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*I'm very happy to post this at the request of a kind someone. ^_^

Chapter 5: A New Day

As it did every day and as it would do every day thereafter, the sun rose on the quaint town of Oceanside. The night had been long and arduous, but with the morning’s arrival, the people of the little village were afforded a measure of emotional and bodily refreshment from the stresses of the previous evening. A new day meant a new start and for the Tambo house, it meant even more.

The sun peeked through the windows of Kichoro’s bedroom, spilling its light warmly throughout the cozy confines. The golden rays of morning found the young woman asleep in her bed and moved to greet her. Tendrils of light extended from the windows, across the wooden floor, up along the bed and finally settled upon her figure to kiss her slumbering form. She murmured something from a dream she had been enjoying and turned away from the sun’s brightness. She curled up, wrapping the bed sheets more tightly around her body and tried to return to her peaceable sleep, but with the golden light of the sun shining down on her, sleep was easily spirited away from her grasp.

“Mmm…” she murmured, as she sat up and tried to rub the weariness from her eyes. In a daze of fatigue, she looked around her room while she sorted her thoughts. “That really did happen…” she whispered. She turned to her bedside nightstand and gazed at a photograph of her husband and herself on their wedding day. She picked up the small framed image and touched the face of her deceased love. “We are home, beloved.” she said, fresh tears springing to her eyes. “We are home.”

It was without great surprise that Kichoro had agreed to accept the proposition that Adon had offered the night before. When he spelled out the gravity of her dilemma and the immeasurable contrasts in her limited options, her choice was clear. To the delight of Neha and all of the children, Kichoro and Ja would remain living where they had always lived, together. Except now, in addition to their friend and aunt, they would also have the added benefit of having their brother-in-law and uncle living there as well. Loved ones that had lived nearby and one that came from afar would all be living together just down the road. No evil aunts and no leaving their precious town, the small family was going to stay right where they were…where they belonged.

When Dumi and Mikaili rejoined the gathered, they were assailed with smiling faces and eager voices all vying to speak at once.

“Wait, wait, wait! One at a time. Slow down.” Dumi commanded his children, as he set Mikaili down on the ground. “Ajamu, you first, what is all the fuss about?”

“Daddy! Daddy! Uncle Adon said Auntie and Ja can live with Uncle!” the boy practically cheered. “Them not have to leave no more!”

Dumi blinked in surprise. “Really?”

The boy nodded his head, eagerly. “Yup. Her have to clean them house and make him food and her can stay and Ja can stay.”

He blinked, once more. “Ah, Neha, what’s going on?” he asked, deciding that the only way he was going to get a grasp of the new turn of events was if he got the information from another adult.

Neha smiled, brilliantly as she rose from the table and hopped over to her husband, throwing her arms around him, joyously. “Dumi, your brother has graciously invited Kichoro and Ja to live with him in their house. Just like you and four young boys I could name, he is in need of someone to maintain his home and cook and things that we mothers are qualified professionals at. So, all she has to do is take care of the home, just as she always has and he will let them go on living in the house along with him. Isn’t this wonderful? It’s an absolute miracle that out of all of the people in the world, our Adon was the one to take an interest in Kichoro’s home. I’m so happy! Everything is turning out alright.” she said, hugging him tightly as tears of joy left her eyes.

This was a surprise, Dumi thought, gently wiping the tears from his wife’s eyes. He looked over at his younger brother who was being assaulted by Ja with hugs and elated words of thanks. He was smiling, kindly at the boy and hugging him, fondly, telling him that he was just happy that they would be happy. Kichoro was wiping tears from her eyes an appreciative, if not exhausted smile upon her face. She offered her thanks along with her son, but Adon insisted that she needn’t thank him. He only did what made sense. It was fortunate that the outcome was mutually beneficial to them both, but it wasn’t an extraordinary feat, it was just convenient.

Dumi sighed. His brother was as emotionally distant as ever. It was quite a tragedy that his once cheerful younger sibling had become such a cynical adult. Though, even if Adon insisted that he was doing this for purposes of logic and convenience, Dumi knew that in reality, his brother simply had a kind heart. He knew that Adon would never agree with that assessment, but he had known the youngest Ayele all of his life. Without a doubt, even if he hid his feelings from the entire world, the truth in his heart would always shine through.

“Dumi?” Neha called to him, softly.

