Chapter 8 "A Bonding Moment" (Mid July 1983)

(Song suggestion "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers)

Dr. Egon Spengler

The business began to buzz after our first client at the hotel two months ago, and we now had at least one case a week. Fortunately, that relieved a slight amount of the pressure that we felt financially as our business commenced growing. I was merrily examining new samples of ectoplasm often in my lab, and recording my observations. Since May, I had cut down my interactions with Ms. Melnitz to ones only about our fledgling business, but lately, I found that I missed conversing with her.

Today, our Brooklynite secretary was in a foul mood, as apparent by her being uncommunicative when I sat down to eat with her at the kitchen table. Janine was usually friendly, animated and sweet, which were things that I admired about her. Even her posture was negative because she was leaning forward and slouching downwards in her chair. I could already tell that it would be hard to start a conversation with Janine, which added an extra obstacle.

"Hello Janine, " I greeted her with a half-grin on my face, observing her expressionless face. I attempted to assess the problem, but I came up with nothing. However, this was nothing new as people were often a mystery to me.

"Hmm?"

Although the redhead lady replied, she didn't even look up from her lunch, which was unusual, too.

"Janine, are you ok," I inquired again, feeling a little troubled by her answers.

"Mmmm," she answered, finally, looking up at me. Her blue eyes normally shone in the light, but they seemed dull. Janine maintained eye contact but still managed to look forlorn. Frowning, I asked if Peter said something to upset her earlier as those two had something of a sibling rivalry, and they often ragged on each other throughout the day.

"No, not this time. The day is still young," Janine replied drily, then lifted a forkful of salad to her appealing mouth.

"You are rarely this quiet and somber," I informed her, unwrapping my hamburger from its wrapper and taking a sip of my coke because I was famished.

"Just a bad day," Ms. Melnitz remarked, gazing downwards, sulking. That was the end of the conversation for a short time as I couldn't think of anything else to say. As I observed the beautiful lady, I disliked seeing her in this mood no matter the cause, and I continued to rack my brain with a good discussion topic.

Janine Melnitz

"How does the proton pack work exactly," I inquired of Egon. He looked startled when I asked him about it but he was not unhappy. Earlier in the day, I saw a video that Dr. Venkman shot featuring Ray and Egon busting and trapping a ghost at a recent bust, which made me wonder about the tools they used. The video was pretty amazing as I enjoyed watching my employers in action, especially my love interest. As I viewed the VHS tape, I marveled at Dr. Spengler wielding a particle thrower, looking hot as hell. He almost looked like John Wayne in an old western movie that I watched with my mother when I grew up.

I usually would be over the moon that Egon was having lunch with me, but I was having a bad day. Melancholy, I stabbed at my chef salad with my fork and waited for a response. Egon questioned with a raised eyebrow, "Why are you interested in how it works?"

"Uhmm, I saw the video that Peter shot and I enjoy obtaining new knowledge," I answered him, defensively, "I may not understand everything you will tell me, but I still would like to know."

Egon turned beet red, embarrassed, causing my palms to start sweating. Exhaling loudly, I continued to eat my lunch in silence until he spoke, his eyes showing his uneasiness with the topic," I never said that you weren't intelligent enough to comprehend it, Janine. Normally women, or men, for that matter, don't want to talk about it, or if they do, it's over their heads."

Expectantly, I tilted my head to the right side and flirtatiously questioned my crush, "haven't you deduced that I am unlike other people yet?"

"Yes," Dr. Spengler replied, treating me to one of his half-grins. Nodding, I encouraged him to give me the explanation.

" Ray and I designed the Proton Pack to counter the negative energy which ghosts are made of with a Proton Stream, a stream of positively charged ions which can harness a ghost render less. In practical terms, the Proton Gun fires a stream of energy that allows a wielder to snare ghosts. " Egon elucidated, in between bites of his hamburger.

"How did you come up with that idea?"

"My uncle, Floyd, is a Physicist but also has a Ph.D. in paranormal psychology. He came up with the idea of using positively charged ions to capture ghosts maybe five to seven years ago, but the problem was testing it out. He was so enthralled when we started the Ghostbusters. I'm sending him that video so he can see how his idea turned out," Egon enthusiastically summarized and his coffee eyes flashed with excitement. I thought that I liked when he was enlivened when he spoke.

