40. The Consolations of Life in a Yali

"As we sat at the bay window overlooking the water, eating our evening meal like a couple who were able to live on nothing but love, the City Line ferry named Kalender would leave the Ana doluhisarı landing stage, and there at the wheel we would see the mustached captain with his cap; so close that he could see the crackling mackerel at our table, and the eggplant purée and fritters, the white cheese, the melon and rakı, he would cry, “Good appetite,” which Sibel took for yet another charming ritual bound to advance my cure and make us happy." (The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk)