took all the vacation I have pending -
The clock struck 11:00 pm when Martin finished everything pending, Jasmine had already packed her bags and after crying for hours she knew that her decision was the best, she could not continue to be ignored, she was tired of her situation and if she wanted to be happy she had to leave.
Martin was driving home, with a slight pain in his chest, which came and went like acupuncture punctures, at home a table with candles about to go out, while the sperm fell from the chandelier on the tablecloth decorated with blue rose petals, a glass of brandy that had been served for hours, next to a plate with an exquisite banquet that had already lost aroma from waiting, and a guava tart not yet chopped.
On the bed a letter explaining why Jasmine was no longer at home, and the closet empty as if it had just been bought. Martin arrived without making noise without noticing the dining room table, a piece of bread from the kitchen and a glass of water straight from the tap were what he took to his stomach when he went to the room, where he ignored that Jasmine was no longer there, he just made himself and at that moment the pain in his chest increased, as when a light suddenly appears on a dark road, then the pain went away and everything went out.
His body took its toll from all those years of hard work and little rest, a mind cracked by daily stress only caused him losses and now, after dedicating the last drop of his time to a poorly paid job, the love of his life had gone away tired, leaving only a note that made him forget his job and feel with great intensity a great regret for having left her aside.