Lili traces a nonsensical pattern into his chest. She sees a class photograph, too. Rows of faces, formal robes, grins. Firsts, graduation, and success.
Why didn’t you anglicize?she wants to ask.
“What did you study?” she asks instead. “Econ?”
“I read history and politics.”
“Oh.”
“Is that surprising?”
“I guess not,” she grumbles.
“Don’t worry, Michael’s the one who studied business the moment they’d let him in the building.”
Lili considers the photo in the park again. The older man in the roomwith her, the younger man looking out at her. “Do the two of you speak Russian together, now?”
Aleksandr laughs. “Jesus, no.”
She frowns, looking at him. “Why not? Because of the war?”
“It’s always been better for Americans to hear the British. They don’t need the reminder of where I’m from.”
It’s ridiculous how fast her questions rise, wanting to know more about him.
He sees it, too. “You can ask me about it,” he says. “I’m not allergic to the specter of communism.”
“Why—why did you leave?”
She’s not imagining it: the slightly sad hint to his smile. “I couldn’t stay.”
Lili nestles closer into him. She’ll leave. She will. Just—just a few more minutes.
“What about your family?” he asks. “It was your birthday, do you have plans to see them?”
“Oh. I don’t really have any. My—um. My parents died when I was young. Car accident. My foster family’s busy.”
Aleksandr frowns. “Fostered?”
“I wasn’t adopted,” she replies, looking over the bookshelves again. She clears her throat. “What’s with the Gramsci? And Foucault?”
“They have some intriguing ideas.”
“You agree with Gramsci and Foucault?”
“Don’t sound so alarmed.”
“They’re both sort of Marxists.”
“I was, both literally and figuratively, raised by Marxists.”
“Yes, and you’ve thrown it all out the window.”
“Just because I don’t agree with the entirety of their thinking doesn’t mean I should ignore their work—it’s a limited world, if we only explored what compounded what we already believed. You need to test what you think, often. Our convictions and beliefs need to hold up against argument, otherwise, we’re just grasping at blind faith.”
It’s uncomfortable, when he says things she can’t help but grudgingly agree with.
“Alright,” Lili concedes. “Tell me what you like about them.”
