Flavorful Resignation From North Africa

"You're a smart one, aren't you?"

The man's voice was soft, his accent French-Algerian. The woman's skin was the color of light caramel and her eyes, the hue of honey. She began to speak in French and, although he didn't understand the language, his gut told him that she was pleased with something he had said or done.

"Would you like me to put this in the oven or does it require some stirring?" Farah asked him, holding up a glass bowl filled with milk infused with cardamom, saffron, and ginger.

"Stirring is good," Rahim said. "A little more cardamom if you don't mind. About a teaspoon." He took the bowl from her and stirred it himself for a second before handing it back to her. "How about we take a break now? Let me see how much longer this needs to cook." He glanced at the timer on the stove. "Why don't we order some lunch?"

Farah smiled happily at him as she poured herself a cup of tea from the pot that had been sitting on the table since they started cooking lunch together earlier in the day.

Rahim ordered their food while Farah continued to work on the dessert she had been making earlier in the day. She had found some interesting things in his kitchen: dried rose petals, whole chilies, even a small jar of pomegranate molasses. She placed each item in her own bowl and mixed them together before putting them back in their respective containers. She stood there sipping her tea when she felt Rahim's hand on her shoulder.

"Listen," he said softly, "I would like you to stay here tonight." His fingers moved lightly across her collarbone and then traced down her arm to find her hand. "I have a room upstairs that I'm not using right now." He gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it reluctantly and taking a step back so they could look into each other's eyes without looking silly. Their eyes locked for only a moment before Farah leaned forward and pressed her lips softly against his cheek.

"Merci," she whispered into his ear. Her lips lingered for just an instant longer than necessary and then she pulled away from him, walking toward the table where she had left her bowl of ingredients from earlier in the day.