"I like this counter," Teja murmurs, leaning in to kiss Charlie again; it is just the right height for them to comfortably embrace, and see eye to eye. A quiet shuffle of feet, and tilt of hip, brings him even closer.

"She would not have chosen the house, surely, for the height of the counter?"

Pause.

"We both can do many things that are not our first duty, or the trade we live by," he then admits. "You can fight, and throw a man on his back; I can raise a kitten by hand."