Jonas, Mr. Wagner, and Mr. Alstrøm stood in front of the mediation room. While the Gauthiers spoke with the lawyer.

"Well, that was something."

"I had to contain myself."

Mr. Alstrom patted Jonas on the back, "you did well in there."

"Do you think they'll attack?"

Mr.Wagner sighed, "they're pretty serious. There isn't a day they don't call my cabinet."

The door opened, and the Gauthiers came out. Mr. Gauthier huffed and walked away while his wife came up to Jonas, "you'll pay for this Potsmann. May misery follow you everywhere. You and that woman will never be happy."

Their lawyer directed Mrs. Gauthier away by the shoulders, but her gaze remained on Jonas.

"Don't mind them, Jonas."

The man didn't know what to think. He wondered if she spoke of Sierra or Colette when she evoked that woman.

"Jonas."

"Yes, em, what's next?"

"Well, we'll wait for their move, but with the manuscript and letters, we have a lot of evidence for a restraining order. Of course, concerning Cecile's abuse, it's Bertrand Gauthier who we'll file in the first instance, Jonas are you listening?"

"Eh, I guess all this has exhausted me."

"You should go and rest. I'll see to things with Mr. Alstrøm if he doesn't mind. We'll send you our conclusions.

"It's good for me, Jonas."

"Okay, thank you," Jonas shook both their hands, "thank you so much."

The men parted, and Jonas hurried to fetch at daycare Leone.

"Hey, little feller," as usual, the boy was euphoric as he stretched his arms for Jonas to pick him up.

"How was your day?" Jonas asked the boy, who smiled.

"He had a good day, Jonas. Leone even played a little with the others. He has changed since your arrival," the afternoon daycare helper said.

It was true, the infant's behavior changed, whereas before he observed, now he interacted. Anything made him smile, but above all, he slept. The daily wake-up call at three became a two, maybe twice a week routine.

Leone felt safe, and his attitude reflected it.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure, see you tomorrow Leone, bye," the woman waved.

"Say goodbye, Leone," Jonas prompted. The little boy opened and closed his palm to mimic. They left and went to take the bus.

Once home Jonas gave Leone his afternoon snack before sitting down on the couch with him. The house was quiet; Leone was sleepy as Jonas was about to surrender when his phone rang. The caller was unknown, yet he answered, "hello."

"How did it go?"

"Colette, eh, it went well, thanks to you."

"Oh, it's nothing. I owed it to Cecile. I loved her dearly."

Jonas didn't know how to interpret her words, but once again, it seemed Cecile touched base in someone's heart.

"Will you be okay?" Jonas was worried. The Gauthiers were capable of anything, and there was Bertrand.

How would he react to find his wife gone? Or that she used him to find out the Gauthiers secrets.

The woman at the other end of the phone chuckled, "if anything happens to me, you already know who done it. I'm not afraid Jonas, life is a bet. Who dares wins."

Those were Cecile's words. She repeated the motto continuously to Jonas, who always doubted. Unfortunately, even when Colette pronounced the sentence, the man still didn't distill the essential.

"Bye, Jonas, and take care."

"Coletteㅡ."

The woman already hung up. Jonas looked at Leone; the boy slept. He picked him up and replaced him on the couch so he could lay down next to him. The day was an exhausting one; they took a nap.

The deadly silence that welcomed Sierra when she arrived made her tiptoe. Sierra found them sleeping; she smiled. This time it was she who observed man and child.

Leone's traits affirmed themselves every day, and here, all Sierra saw was how much Leone resembled his father.

After a few minutes, Sierra went to the kitchen. She tied her hair up and washed her hands. She then went to send in front of her fridge and closed her eyes, "okay, sierra, you can do it."

She opened her eyes, the fridge door, and began to take out the ingredients. Jonas had taught her a lot; they cooked often. Seeing how tired the man was, she wished to make something for him.

Quiche Lorraine, the recipe seemed easy on paper. Sierra hoped she could reproduce it.

She pierced the holes with folk in the ready-made pastry and let the oven heat up while she prepared the quiche's filling. All appeared to look normal for the moment. Sierra continued until she popped everything in the oven.

She then began to prepare the salad.

