Returning is always better than leaving

I returned to my Beloved and my Jewel late at night. The little one was already passed out on the couch, no doubt holding off sleep for as long as she could (read: 5 minutes) waiting for me. But eventually her little sleep deprived body took her to a deep slumber. Or so I thought.

I approached to where she was sleeping, looking down on her, with our faces inverted. I leaned over and touched my nose to hers. Without hesitation, her eyes opened and she smiled, and then she put me in the strongest, most tender, most heart-wrenching choke hold imaginable. It was wonderful.

We embraced for several moments before I tenderly implored her to close her eyes and drift off to sleep again. Her parting words for me, as I crept away:

"You made my heart happy again."