“Of course!” Dembe thought the offer had been quite obvious in this regard, but he could tell that the misunderstanding was coming from a place of modesty. It had taken him a long time to get past this himself. In the beginning, after Raymond had freed him, every kindness had been met with suspicion on his part. It had taken a lot of time and patience to get rid of those feelings, but he still felt that modesty.

“All you need to do is tell me when it would be convenient for you and I arrange to rest.” 

With a gentle touch to the small on Samar’s back, Dembe led her to the dining table. “Nothing fancy!” he grinned. “Just a Lasagne.” He wanted to make something he could leave in the oven while picking her up, Something that would not steal his time away from his guest. The salat accompanying the main meal was already standing on the table.

“What can I get you to drink?” he asked, pulling a chair out for her. The tall man was glad that she felt comfortable in his home, wishing for the night to go well. Then again, it had started way better than he had ever expected or dared to hope.

          At her reaction, Blaine couldn’t help smiling. No one could resist cute animals. At least no one with a heart. “Thank you so much. I’m working on moving into a bigger place so he can have his own room. Shouldn’t take longer than a week or so before I can finally take him home with me.” Ravi and Liv would have a fit if they knew he’d kept the dog, but what they didn’t know didn’t hurt Blaine.

          As he continued to straighten the room and hand over a few more toys and treats, he glanced back to her. “Is there any way I can thank you? You like coffee? Tea? Maybe dinner at a nice place?” The dog just so happened to bark at that moment. “See, even he approves that you should be thanked with food.”

He grinned like a cat that got the cream, happy that she was so enthusiastic about his invitation.

“It depends. I have to look up the price if you want to join one of the courses. If we decide to do a private lesson, just the two of us, we only have the cost of the training room. I have it booked once a week. We can split the cost for that,” he explained, understanding her wish to contribute.

The open door on the top of the stairs led to a small, softly lit hallway. It offered a free view of what seemed to be the living room, furnished simply but comfortably. One wall was cover by bookshelves containing a wide variety of books, board games, and framed pictures. Some of the pictures and decor was indicating his African heritage., but nothing was too on the nose.

A comfy looking dark green couch in front of a TV and a dining table completed the look. The table was adorned with a white table cloth, candles, and a vase, filled with the same black tulips, Dembe had given to Samar earlier.

Next to the living room was an open kitchen. A delicious smell was coming from the pots standing on the oven.

“It has been a while for me too!” Dembe admitted. “Let me know if I can do anything to make you feel at home!”

“You should learn to take a compliment, my dear!” A motherly smile on her face, wrinkles in the corners of her eyes, Ostara leaned over and put her hand on top of Samar’s. Her touch was soft and reassuring, the power she bestowed with it palpable. Hers were healer’s hand, hands that brought life and comfort.

It was not difficult for Ostara to see that it would be hard for the other to talk about her life. “You don’t need to tell me anything if it’s too hard for you. I was just curious. Do you have any more questions for me instead?”

Dembe was tempted to tell her that they had started with Tai Chi because the doctor had ordered Raymond to exercise more. His brother found walking alone to tedious, so he had looked for something more exciting but not too demanding. Raymond would not want him to violate his trust like this, but he didn’t want to lie to Samar.

“I discovered it during a business trip to Brazil,” he started to tell instead. “I wanted to learn how to do it the moment I saw it for the first time. That was about 10 years ago. If you like, I can take you to a training session sometime.” 

It seemed like nothing could wipe the smile off his face this evening, Dembe thought as he led Samar up to the front door. There were no lights on on the ground floor, but he had not expected any. Isabella had told him that she and Elle were out this evening. The only light shining was the one he had left on in his own apartment on the second floor.

“I bought this house about a year ago!” The front door opened to a small hallway with a narrow staircase. “My apartment is upstairs.” He pointed up, indicating for her to go up first.   

“That was very kind of you. Letting a stranger in your home and helping them. It tells a lot about your character already!” Ostara had always looked favorable to those being hospitable, even as a goddess manly related to fertility and rebirth. Her feast had always been a time for companionship and family. It was about bringing people together to celebrate their victory over winter. A victory mostly gained by working together. This facet of her day was now forgotten. Those who still celebrated eastern didn’t know the hardship their ancestors had to get through winter. Ostara found delight that there was still kindness in the world even without those burdens.

The goddess took another sip of her tea, contemplating at her age for another moment. “I rather really old or younger than most think,” she answered mysteriously, but there was no straight answer to this questions Ostara thought.

“I guess a story is best told from the beginning, don’t you think?” A look out of the window told her that she would be here for a while. The weather did not seem to be getting any better, and getting here had been demanding.

Her mention of soccer reminded him of his siblings. They would play the game with a ball his mother had stitched for them out of old rags. It’s was one of the few memories he still had of his siblings. Later during his time in South Sudan, he would sometimes play soccer with the boys from the village.

“I do Capoeira in a small studio in Arlington, and Raymond and I have started doing Tai Chi a few weeks ago.”