"Are all members of your family geniuses," I asked cautiously, shaking my head in disbelief, "how would someone think about that?"

Sipping his soda, Egon concluded, "No. However, on my Mother's side, they are all scientists. Uncle Floyd was the impetus for me to do research and work in this area."

"Did your parents put you in a lab when you were three," I asked coyly, with a small playful smirk on my lips.

Egon chuckled before stating with, "No, they are chemistry professors who are very dedicated to their careers. They encouraged my brother and me to be interested in science, but Uncle Floyd really influenced me the most because he was like a surrogate parent when he wasn't under contract working for the government."

"I feel very uneducated compared to you," I admitted, lowering my eyes.

"That's preposterous," Egon replied, shocked, " You are close to completing your degree in computer systems. My knowledge of them is a little outdated, but I am attempting to catch up."

"Is this because I proved to you that I knew BASIC," I flirted, looking at him from underneath my thick eyelashes and fluttering them a little. Dr. Spengler ran his right hand through his wavy hair before admitting,

"Yes, that may have given me the drive to start researching the topic."

Blushing, I took a bite of my salad, happy with this information, and enjoying the conversation. Egon didn't seem to shut down when I flirted with him today, and I thought that was a good sign. I felt my hand shake a little due to the anxiety of continuing the intriguing discussion with him, but I put them of my lap to conceal them.

"How's your class progressing," Dr. Spengler's lips slightly upturned with a gleam in his eyes, inquired.

"No complaints. The final is in a month," I informed, with a sigh," but next semester, if I continue, I have to take my last programming class."

"Please clarify'," he stated, his brown eyes growing wider as they showed confusion.

"It's about time to register for the Fall semester, and I am thinking about dropping the program altogether," I announced, feeling slightly defeated. However, I was happy that Egon remembered an earlier discussion we had.

"Why," he inquired, then raised an eyebrow when I didn't respond.

"Once again, I am doubtful if that is the direction I would like my career to go in," I elucidated, "this has happened to me before. I have changed my major a few times; then, when I'm very close to completing it, I question if it's the right degree for me."

Again, Egon studied my face looking like he was trying to solve a problem, then asked, "Why aren't you doing anything with computers now?"

"I like the program that I am studying but I am uncertain if that is what I want to do as a career," I divulged slowly. Silence filled the room for a while as I poked at my salad with a fork and chewed my food.

"I don't think I have worked out the reason you are a secretary when you are so knowledgeable," he revealed, chewing on his hamburger afterward.

"What's to figure out?" I questioned suspiciously, narrowing my blue eyes at him, then I took another bite out of my salad and chewed frustratedly.

"I have seen your resume. You have a major in computer systems and are nine hours or less away from a degree. Plus, you have a minor in accounting," Dr. Spengler answered in an awed tone of voice. His brown eyes searched my face, perplexed, and I lowered my head embarrassed at his compliment.

"I...know...I made some. Ahem..insensitive comments about you...a few months back, but I want you to know that I said more out of extreme annoyance at Venkman and Stantz than my actual thoughts about you. You are knowledgeable, Janine, and you have proven that since your interview," Egon commended, his long face turning red and his voice sounding shaky.

"Hopefully, you have forgiven me by now."

"Oh, of course, silly! We didn't know each other very well, and I came on a little too strongly. There's nothing for you to feel guilty about," I reassured him, sweetly, with a big bright smile on my face.

My favorite Ghostbuster's cheeks changed to a light shade of pink, but he nodded silently, recognizing my comment.

"In my defense, Dr. Spengler, I find you fascinating. Don't worry, though; I won't flirt with you so noticeably. I know now that you are immensely resolute about your work and don't have time for anything else," I claimed shyly, breaking the silence a little later.

Consequently, Egon lightly chuckled at this description of him and his brown eyes shone even though he tried to hide it.

"Did he like it when I flirted with him now? Why were his eyes shining like that," I wondered to myself.

"Admittedly, I do not have much experience with women," the handsome man revealed, appearing ill at ease, "but I do enjoy talking with you very much, Janine."

