To tell the truth, Dick was confused and surprised by Cela’s sudden and abrupt softening and offering of food. That certainly didn’t stop him from eating, though. After thanking Cela warmly, he gratefully ate, quickly, though not hastily, as he enjoyed each bite. For a time, a silence ruled in the kitchen. Cela moved quietly about the stove. When the bowl was half empty and most of the mushrooms eaten, Dick finally looked up again.
She hadn’t taken up the argument again, he told himself as he turned his thoughts back to their short disagreement. Her very slight agreement – that ‘Yes, of course’ – hadn’t sounded very much like a real agreement, nor at all like a surrender. In fact, it had sounded almost entirely like a reply forced out of the necessity to be obedient to his last request. He didn't like that.
“If you really don’t like him that much, then he doesn’t have to stay,” Dick said abruptly. “We can’t do without you, Cela, that’s for sure, and I don’t like it when anyone here is unhappy. I don’t want to turn him off, though, empty handed. Could you put up with him, do you think, for at least a little while? Maybe he’ll get tired of us and leave of his own will. I’m only asking for a few days – maybe a week – and after that, we can talk about it again.”
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