In the days that followed, I began to enjoy my new routine.
It was not dramatic.
There were no sudden revelations. No grand declaration that my life had finally begun. Freedom, it turned out, did not arrive with music playing in the background.
It arrived at six fifteen every morning with a wet nose pressed against my hand.
The first time Cupid woke me, I thought someone was knocking at the door.
Then I opened my eyes and found him standing beside the bed with his lead between his teeth.
“You know,” I told him, “Most guests wait until breakfast before making demands.”
Cupid dropped the lead onto my pillow.
I stared at it.
He stared back.
Ten minutes later, we were outside.
The city was different in the early morning. Delivery trucks stood behind cafés. Street cleaners sprayed th
