Page 19 of Somewhere Between Falling

“Weird name, great coffee,” Tobias said with a crooked smile.

“I trust you.”

“Well now, it’s about time.”

I laughed as I started reading the options on the menu. Normally I was strictly a caramel macchiato kind of girl, but I decided to try their specialty. I ordered a salted caramel latte and a bagel with a goat cheese and blueberry spread. Tobias ordered the same thing minus the bagel.

We sat down to begin going through my notes and my assignment.

“Okay, let’s get down to work, shall we?” he asked, folding his hands neatly in front of him. “Which short story did you decide to analyze?”

“‘Anna on the Neck,’” I told him as I opened up my notebook to my notes. “I know that Anna married that old guy to help her family because they lived in poverty, but wasn’t that pretty normal back then? What did Mrs. Bennett call it in Pride and Prejudice? An ‘advantageous marriage’?”

“Correct, but ‘Anna on the Neck’ is more than just a girl being married off for the benefit of her family. It’s basically a tale of the battle of the sexes: how the wealth and rank of fifty-two-year-old Modest Alexeitch gives him power versus the power Anna learns she possesses through her beauty, charm, and youth.”

“But beauty and youth fade, so the power it gives you can’t last forever.”

“Exactly,” he agreed with a proud smile. “Here, let me see the book.”

I handed it to him, and he flipped through the pages until he found the passage he was looking for. He pointed it out for me to read. “See here? It doesn’t bring her happiness in the end.”

His ability to explain the meaning behind the passages in a way that made sense to me was probably the most attractive thing about him. Okay, well, maybe just one of the most attractive things about him.

“Thank you,” I told him as I put everything back in my bag. “You were very helpful.”

“Quite the compliment,” he jested, but his whiskey-colored eyes were warm with affection.

“Yeah, yeah.” I cleaned up my bagel mess and then asked him, “So how’s the dissertation coming?”

“Good, ahead of schedule.”

“You know, I went through a vampire stage once.” I took a sip of my second cup of coffee, nostalgically remembering my Twilight obsession. “It was more than a stage, actually. I went so far as insisting on only using strawberry-scented shampoo because that’s what Bella used.” I laughed. “I was definitely Team Edward, but these days I’m more Team Charlie than anything.”

“Your hair still smells like strawberries,” Tobias pointed out with a sly smile that gave me butterflies.

“Yeah, well, old habits die hard,” I conceded. “So are you planning on staying at Parkhurst? After you are finished, I mean.”

“That’s the plan. I mean, it makes sense. I start teaching my own courses this fall.”

“Really? That’s kinda weird to think about.”

“For me too, but I’m also ready. Kiuchi is a great mentor, but I’m ready to be more on my own.”

“Did you always want to be a teacher?”

“Not at all, actually.” He laughed, then continued, “I’ve just always liked Russian literature, and what else do you do with that kind of degree? Teaching just made the most sense.” He shrugged.

“Why Russian literature? I hope that doesn’t sound rude. But what got you interested in that in the first place?”

“My grandma didn’t like to read traditional bedtime stories. Instead, when she read me to sleep, she’d read me Anna Karenina or War and Peace. Huge Tolstoy fan,” he said, smiling fondly. “I guess that’s where I got it from.”

“You must have been close.”

“She practically raised me. After my mom died…cancer…I was too young to really remember her. Anyway, after she passed, my dad sort of buried himself in work. I guess I don’t really remember him much either. Grandma was the most consistent parental figure I had.”

“I’m sorry about your mom. And your dad. Is your grandma still—?” I stopped myself before finishing my question in case it was a touchy subject, but he knew what I was asking.

“She’s still dancing.” He smiled. “She is currently on her fourth European tour with her friends.”

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