Leon found me sitting in a chair pulled up from the table.

There I sat, in the same foul mood as before, face held in hands, considering whether or not I could climb into the coal stove and make myself disappear. Tears had marred my face, had made it red and splotchy. I had not even noticed his presence until he knelt down beside me and wrapped his arms around me.

Turning around in the chair swiftly, trying to seek whose face was there, I saw him.

"Oh!" I sighed, leaning into the embrace. His arms tightened around me, and I gripped them as if I were drowning, laying my head on his. He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, and I couldn't help but grin. He smiled too. I always liked it when you cried. It gave me an excuse to hold you.

"What is the matter?" He asked after a moment.

"I am so sad, the stoves too small for me to climb into," I said softly, my breath slightly moving his hair.

He untucked his head from underneath mine, looking up at my face, gauging whether or not I was joking. I tried keeping my face solemn, but utterly failing in the process, he noticed, and with that, he chuckled.

The next moment he handed me his handkerchief, and I wiped my tears and blew my nose into it, placing it on the table afterwards.

"Alright," he said soothingly, "What is truly the matter?" His eyes weren't teasing, so I sighed again and leaned into him.

"Oh, I just wish I could be better. I went to visit Lidia, and everything was fine until I started up about how good she was and how strong she was, and then she started to cry, and then I started to cry…oh Leon, I am so horrible! The last thing she needed was for me to hug and bawl all over her! Mrs. Woźniakowa had to kick me out, it was all terrible! You should have seen her at Jerzy's funeral, she did not break down once, not until I spoke to her. Do you see? I am terrible at comforting her, especially now that she needs it!"

I blabbered on and on, and all the while he listened intently, and after all was said, I looked at him to see his reaction. Would he think me terrible?

He looked at me for a moment, and then spoke, "Anetka, do you wonder if Lidia ever gets tired of keeping composure, of being strong? She cries with you because she feels like it is okay to be like that in front of you, not because you're awful or because you're bad at comforting. You see?"

I looked into his eyes and saw that he was serious about his statement. They even seemed to look at me softly. I sat and stared dumbly at him for a second. He couldn't be right, could he?

"You are just saying that to make me feel better," I stated matter-of-factly, holding my nose up in the air to seemingly prove my point.

He grinned and his eyes went back to teasing again, and he said, "And how do you know that?"

I felt peevish. Och, on jest niemożliwy! Oh, he is impossible! I stated hotly, "Do not mock me! You know quite well that I do not like being teased, especially when I am truly upset. Leon, anyone with eyes can see how different I am from Lidia. She's so gentle and sweet…" I felt tears fill my eyes, and was about to continue, but Leon interrupted me.

"And who says you are not? Anetka, I can say that I love you for exactly who you are, and so does Lidia. She became your friend for you, and I think we can both agree that you are the bravest person we know," And with that, he took my hand in his and kissed it.

I held my gaze into my lap the whole while, unable to look at him as he was speaking. Oh! He sure knew how to please me with his words. I shook my head softly, about to say something in retaliation, but he saw my reaction and took my chin in his hands, making me look at him.

"Now don't go on about how impossible I am, or how I am teasing you because I am not. Anetka I mean every word I say. You are perfect just the way you are, and I would not want you any different, and so wouldn't Lidia," Then he leaned in and smiled conspiratorially, "Though I will admit that you are headstrong at times."

And with that, I laughed and cried a little at the same time. When he saw the tears, he reached into his pocket to give me a handkerchief before remembering that he had already given it to me. Instead, he settled to stand up and hold me close to him. I thought about pushing away, but instead accepted it. I suppose I could deal with him afterwards.

It felt like an eternity, as we hugged each other, but neither of us seemed to mind. I felt his heart beating through his chest, a steady thumping that set my mind to ease.

"You feel good," He murmured into my hair, sighing deeply.

"Leon," I said warningly, but it was only a guise.

I loved it whenever he said anything of the sort. It was simultaneously so unlike and like him. Even when he teased me, which he did often, there was always some underlying affection to it, something that always made my knees tremble, that made me blush. I suppose he knew all of this, and reveled in it, especially now. This moment was suspended in time, us both there together. A part of me wished it could never end, and it was only interrupted when Leon, taking a deep breath, spoke.

"Marry me?"

I jumped back and nearly fell out of the chair, only being saved by his hands catching hold of me.

"What?!" I gasped, recovering from my near fall.

"Forgive me for being sudden, but Anetka, I just realized now that I want to be like this forever, holding you in my arms," He smiled warmly and looked at me, expecting an answer.

O Boże! Oh lord! What could I say? I always said I didn't want another man to take care of, and yet…I was already doing that. I had doctored him again after he came back, after I thought he was dead….

And a thought came to me suddenly, and that was when I realized that those two days of despair and anguish, of waiting for him to show up, dead or alive, were the most distressing two days of my life, second, I suppose, to my mother dying. I had loved him then, and I still loved him now, so much. The thought made me gasp aloud, and his eyes went wide with alarm.

"Have I overstepped?" He asked, his voice and face all together nervous. I had never seen him look like he did now before, not until right this moment.

I shook my head, smiling softly.

"No, but I don't see what you want in me. I do know that I love you, Leon. So yes, I will marry you."

And with that, a great big smile went on his face, and he took my face in his hands and kissed me.