First date fell through and he went quiet? What to send next

A cancellation tells you one thing and the silence afterward tells you another. Read them separately. The cancellation is about his week, and the silence is about how he handles plans he hasn't decided to keep.

If he cancelled with a specific reason and named a day to try again, he probably wants to meet and got swamped. If he gave a vague reason and offered nothing, he may not have decided yet whether he wants a second date. That undecided state tends to look like silence. It's rarely a verdict on you, but it also won't fix itself unless someone moves it forward.

Acknowledge the cancellation in one line and move on. Don't ask why or hint that you expected better. Then give him something he can actually say yes to, such as two specific evenings in the next week or a plan he could do in under an hour. Offering a real window does more than asking when he's free, because it removes the work of deciding.

Keep the message short enough that his reply can be one word. Choose a format that suits the plan, like a drink after work or a walk, so he isn't picking between an open-ended dinner and nothing. If he picks a day, confirm it the same day so the plan is set before it can drift again.

Count the gap from his last message, not from your last one. If he cancelled with a real reason, give him two or three days before you send anything, and send it in the afternoon rather than late at night, when it reads as a rushed follow up. If a week has passed with no reply after a clear reschedule offer, one short follow up is fair. Don't add a second follow up on top of that.

After that, stop. Silence that continues after one clear offer is his answer, even if he never sends a no. Don't spend the next few days drafting messages in your head or checking whether he's online. Move on and leave the door open in your own head rather than in his inbox.