I simpered and felt the blood rush to my cheeks while . Egon nervously maintained his gaze on me. Inside, I felt elated at his revelation and felt my pulse rate increase . His contemplative brown eyes peered deeply into my soul, scrutinizing me, and promptly, a warm feeling spread through my body.

Dr. Spengler cleared his throat after a moment when he realized that he was staring at me and inquired,

"Ahem, I realize I let you divert me off of topic, Janine. We were discussing the reason you weren't working in the computer industry. How did you become involved in computers?

Feeling irked that he remembered. I answered Egon. My mood deflated a little, and I felt depressed about my indecision about my degree.

" Around 1976, I read that computers were the future in a science journal because I was a secretary for the same department at King's College at the time. Since I received a meager tuition rate, I took a computer class or two each semester at night school."

"But you should have your degree by now," Egon stated, perplexed, making the calculations mentally.

" My major switched from business administration to accounting to photography to computer systems," I informed, regarding my lunch, but not feeling hungry. I picked at my food a little.

"But you have the most classes in computer systems. What do you want to do with that?"

"I pursued those classes because they are compelling to me, but I don't know if I would like to work in that industry, honestly. My advisor wants me to finish my degree quickly so I could assist her in creating a curriculum for a class about computer systems in the business world," I mentioned, uncertain of myself.

Dr. Egon Spengler

For the past few months, I had learned Janine's many facial expressions- the content, the friendly, the sarcastic, the irritated and the flirtatious, for instance. She looked sullen and uncertain of herself today , and those weren't really characteristics that I would use to describe her normally. As I observed Janine's despondent mood, I disliked it.

"That sounds like a good opportunity working with your advisor. You aren't being challenged here, and I'm certain you weren't in your other jobs. Why don't you pursue something you are interested in? Unless you are happy with what you are doing because that's different," I questioned my lunch mate, desiring to understand her better.

"Classic underachiever," Janine replied softly, gazing downwards at her half-eaten lunch.

"I don't believe that is it," I commented, thoughtfully, leaning towards her in my chair.

"Egon, I will tell you, but it doesn't leave this room. I don't need additional teasing from Dr. Venkman," the lady from Brooklyn stated, seriously, after a few minutes of her contemplating her confidence in me. Pleased, I nodded my consent, a little surprised that she would trust in me, and that made me feel good inside.

"Have you ever failed at anything?"

"Yes," I answered sincerely.

"Like what," Janine asked, wide-eyed, shocked.

"I took a Home Economics class in high school that I made a B in, which was considered a failure to my parents. It was the only B I made in school before college," I answered, chagrin.

Janine waited for a while before speaking, " I am afraid I'm going to fail in my career, whatever that may be. My parents didn't really expect me to be much more than a housewife like Doris, my sister; you met her. She was the one they had great hopes for even though she was a mess in school, and I did better academically."

"Then prove them and yourself wrong by earning your degree and having a rewarding career, Janine," I responded sincerely, trying to encourage her.

Disheartened, our secretary looked away from me for a minute to regain her composure, but I wasn't sure why.

"Unfortunately, there's more. This morning my mother, who's old-school, yelled at me because I was almost twenty-nine and still wasting my life trying to figure out my career path instead of starting a family," Janine blurted out, and then tears fell from her face. When she began to cry, it looked like water cascading down a waterfall.

As I watched her weep helplessly, I felt an acute pain in my chest that reminded me of my feelings for her.

Standing up, I went to the end table where there was a box of tissues and then brought them to the table for Janine. Awkwardly, I patted the back of her right shoulder a few times. I didn't understand exactly why our pretty secretary cried, but it didn't matter. I wanted to aid her in any way I could.

Without warning, Janine jumped up from her chair and threw her arms around my waist, sobbing heavily. Dismayed, I hesitantly placed my arms one at a time around her waist loosely as I felt extraordinarily guarded about my actions, and my body tightened into one giant rubber band with her unexpected actions.

"It had been a very long time since I had touched a woman, "I thought inwardly, apprehensively.

For a while, hugging a woman in my arms felt foreign. Janine shed tears into my chest as her arms wrapped around my waist snuggly, and they felt like a warm blanket on my body on a chilly Autumn night in November in Manhattan.