Ten minutes later, the quiche's smell woke Jonas up. The man got up and went to the kitchen.

"Sierra?"

"Jonas, you're awake. I didn't want to bother you. So made I dinner."

"Did you finish early?" the man said, looking at the kitchen clock. The woman had gotten him used to eating alone with Leone for the past weeks. It was surprising to see her there when she usually avoided him.

"Yes, I finished early, and Vincent's restaurant is catering for a party. I thought we could have dinner together like weㅡ."

The man approached and came to stand in front of her.

"Jonas, are you okay?"

His eyes roamed on the woman's face. There was such sadness in his stare that yelled for comfort. Sierra didn't know when she lifted her hand, but she realized just before it touched his cheek. Again the woman was about to withdraw it when the man posed his hand on hers and made Sierra feel his cheek. Jonas closed his eyes and focused on her hand and the appeasing sensation it procured.

"Jonas?"

The man let go of her hand to engulf her in a hug. Sierra could curse him out, but right then, Jonas needed to feel her presence and warmth. He missed her; the man missed the woman who cared and tried her impossible to make others happy. Whether what she made was edible or not didn't matter. As the saying goes, it was the thought that counts.

"Jonas."

"Please, Sierra," the woman heard.

They stood without saying a word, and to Jonas's amazement, he felt a slight pressure on his back as Sierra hugged him. The banal gesture made the man's heart collapse.

"baba," suddenly cries filled the house.

They let go and ran to the living room, where Leone cried.

"Leone, I'm here, I'm here," Jonas said and picked him up. The little boy tapped on his dad's chest as he mumbled all his grievances. It was evident that Leone panicked, seeing he was alone when he woke up. Cross, the boy, stretched his hands out to Sierra, who took him.

"I'm sorry, Leone."

The boy sobbed and tucked his head as far as possible in Sierra's bosom.

"Leone, stop," Sierra giggled, "you're tickling me," the boy poked out his head to look at his father with a malicious stare as if to say, serves you right.

Jonas sighed, and Sierra gave him an apologetic stare before saying, "can you check the quiche?"

Fifteen minutes later, they sat to eat.

Sierra waited for Jonas's verdict, "so?"

Jonas smiled, "well done, Sierra."

"No, really, Jonas, it's something humans can eat. There aren't any eggshells?"

The man chuckled, "yes, Sierra, it is, and no, I haven't encountered any shells."

"Thank goodness," Sierra said, placing a hand on her heart before tasting a piece.

"Oh, my, I can't believe it."

"See, it's delicious, so is the salad," Jonas said.

Sierra smiled while she swallowed what she had in her mouth and said, "so how was your day?"

"Eh, I had a lot of work. It just consumed me."

"I can imagine you look exhausted."

Jonas had not told her about his rendezvous with the Gauthiers, and he did not want to speak of it then. The man wished to savor the moment in their presence.

"How was your day?" He returned.

"Hectic as always, I didn't know there were so many meetings." Sierra sighed, "I can't wait for my trial period to finish."

"Eh, sierra, can I ask you a favor?"

"Yes, sure," Sierra said as she served water for both of them.

"I conceived a new wing for Vajradhara Ling. It's a Buddhist institute in Normandy. I want to go and see the finished site, and I would love to take Leone with me."

Sierra frowned, "when do you need to go?"

"On Monday, I'll be back on Wednesday. My dharma or zen master if you want will be there, and I want him to meet Leone."

"I see; I wish I could come."

Jonas's eyes light up, "you can. It would be great if you came, Sierra."

"But I can't. I have a two months trial before my position is validated. I can't be asking for a few days off. You can go with Leone."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, you're his father," Sierra smiled, and suddenly Mrs. Gaulther's words slithered to mind and hissed in Jonas's ear, "may misery follow you and that woman."

Jonas was not superstitious, but he was glad to go to see his Shifu for some enlightenment. Their lives were already full of hardships. He would not bear to see them inflicted again.

The evening carried on, as usual. The moment in the kitchen did not come up in any conversation as the roommate's tradition wanted.

Sierra pretended it was all she could do, just as Jonas found himself harassed by Mrs. Gauthier's words.