“Ah!” he exclaimed. “Sorry. Yes, this is great news. I’m glad everything worked out well. It really is a fortunate turn of events. It’s almost unbelievable.”

Neha nodded her dark head in agreement and squeezed her lover ever tighter. “It is. It’s like a dream come true.”

“Daddy?!” Mikaili cried out, tugging his father’s pant leg. “What am happen? Why am Auntie crying?” he asked, urgently.

Dumi reached down to lift his son into his arms. He pressed his head to his and gave his hair a tussle. “Your auntie is crying because she is happy. Your uncle is going to let her and Ja live with him at their house.”

“Them going to live with Uncle?” the boy asked.

“Yeah, it appears so.” his father answered.

“Them not have to leave, no more?”

“No,” he said, kissing the boy’s hair, “they aren’t going anywhere. They are all going to live at your auntie’s house, right where they have always been.”

The young boy smiled, brightly. “I’m am happy, too!”

He chuckled and gave his son a squeeze. “Me too. I’m happy, too.”

That was yesterday. As tumultuous as the day had started, it ended in delight for Kichoro, her son and her friends. She couldn’t be more thankful or more relieved. She kissed the portrait of her cherished husband and set the picture back at its place on the nightstand. With her spirit renewed and refreshed, she pulled back the sheets and swung her legs over the bedside. Her feet met the hardwood floor and for a moment, she just relished the feeling of knowing that her feet would always meet these wooden beams for the rest of her days. A contented sigh left her breast as she rose from the bed, grabbed her robe and exited the room.

Stepping into the living room, the skylight in the room’s ceiling trickled down more dulcet rays of warm light into the home. She had always loved that installation, especially on days like today. She turned toward Ja’s bedroom and quietly peeked in.

“Hmm?” she mused, as she looked about the small enclosure. His bed that had been made the day before had gone untouched throughout the night. Her son was not resting upon its feathery comforts. Concerned, she glanced over at the couch to see if he had, perhaps, fallen asleep in the living room. But, the child was not there.

Ja knew better than to leave the home without letting an adult know and since there were only two adults in the house, only one of whom was his parent, it was unlikely that he had ventured out of the house on his own. But, then again…

Quickly, she walked past her son’s room and over to the guestroom where Adon was residing. The night before, Ja had been up talking with him when she retired for the night. Adon would have been the last person to have seen her son that day, so perhaps he could offer some insight into his whereabouts, now. She raised her hand to knock on the guestroom door, but thought the better of it and quietly opened the door to the room, instead. Hesitantly, she poked her head into the enclosure and looked around, a smile instantly painting her face at the sight that she saw.

Sprawled across the floor amidst a collection of unpacked boxes, books and unsorted clothes, Adon and Ja slept soundly. The youngster was curled up beside the man, snuggled at his side while Adon’s arm wrapped around him like a makeshift living blanket. From the look of the clutter, the two had probably been in the middle of unpacking and simply fell asleep. It was charming and touching and Kichoro couldn’t help but be happy at the beautiful scene before her.

Quietly, she stepped into the room and knelt down beside the pair of slumbering males. She reached out to touch her child’s hair and caressed his cheek. He really was quite fond of the gentleman and the feeling seemed to be mutual. She was grateful that the two got along so easily and so well.

Just then, Adon raised his unoccupied hand up to his head and ran his fingers through his soft brown hair. He opened his eyes, still heavy from sleep and stared at the woman that had intruded his privacy. She gasped, sharply and raised her hands up in front of her chest either in surrender or apology, he wasn’t sure. But, it didn’t take long for him to receive clarity to the gesture.

“I’m so sorry.” she whispered, urgently. “I awoke and went to check on Ja, but he wasn’t in his room, so I became worried and—“ she tried to explain, but fell silent when he waved his hand before her, dismissively.

“It’s fine.” he said, stifling a yawn behind his hand. He glanced down at the boy in question that was presently curled up beside him. He smiled, faintly and gently tussled his soft honey gold locks. “I guess we fell asleep.” he said, returning his gaze to the child’s mother.

She smiled, warmly and touched her child’s face, once more. “I’m sorry if he’s constantly underfoot. He is rather fond of you. But, if he is bothering you, please let me know and I will speak with him.”

