"Are you fine now, Nina?...Have you let it all out?" I asked Nina, who was currently sitting on my lap after crying her heart out and not having any more tears left to shed.
She had been crying for a few minutes now, and only after a bunch of gentle head pats and a few words of consolation did she finally calm down. She also didn't immediately get up after she stopped crying and let me coddle her like I was doing now while obediently sitting on my lap with her hands on her lap and her head lowered shyly.
She clearly knew how embarrassing the current scene looked as a high school boy was taking care of an adult and also the owner of the place. But after the flurry of emotions she went through, she needed a place to calm down, and my lap seemed like the perfect place to do so, as it gave some sort of warmth and safety that even the softest beds didn't give.
