Still smiling broadly, she leans in and kisses him, once on each cheek, and then, briefly, but firmly, on the lips.

"I always believed things work out okay in the end," she says. "The universe doesn't just let things happen because. If I'm here, there's a reason, and that means I'll be able to survive. Be stupid of the universe just to plunk me down here so I can starve on the streets. Waste of energy, or whatever it took to bring me here. I make a friend, and I get a job, and I survive."

She squeezes his hand and bounces a little on the balls of her feet. "Gracias. Thank you."