know this.»
And the men fell silent, both sincerely worrying about Lana.
* * * * *
«Dad!» Her whining voice brought Ruslan back to the present. «I’m adult enough. I do understand… Okay, okay! Oh, Daddy, I love you, too…»
Ruslan heard her hang up, and he turned toward the girl.
Thinking, Lana looked at Ruslan, ready to debate.
«Look,» she said hesitantly. «It’s Saturday. Can I do it tomorrow, eh? Please?»
«Do it right away, and you’ll have all weekend for fun,» he pronounced with a very odd voice, and Lana gazed at him as an idea came to her.
Getting up, she neared Ruslan and put her hands on his shoulders. With pleasure she saw his face flushing, and she whispered intimately, «I’ll kiss you.»
He closed his eyes for a second, then, grinning, he took her arms away. He did it very gently, yet resolutely.
«I’d rather kiss a frog,» he answered sharply, and the perplexed girl simply could not find words to reply to this impolite guy.
«I will kiss a frog, if I see she has real feelings for me,» he declared, and a challenge sounded in his voice.
«Maybe I do feel something for you,» retorted Lana Limpson, using the same tone.
«Knock it off, girl. Don’t waste your fire and time on me.» He nodded toward the window. «Your bull is close to jumping out of his pants with impatience.»
Lana just stared at Ruslan, speechless and feeling herself beaten. Not adding a word, she went to her computer and, taking her papers, she started to work.
She finished very quickly, much faster than Ruslan expected. Lana held her papers out to him, and asked with sarcasm, «Would you like to check it, professor?»
He took them, being sure there would be a lot of mistakes, but to his surprise everything was correct.
«You’re brilliant,» he murmured. «It’s a shame that you’re a C-student. You can have straight A’s.»
«Oh, big deal.» Lana glanced at the window. «May I go now?»
«Of course.» Ruslan sighed. The girl grabbed her purse and ran away. He watched through the window as she neared Oleg, and hugged him. They got inside his car, Oleg drove away, and a painful sadness hemmed Ruslan in.
«She didn’t even look back,» he whispered with bitterness.
He checked his watch. Today was David VanStein’s birthday, and he was invited. Because Lana had done her homework so fast, Ruslan saw he had plenty of time. He took his bag, went outside, and slowly walked along the street.
Spring weather began its rule of the town, and under beaming sunshine the snow started melting and losing its clean whiteness. Uttering optimistic chirps, the cheerful starlings were hopping on the budding branches and twigs of the revived trees and bushes, and the air smelled fresh.