15. The Announcement

A rooster cawed at the sudden light and flapped its wings to welcome a new day. Leila had already been awake for a long time and was cooking breakfast. She hadn’t slept well.

“Good morning!” Arthur said loudly. He was in an exceptionally good mood. When Leila appeared at his front door last night with tears rolling down her cheeks, he was extremely worried. But he didn’t push her to explain anything. He let her sleep in his bed and he slept in the living room. After a sleepless night, Arthur had decided to take the opportunity to express his feelings towards her, which he should have done years ago.

“Morning,” Leila said, grinding a small pile of black pepper and salt, “How do you like your eggs? I’m making some.”

“Just scrambled is fine, thank you,” Arthur answered. A sense of contentment had surrounded him. He imagined how happy he would be if Leila was his wife.

“There you go.” Leila set the table and sat across him. “I’m going with you to get the milk after breakfast.”

“You do