Maddie listened to him intently with a small smile on her face as she hoped to remember it all. "Alright.." She glanced down at the cat and told herself she would try to relax. "Is there anything I should do for the animals while you are gone?" She wasn't sure if they needed to be let outside or fed while he was gone. "I like animals but we never really had any pets..."

Lou gave a nod, appreciating the offer. "Not much, really. Rhino has friends up and down this block, and he gets lunch every day from the house across the street and by the time he wants dinner, our neighbor to the left of this house- that is, if you're standing in the front door and looking out at the street -is home from work and will feed him. If he's still hungry when Kip and I get home at seven-fifteen or so, I'll feed him again then. Betty hunts the mice in the barn and every morning I leave out water and scraps of meat for her- I already did that this morning, so you needn't worry about that. Kip is with me all day, and that's all there is to it for the pets." He gave her a bright smile as he sped up eating his breakfast a bit, noticing by the clock hung up across the room that he was slightly behind his usual schedule this morning when it came to getting out on the streets of Whitby by seven am. It was 6:32 am right now, and he needed about twenty minutes to get dressed and harness up Kip. "It's delicious, Madeline," he added with another grin, "thank you very much for making breakfast for us this morning."

Her head nodded to his information, glancing at the animals hoping to remember. It seemed fairly easy so she didn't have to do anything during his absence. When Lou said he was leaving, she looked up in surprise and glanced at the clock. "Ah.." Maddie found herself uncertain what to say, "You're welcome, it was.. the least I could do." She planned to finish breakfast while he was gone to get ready but hoped to be there to say goodbye before he was out the door. "If you.. want to come by during the day for a meal, I can do that.. if I know when you might be back."

Lou smiled at her quite sweetly. "My lunch break is at noon- only I never know where in town I'll be, or if a customer will come along just before and push back that break," he explained, "but thank you very much for your consideration." And he meant those words of appreciation. He was finding himself to really enjoy Maddie's company and he was glad she was here to stay. The loneliness he'd felt come knocking last night faded away- after all, no one needed to be alone, and it seemed Providence had blessed him with Maddie's companionship.

Maddie didn't feel too disappointed, not really. She understood his reasons were sensible and work was very important.

"Ah, then.. tomorrow! I'll have a lunch prepared for you to take with you. It won't matter where you go since you'll have it with you. It should save you a little money and time then..." she smiled, hoping he liked the idea.

Lou grinned and leaned down to drape his arms around Maddie in a hug as he walked past her seat at the table. "Thank you, Madeline," he said, "that's so very kind of you." As he turned to head into his bedroom to dress for the day, he paused, and poked his head back out so she could see the warm expression on his face. "And Madeline?" He smiled. "I'm glad you're here."

Madeline stared at him as he poked his head in then disappeared. She spoke quietly, not certain if she wanted him to hear her. "I'm happy to be here too." She wondered if he knew he'd make a girl fall in love with him being the way that he was. She stared at her empty plate before getting up and using the water he provided to wash the dishes.

Lou hummed to himself as he got dressed. It took him a good seven minutes, and he finished by smiling at himself in the mirror as he plopped his cabbie cap on his head. Out to his horse he went, wishing Maddie a good day as he headed through the kitchen, as well as thanking her for doing the dishes and again for making breakfast. Kip gave a snort and shuffled her feet as he came into the barn and Lou muttered an old folk tale to her as he saddled her up and harnessed her to the cab. Stories always calmed her, or maybe it was just the sound of his voice; either way, she calmed down and stood still for him. At six-fifty-seven on the dot, Lou drove the cab out the door and into the cold winter's day, smiling at the pleasantries of his life.

She stood at the door, hugging her shawl close as she waved goodbye and watched his cab disappear. She smiled slightly to herself and turned back inside. She didn't want to reorganize the house as it was his home, but she did treat it like her old home and began to wash the floor then work her way up to polish the furniture. She was going to be the best maid he ever imagined.

Lou's workday passed quite quickly, with an extra number of customers today coming from the area around Miss Theodosia Strong's inn because of the ball last night. He passed a couple walking into town around noon in his cab who seemed quite enamored by each other to his eye, and he tipped his hat at them as he passed. Kip, who wasn't as young as she once was, walked slower as the day wore on and by seven pm, she could barely muster a trot. Lou drove her home a bit slower than usual, thinking that the chill of last night had worn on her bones, and arrived a few minutes past seven-thirty. He hopped down from the cab and rubbed his hands together to warm them up before unhitching and stalling Kip. He hummed as he worked, wondering how Maddie had spent the day and if she liked it here.