Flashing a genteel smile full of pure delight, he responded with every word elegantly floating from his mouth. "Of course! Please do." Levi gestured to the chair across from him which Elaine promptly plopped into. A wave of relief crashed over her since she had overcome the worst. After a few minutes of silence, Levi attempted to begin a dialogue. "I admit I'm surprised you decided to speak to me after yesterday. I feared I had offended you in some way. Believe me when I say I didn't try to instigate anything."

Feeling increasingly irritated by the subject, Elaine barked definitively, "Let's admit that we started off on the wrong foot, so we can move on."

The smile began to hint at the corners of Levi's lips. Elaine found this irritating as well. What did he find so amusing? Nothing she said seemed remotely humorous. Again Levi tried to strike up a conversation.

"What book do you have with you?" Elaine forgot to even look at the title of the novel she grabbed this morning. She felt absurd not knowing the name of her own book. Quickly she glanced down at the cover in hopes Levi wouldn't notice.

"Crime and Punishment," she hastily responded.

"Dostoevsky, correct? It's an excellent story, but at points, it gets to be somewhat lengthy."

"Well, you know those Russians. There's nothing else to do in Russia but write novels and drink vodka." His smile quickly broadened, and a chuckle escaped from his lips. Then to her surprise, Elaine found herself grinning as well.

"I forgot to ask," Levi said as his laughter died down. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Oh, thank you for asking, but I don't drink coffee. It makes me terribly bilious."