With her body pressed against mine, I felt shocks of electricity run through my own as I cherished the moment. My reservations faded away as the petite woman's grief overpowered my empathy, and my body loosened up immensely with time. Although I felt selfish for focusing on the exceptional way that our amazing secretary felt in my arms while she was clearly upset, I also felt quite defenseless in ceasing it.

My desire to relieve Janine's suffering overcame me. Without thinking about it, I began to rub her back with my right hand slowly up and down, rhythmically. I hoped that I was assisting her as I slowly shut my eyes as we embraced. A grin spread across my face because Janine felt warm to my touch, like sunshine. Her skin, like her smile, felt like a balmy summer day, and it was another aspect about Janine that I enjoyed. I felt a slip in my control over my emotions but disregarded the flashing red warning signs in my imagination.

Next, I lowered my face to Janine's right ear so I could whisper, in a peaceful, steady voice, "Ssshhhhh, it is ok."

My eyes shut as I spoke into her ear, and I squeezed her a little more tightly with my arms. I felt so much joy while I embraced the pretty lady I almost felt guilty for feeling so invigorated as she wept. A buzz from Janine's body caused all of the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up as my heart thundered in my chest, and my nose recorded that she smelled of roses and vanilla. I inhaled the scent deeply.

"Janine feels so great in my arms," I thought to myself, "I don't want her to move, but I wish she would stop sobbing."

When she quit crying a little later, Janine buried her head on my chest, sniffling. Still, I persisted in rubbing her back, occasionally, saying in an affectionate voice, "Shhh, Janine, please don't cry."

Flabbergasted, I didn't know where these comforting words were coming from as they sounded bizarre to me when they came out of my mouth, but they seemed to soothe her, so that's all that mattered.

Janine, unanticipatedly, pulled her small body back from me and remarked, glumly, "I'm sorry, Egon. I know you don't have time in your day for me in your quest to eliminate NYC of ghosts."

As the angel in front of me glanced up at me then downwards at her feet again in a self-conscious way, I examined her bewitching tear-stained face, noting that there was one renegade tear falling still. Quickly, I punctiliously wiped it away with my index finger.

"Shh, Janine. You aren't keeping me from anything," I murmured truthfully, gazing into her woeful blue eyes as they filled up with tears again. She then began to weep once more, and there was another sharp pain in my chest.

Cautiously, I placed my right hand on the back of Janine's head, feeling her soft hair in between my fingers, and cradled it before bringing it towards my chest. I felt her head on my chest and then clutched my arms around her small waist a tad bit more. We began to sway back and worth for a while. When the lovely woman finally stopped crying, I didn't let go of her, nor did she of me, and it felt beyond wonderful.

By and by, Janine withdrew from my chest, let go of my waist, and descended from me. She wiped her tear-stained face and took some deep breaths to regain her composure. When Janine left my arms, I felt cold suddenly, another unforeseen occurrence, and my hands fell clumsily to my side. Demurely, she was holding her hands in front of her, studying me carefully with a small toothless smile.

"You are very kind and such a sweetheart to allow me to cry all over you during your lunch break and to listen to my bad morning," our redheaded secretary divulged gratefully.

Grinning, I felt ecstatic as she complimented me, and Janine shyly glanced up at me, and she requested that I bend my head down towards her. I complied but I was perplexed at her request. Janine placed a tender kiss on my right cheek for a few seconds, causing my heart to flutter in my chest. I felt another wave of warmth wash over my body, and I felt in awe of her. My heartbeat quickly in my chest, and I toiled violently not to pull her close to kiss her.

"Please forgive me for acting so frivolously right then, but I really wanted to thank you for your goodwill," Janine revealed, wide-eyed.

I couldn't respond verbally, mesmerized by her, but instead, I raised my right hand to Janine's face. Tentatively, I touched her cheek with my fingertips. Her skin felt soft as silk, and I enjoyed the sensation. I felt the potent energy between us, and I noted that the redhead's breathing rate quickened as my long fingers connected with her skin.

She sighed blissfully then closed her eyes, "Oh, Egon."