He shook his head and stifled a second yawn. “He’s no bother. I rather enjoy his company. He’s a pleasant, well behaved child, so I have no problem with him hovering around me as he does. It’s actually kind of nice for me.”

“Oh?” she mused.

“Mmm…” he murmured. “I was the youngest member of my family by six years, so it’s nice to have someone following after me, for a change.”

“I understand what you mean. My sisters are also six years ahead of me, so I was never able to keep up with them. …even though I tried my best to.” she said, somewhat remorsefully.

Adon looked at her as she spoke, studying her expression as she recalled the distant memories of her youth. She was looking down at her lap, her arm stretched across her chest, reaching to hold the adjacent arm, timidly. It was obvious that her memories weren’t entirely happy ones. He absently wondered how someone who had such a lamentable past ended up with such a pleasant disposition. It was an unusual puzzlement.

“Ah!” she breathed, suddenly. “I was about to get breakfast going.” she said, nervously, changing the subject. “Is there anything that you would like in particular?”

He took a deep breath and sighed, tiredly. “No. Anything at all is fine.”

“Alright. Well then, would you like me to draw you a bath?”

He had the decency to blush beneath his tawny fur at that. “Ah, no. Thank you. I prefer to bathe in the evening. I’ll have a bath when I return home this afternoon.”

“You’re going out?”

“Yes. I have to get some supplies from town. Gareth needs a stable, so I’ll have to purchase lumber and a few other things in order to build it.”

“You will build it yourself?” she asked, her tone tinged with surprise.

He nodded his head, sleepily. “Yes. I’m a carpenter.”

“I see…” she all but whispered.

He regarded her for a moment, her countenance decidedly despondent. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out, her expression shifted completely and a smile found its way to her face.

“Well then, I’ll pack a snack for you to take with you into town.” she said, cheerfully. With haste, she climbed to her feet and added, “I’ll go get breakfast started, now.” before breezing out of the room, softly shutting the door behind her. He watched her hurried escape and wondered what unknown thing had transpired between them that caused such a change in her demeanor. He wasn’t sure and he couldn’t begin to guess. He hadn’t even known the woman for twenty four hours, yet. Surely there were going to be facets of her behavior that would be curious to him as he, no doubt, would have quirks and odd behaviors that would intrigue her.

At any rate, he was too tired to consider it, now. After having spent hours on the road traveling from his hometown to his new home at Oceanside, rushing to unload his possessions before the rains fell and then all of the emotional events that followed that evening, he was still more than a little tired. He let out a wide yawn, stretched his languid limbs and quickly returned to the blissfulness of sleep.

On the other side of the door, Kichoro leaned against the entryway and sighed. If truth were told, she was also more than a little tired, but she had breakfast to get started and an assortment of other chores to carry out. Wearily, she pushed herself away from the door and righted herself up on her feet. She glanced back at the closed door and thought of the unusual man hidden within.

When they had returned home the night before, she had told him that she would move her things from the master bedroom and move into the guestroom. He was the man of the house, now, so he was entitled to the bedroom that correlated to his status. He had dismissed her offer and said that the guestroom would serve him just fine. She tried to insist that it was only fair for him to have it, but he reminded her that she had shared that room with her husband for all the years that they had lived in their home. Even if he was entitled to the space, he would be showing greater respect to her husband by allowing her to continue to stay in the room that they shared with the memories that they had made, together.

She was grateful for his kindness and his consideration. Truthfully, she had been saddened by the thought of having to surrender her room to him, but she knew that he had every right to claim it. When he made it clear that he had no desire to move into the bedchamber and that she should retain it, she was overjoyed and overcome with gratitude. She would do her best to uphold her end of their arrangement. From learning of his favorite foods to keeping the house immaculately clean to any other chore that he would ask of her, she would do everything she could not only to satisfy him, but to exceed his satisfaction. With that thought in mind, she walked briskly to the kitchen, ready to prepare the most sumptuous morning meal her new housemate had ever tasted.

“Eek!” she squeaked, as she entered the kitchen and was greeted by the sleeping body of the massive eland that was occupying her kitchen floor. “Oh, that’s right.” she said, breathlessly. “I forgot you were here.”

Gareth awoke to the sound of her mousy cry. He raised his head and met her eyes, staring at her with onyx colored eyes. She took a tentative step backward, her eyes never leaving his steady gaze.

