[ Something like that, he thinks. He doesn’t know enough about American names to truly tell if she’s doing it correctly, and Hershel certainly isn’t anything recognizable to him as a Russian patronymic, but it sounds as though she’s getting it. ]

Your name and then your father’s name, yes. [ His voice is terse, curt, but far less short than it had been previously. As he continues, even that tense edge dissipates — language is not his passion, but he does find it interesting enough. ] In the Russian you would add an ending to the name, but as far as I know you don’t have that in English. Ah, how to explain…? [ If he had a better understanding of her language, he would offer up a name like Jackson as an example, but she’ll have to make do with his stilted explanation instead. ]

You know that my name, for instance, is Rodion Romanovich. My father’s given name was Roman. That is where my patronymic comes from. That’s what you would call me were we in Russia, at least if we were not particularly close. I in turn would call you Beth Hershel, or Beth Hershelanova, if were we being exact.

[ He watches her carefully as he explains, looking for any signs of comprehension. ]