Chéri was ready to apologise and withdraw respectfully, but Sonia decided to share more with him, to go more personal, into something that did not necessarily concern the destiny of the brothel. Chéri looked at her belly and noted “But when the child is born, one thing you will know: you are a mother. If you don’t feel it now, you will know it eventually.” He said with a certain confidence, somehow feeling like he had a good understanding of how this went.

She looked away and seemed optimistic regarding his feature. Chéri smile in that incredibly warm way and repeated. “Perhaps.” He left his luggage there and followed with long strides.