She couldn't help but find it endearing that he was quoting Cicero almost shyly, as if his intelligence and education were something to be ashamed of. “Well, passion can make you do things you probably shouldn't, but what's life without it?” she asked, thinking about the little passions that kept her going: music, the French she'd learned from her aunt, Jim... She shook off the thought, and the small pang that she'd never had access to Cicero's writings.

“I've always wished there were more books in our house,” she added quietly as she noted the math books. She'd taken calculus in high school, but never linear algebra or discrete math; those were only available in college. She quelled the impulse to ask if she could borrow some of them; he was already being very generous with her.

“Sure,” she said in response to his offer. “Anything is fine.”