“Stop it… I’m in a cloak. There!” Dina nodded towards a shop on the other side of the street.
They ran under the store’s overhang.
Dina began to wipe her face with a white batiste handkerchief, which immediately became soaked. Konstantin Konstantinovich also took out a handkerchief, which was large, checkered, and had unusual colors not seen at the shops, and wiped his wet cheeks and forehead. He suddenly took Dina’s chin in his hand and said, “Shhh, don’t move. You have a drop of water on your earlobe, like a diamond earring.”
Dina froze, staring at Konstantin Konstantinovich. He moved his gaze from the sparkling drop to Dina’s eyes and also froze. Then he carefully wiped away the drop, let Dina go and began folding up his handkerchief in fierce concentration.
Dina leaned against the dark glass window and watched the rain as it flashed in the light of the streetlamp.
Konstantin Konstantinovich, continuing to carefully fold up his handkerchief, spoke quietly. “I really wanted to kiss you.”
Dina didn’t reply at once. “So what stopped you?”
“For the first time, I was stopped by something that I’ve never experienced before.”
“What was it?”
“Well…” He kept turning the piece of fabric over and over in his hands. “Fear? No. Concern.”
“What were you concerned about?”
“I was afraid to offend you… to incur your displeasure.”
“Funny.”
“Indeed. Before today, I was sure that I knew female nature as well as I know my own five fingers. I was certain that I knew when and what women want. I always knew how I should act.” He smiled wryly. “I would never think to question whether I should kiss a woman or not. I knew that a woman must be kissed at every convenient… and even inconvenient opportunity.” He suddenly became serious and asked worriedly: “What if I had done it? Would you have…”
“I wouldn’t have run away,” said Dina. “And I wouldn’t have slapped you.”
Konstantin Konstantinovich chuckled and shook his head. After a brief pause, he asked, and she could hear the nervousness in his voice, “Can I try again?” He turned to Dina.
“Not anymore,” she replied calmly. “I don’t like men that I have to manage: You can do this, you can’t do that… Here comes my tram!” She turned up her collar and got ready to dash to the stop.
Konstantin Konstantinovich took her elbow and turned her to face him. “But we haven’t said goodbye or planned our next date.”