“Umm…” she murmured. “You’re probably hungry. You eat plants, right?” she said, looking around the kitchen for anything resembling something the eland might like to consume. “Oh! How about an apple?” she said, spotting a basked of fruit that rested on the counter. It was fortunate that she and Ja had an unusual affinity for fruit. Lions were carnivores and so fruits and vegetables were less desirable than a juicy steak or a succulent grilled fish. But, she, Ja and even her late husband rather liked the sweetness of fruits and the refreshing coolness of fruit juices.

She selected a large red apple from the basket and set it on the counter. She drew a knife from the knife rack and sliced the fruit evenly down the middle. Taking one half of the offering, she turned to Gareth and took a deep breath. She crouched down and placed the half of apple on the ground. With gentle force, she pushed the bit of fruit over to the grazer and hoped for the best.

Gareth watched her move to the counter. He couldn’t see what she was doing from where he reclined on the stone floor, but when she sliced the apple, his nose twitched from the sweet aroma that was expressed into the air. His ears perked up when she turned to him with the apple half in her hand. He still couldn’t make out what it was that she had, but it certainly smelled good. When she knelt down and rolled the portion of fruit over to him, he watched it glide over to him and sniffed it, curiously. He licked the apple half, relishing the sweetness that exploded on his tongue and without further encouragement needed, he eagerly ate the apple, crunching and munching each delicious bite.

Kichoro sighed with relief. He seemed to be enjoying it. She was glad that he was tolerating her presence without displeasure or aggression. She was still quite wary of the animal, but as she watched him nibbling the little piece of fruit, she felt a little, just a little less apprehensive. She watched him polish off the snack and proceed to lick the apple’s juice off of the floor. He sniffed around for any morsel of sweet, crunchy goodness that he might have missed and when he found none, he looked up at Kichoro. He made a grunting sound at her which made her jump back, wide-eyed and her heart racing. He grunted at her again, but when she gave no sign of moving to his whim, he slowly started to rise to his cloven feet.

“NO! NO! NO!” she cried, holding her hands up before her, frantically motioning for the animal to stay where it was. “You stay right there! Please sit back down! Down!” she pleaded.

Being a well trained beast of burden, Gareth understood what the command, “down” meant and obediently complied to her request. He refolded his legs beneath his body and settled back down on the cool stone floor. Kichoro watched him settle down and clutched her chest in great relief.

“Thank you for listening.” she said, her breath all but gone. He grunted at her again, but remained lying on the ground. When she failed to translate what his snorting meant, he began sniffing the floor, once more, searching for even a crumb of the apple he had just enjoyed.

“Oh…” she breathed. “Is it…maybe…did you want more apple?” she asked, turning back to the counter to retrieve the other half of the fruit. “Did you want this? Is that what you were trying to tell me?” she asked, showing him the coveted treat. Having just been told to stay down, Gareth could not get to his feet. Instead, he stretched his neck out to her, trying to reach the fruit and confirming her assessment of his cries.

“Okay.” she said, nervously. “I’ll give this to you, but you have to stay right there, okay?” she added, taking a step toward the massive beast. “Here…” she said, sliding the apple over to the eland. Eagerly, he took the offering and began to lick and crunch into it as he did before with the other half. Once more, relief washed over her as she watched him enjoy his treat. She was thankful that they seemed to be understanding each other, even if only a little bit.

“You’re going to spoil him.” a voice said.

A shrill scream tore out of Kichoro’s throat at the sound of the voice, speaking to her. She turned about, wide-eyed and breathless, to see who had addressed her, even though she already recognized the voice and thus knew who it was. “You…you gave me a fright!” she gasped. “Please don’t sneak up on me like that, Mr. Ayele.”

“Ah…sorry.” the man said, looking slightly sheepish. “I heard you cry out earlier and I came to see that you were alright. I saw you feeding Gareth, so I figured that you were fine.”

“Oh…yes…” she gasped. “I had forgotten that he was here in the kitchen. When I came in to start breakfast, he was right there and he startled me. I felt badly for reacting that way, especially since he was the one that got us safely to and from Neha’s house yesterday. So, I wanted to try to get along with him better. I figured that he must have been hungry and I knew that he only eats plants, so I thought that he might like some fruit.” she said, gesturing to the fruit basket sitting on the counter.

