It was now evening. The cold had begun to spread. On an isolated dirt road, Frank had asked Svetlana if she would have dinner with him. Surprised by this unexpected proposal, she had hesitated about the answer to give. “Was she presentable? What was this man really looking for?” An embarrassing procrastination had taken place. This hesitation had astonished Frank. He wondered. Did he just start a new speed too quickly, at the risk of destroying the entire clutch? He had supposed she would have said yes, without flinching. What was holding her back? She who had not let go of his hand in the afternoon!
Suddenly, Svetlana replied, “Okay!” A simple word that was bitterly out of her mouth as a radical decision that would have impacted the rest of her life…
Frank felt relieved. A smile had swe
