[ WP ] It 's hard to notice something is missing , when it 's never been there before

I stopped, my hands now empty. *Well of course they were empty, I was n't holding anything before... * Or was I? I could n't quite remember any other reason I've ever had to climb into my attic without something in hand to store up there. 
 
 A shadow glimmered in the corner as a light crashed to the ground and broke before my eyes. I marveled that it had stayed upright on my windowsill without something else supporting it for so long, and at how stupid I must have been to place it there in the first place. 
 
 I shrugged and headed downstairs again, closing the attic's staircase behind me. My daughter, Stephanie, was setting the table, and I noticed an extra setting at the table. Curiosity overwhelmed me. 
 
 `` Who are we expecting for dinner?'' 
 
 `` Um, what?'' The confusion on her face was palpable. 
 
 `` Five spots set up at the table. You, me, Mom, Josh, and who else?'' Josh was my son, slightly younger than Stephanie. 
 
 `` Um... I dunno, sorry.'' She clears out the extra spot. 
 
 People make mistakes sometimes, I guess. I give her a hug to reassure her and then walk to my computer. I look at my recent post history to see how my previous posts have gone. 
 
 *My son holding the family cat. * There was no son, our cat was n't in the picture, just my couch against the wall where it's always been. 0 points, obviously; I must have been half-asleep when I chose a picture of our empty sofa to post. 
 
 There were quite a few comments, though. The top one: `` Your cat's so cute! I wish I had a tabby, too.'' I was more than a little frightened at the fact that, even though my cat was not present, Reddit still knew what type of cat I had, and moreover had upvoted the comment so much. I backed away from the computer. 
 
 **** 
 Dinner. Me, my wife. Sitting together. I'd call it romantic, but I was too tired to try for the romance tonight. 
 
 `` Do n't you wish we had kids sometimes?'' 
 
 `` Sometimes. I miss it.'' 
 
 `` Miss what? We've never had kids before.'' 
 
 `` Um, I guess I'm a little tired. Sorry.'' 
 
 `` It's all right. We can head to bed as soon as you're done.'' 
 
 ***** 
 
 I got undressed and ready for bed. *Maybe I can try eHarmony when I wake up, see if someone's interested in a 46-year-old? * 
 
 Probably not. I shrugged the idea off, and went to bed, where I ceased to have ever existed.
