Act 2 Summary

This scene is set late at night, in the dining room of the house. The Professor is dozing in a chair by a window and Yelena is dozing nearby. Suddenly the Professor wakes up, a serious pain in his leg. Yelena covers him up with the blanket that had fallen from his lap, and tells him that it's after midnight. The Professor asks Yelena to look in the library the next day for a particular book, and wonders aloud why he's so short of breath. Yelena says he's just tired, but the Professor complains that it's because he's getting old, saying that as he ages he's getting offensive to himself and to other people. He says he knows that of all the people he knows, Yelena finds him most offensive. Then tells her not to worry, he won't be around much longer.

Sonya...