Adon had walked into the kitchen and was inspecting the basket of fruit that she had referred him to. He picked up an apple and examined it, curiously. “Yes, he does enjoy fruit. I give it to him as a treat and sometimes as a part of his regular feeding. But, why do you have fruit? You don’t have any riding animals here.” he asked.

“Well, actually Ja and I rather enjoy fruit, ourselves.” she explained.

He gave her a curious glance, then returned his attention back to the piece of fruit in his hand. Fruit juices and sweet treats incorporating fruits were quite common, so having fruit on its own wasn’t strange. But, to eat fruit raw and in its natural state was just a little unusual, though still not unheard of. His own mother was partial to strawberries and his sister loved melons. …perhaps it was a female thing. He turned it over, sniffed it and studied it for a moment longer before restoring it to the basket with its other fruity brethren. “Anyway, I’ll get him out of here.” he said, striding over to great horned animal. “Come on. Up!” he ordered, patting the eland’s side.

Obediently, Gareth rose to his feet and gave his head a gentle shake. “Good boy.” he said, rubbing the creature’s back. He tucked his hand behind one of the grazer’s horns and led him toward the rear door. He swung it open and gave Gareth a firm swat on the rump, coaxing him out of the house, trotting into the warm morning light and the grassy field of the backyard.

“Oh! Mr. Ayele, wait!” Kichoro said, suddenly, as Adon started to shut the door. “We have no fencing in the backyard.”

“Yes, I noticed.” he said, continuing to shut the door.

“But, do you not need to tether him to a tree or something so that he won’t run off?”

“Your concern is appreciated, though unnecessary.” he said, at last securing the door shut. “Gareth will not run off.”

“He won’t? Are you sure? I’d hate for him to get lost in the woods.” she said, looking beyond the man to the window of the backdoor, observing the gentle giant who was lazily grazing on the succulent grasses in the yard.

Adon watched her for a moment. She was intently, if not worriedly watching Gareth through the window. It was surely curious. Somehow, in the space of just a few hours, she had gone from being terrified of his riding animal to being deeply concerned for its wellbeing. “Are you no longer fearful of him?” he asked.

“Hmm?” she mused. “Ah, no, not exactly. He is still rather intimidating to me, but I know he is not a wicked creature. I would not like for anything bad to happen to him. He’s just an animal. He cannot help his size.”

She was a curious woman, completely contrary to the shallow, vapid females that lived in his old hometown. Where other women would have been thrilled at the prospect of a loathed beast getting lost in the forest, she saw him as one of the living creatures of this world and though she was apprehensive of him, she still held a genuine concern for his welfare. He turned to join her gaze, looking out the window at the hungry eland greedily eating his fill.

“There’s no need to worry.” he said. “Gareth is well-trained. Back home, he was allowed to roam the woods freely throughout the day. At night, he would always make his way back home. The only reason I have not allowed him to stay out at night here is because I am not familiar with this forest. I don’t know what predators might be living here and I should not like him to become a meal for some fortunate animal that might happen upon him.”

“But, if he was able to wander the woods in your old hometown, what stops him from exploring the woods, here?” she asked.

Observant. Curious and observant, this Kichoro Tambo. “It’s fine.” he said. “He needs to graze for a while, so he won’t venture into the woods for a few hours, at least. Right now, more than exploring an unknown forest, he is more concerned about filling his belly.”

A sigh of relief escaped her. “I see. Then I’m glad he will be alright. And speaking of filled bellies,” she said, turning to face him, “I really should get started with breakfast. I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Ayele. I’ll have it ready in just a few minutes.”

He nodded his acknowledgement of the imminent procurement of food. “I’ll leave you to it, then. I think I will draw up a stable layout so I can get started on construction as soon as I get back.”

“Oh, that reminds me! Please wait here a moment.” she said, quickly trotting past him and into her bedroom. In an instant, she reappeared and sailed over to him holding a white envelope to her chest. “Here.” she said, handing the envelope to him.

Adon took the envelope from her and pulled back the flap that closed the receptacle. He paused as he surveyed the contents of the pouch, then looked up at the woman that had surrendered the packet to him. “Mrs. Tambo, this is the money that I paid you for this house, yesterday.”

“Yes. I’m returning it to you.”

“Why?” he asked, with genuine confusion.

She blinked her surprise. “Ah…because you have allowed my son and myself to continue living in our home. We are still here because of your kindness. I can never thank you enough, but the least I can do is return the money you gave me.”

She truly was a curious woman. She was kind and considerate and had such a great sense of morality and fairness. She was so incredibly unlike the women in his hometown. They would never give away money to anyone, least of all a large sum like the amount that Kichoro Tambo was surrendering to him now. Why was she like this? It was baffling.

“Mrs. Tambo,” Adon began, “I didn’t ‘give’ you this money, I paid it to you in exchange for this house. The only reason why I am living here, now, is because I purchased this home from you.”

She nodded. “Yes, I know.” she said, quietly. “But, even though you now own this house, you have allowed us to go on living here. It’s your home, but you haven’t thrown us out of it. I am so grateful to you. I cannot do much, but I can do at least do this. So, please accept it.”

He regarded her for a moment, his amber eyes searching her dark, nearly black eyes. He sighed, then reached for her hand and took it gently into his. He turned her palm up and placed the envelope of money into her hand. He heard her gasp, but paid no mind to her astonishment as he let go of her hand and started walking toward the guestroom.

“M- Mr. Ayele?!” Kichoro called.

“I appreciate your gesture.” he said, stopping in his trek and turning to face her. “But, as I said, I have paid that money to you in exchange for this house. The money is rightfully yours.”

“But-…”

“A man doesn’t go back on an arrangement that he has agreed to honor, Mrs. Tambo.” he continued. “I agreed to pay you fairly for your home and I have done that. My decision to allow you to continue living here has no impact on that contract. My choice regarding you and your son and our prior agreement are separate terms that I agreed to of my own accord. But, I will not repeal my obligation to our former arrangement because of your continued residency here.

“And also, I remind you that my inviting you to live here was a decision that I made because it greatly benefitted me, as well. It wasn’t kindness, it was convenience. If not you, then I would have had to hire someone else to carry out the tasks and chores that I am asking you to take on.”

The look of shock and dismay that splayed across her face made him instantly regret his last words. He inwardly cursed himself for having said something so cruel to someone so obviously goodhearted and gentle. She wasn’t trying to be insulting to him, he knew that. She was trying to show her gratitude to him for what he had done for her and her young son. She was trying to do something nice for him as he had done something kind to her. Yet he spoke to her in a way that he wouldn’t speak to people that had actually wronged him. It was unforgivable.

“Sorry.” he said, sheepishly looking away from her. “I didn’t mean for that to sound so callous.” He sighed, frustrated and raked his fingers through his hair. “Mrs. Tambo,” he began again, “what I mean is, you give me too much credit. I’m not some sort of remarkably benevolent person. I’m just a man who had a chance to give himself a better life. It just so happened that in doing so, I was able help a kindhearted woman and her son in the process. But, I don’t deserve your gratitude. I’m just not that good a person. Really, I have acted selfishly from the beginning and I don’t want you to think that I am someone who I am not.”

He looked over at her and tried to find some sign that she had heard and, more importantly, understood what he was trying to say to her. But, as she stared at the ground and fumbled with the envelope in her hands, it was obvious that his words had hurt her more deeply than he-…

“I didn’t mean to insult you.” Kichoro whispered, pulling him from his thoughts. “I’m very sorry that I offended you. Please forgive me.”

“You haven’t offended me, so there is no need for forgiveness.” he said. “I’m the one that should be asking for your forgiveness. I know you were just trying to do what you thought was right. I’m very humbled by your generosity, truly. You’re a remarkably selfless woman.” He sighed, once again, then continued. “I will try a bit harder to be more considerate of you. I know I can sometimes come across as unfeeling or just plain mean, but please understand that it has nothing to do with you. You have been welcoming and have shown me only kindness. I am glad that people like you still exist in this world.”

A shy smile found her face at that. He was glad for it.

“I’ll get breakfast started, now.” she said.

“Thank you.” he replied.

The small contention settled and the mood lifted, the carpenter returned to his room to draft to plans for the stable he was eager to build while the little widow went to the kitchen to prepare the morning meal. The morning had been a little rocky, but the day was only just beginning. The promise of a new day didn’t always show its best at its start. Sometimes, the day would start out arduous, but it would often end with jubilation. How this day would end was anyone’s guess, but for the moment, all was well and for that moment, it was enough.