My heart immediately skipped a beat when Janine moaned my name, and my breath caught in my throat. A half smile spread across the right side of my mouth as I gaped at her loveliness while I traced her face with my fingertips. Fascinated, I moved them from her jawline to her supple neck down to her clavicles, caressing her skin softly with my fingertips.

Janine opened her eyes again, and her blue eyes sparkled like the sun on water in the ocean as she maintained a brilliant smile on her face. My pining to kiss her inundated my heart like a flood yet again, and I felt myself lean a little closer to her.

"You have nice clavicles," I muttered distractedly, placing my right hand on her collarbone, feeling their outline lightly.

My reverie was broken by the phone ringing loudly, and I automatically removed my hand from her as if I touched a hot stove. We both froze in trepidation for a second like children caught doing something they were told not to do while unsupervised.

"Thank you for calling, Ghostbusters; this is Janine; how may I assist you," she stated in an unusually high-pitched voice seconds later after she answered the phone. As Janine took the call, I turned around to recover my composure by inhaling and exhaling deeply. I felt almost giddy.

After the call, Janinen inched towards me gradually and remarked, reticently, " Thank you for comforting me, Egon."

"I'm glad I could help. You are welcome," I huskily responded, trying to calm all of the delightful sensations that were all over my body.

Janine pleased by my response, and then we awaited the other's action or words in tense anticipation. Breaking the silence, she observed breathlessly,

"You are going to have to change shirts unless you want to wear one with my make-up on it for the rest of the day. I'll get you another one from your closet."

When she waltzed off to my shared room with Ray, I exhaled loudly like I had been holding my breath. Janine returned a minute later, and I started to loosen my tie so I could change shirts. She surprised me by undoing the buttons on my left wrist as I undid my tie with the other.

As I unbuttoned my dirty shirt hastily, she began to do the same on the new one. Janine swiftly removed the dry-cleaning tag from it and another tag with a number on it that was attached. Although I was fully dressed, it felt strangely intimate as we maintained eye contact throughout, albeit silently.

"You are buttoning it incorrectly," Janine informed me with a giggle, so I immediately quit. She started from the bottom of the crisp shirt and buttoned it to the top with a small smile on her plump lips as I watched her quizzically. Next, the lady from Brooklyn removed the tie from her shoulder and handed it to me to finish the ensemble in the bathroom. I felt another shiver flow through my body.

"Get in control of yourself, Egon," I urged myself through gritted teeth as I put the tie on.

When I returned, Janine had sat down at the kitchen table, finishing her salad. I picked up my trash from lunch and sat down in a wooden chair at the table again.

"I think you should finish your degree," I recommended to her, with a bashful half-grin, "if you need encouragement to make it through, I'll support you the best I can."

"Thank you," she replied, gratefully, " that means very much to me."

A few minutes went by, and I excused myself to return to my work in the lab. Janine beamed at me and wished me a good afternoon. I thought about how dynamic she made me feel, and as a result, I desired to be around her more.

"Archimedes Principle states that when a body is partially or totally immersed in a fluid, it experiences an upward thrust equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by it that, i.e., its apparent loss of weight is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced," I murmured to me over and over in the lab ten times until I was able to rid my mind of Janine. With my heightened feelings, it was insurmountable.

I mumbled another law five times then began to reflect on my earlier discussion with her. I was greatly appreciative that Janine forgave my rude comments from a few months ago. When she mentioned that she flirted too obviously at first, my cheeks turned a bright red, and I felt my Adam's apple stick in my throat in one place. Janine implied that she was still attracted to me, and I felt elated by that fact. I didn't like that she felt that I was austere all of the time because I felt like it insinuated that I didn't have time for her.

"But do you have time for her," I heard myself wonder in my mind, " or do you want to make time for her?"

One item that worried me about Janine was my inability to control my emotions around her. As a scientist, I had to be objective, fair, and in control of everything, but with Janine, I felt disorderly yet excited. Gradually, I realized that my strong feelings for her drew me closer and recognized that soon I would not be able to restrain myself from taking action towards the petite Brooklynite.

That night I reminisced about how it felt to have Janine close to me when I was alone, which inspired me to pleasure myself. I recalled our closeness and the way her soft body felt meshed against mine and the way she felt in my arms. Even though I chickened out, it would have been so easy to kiss her.

"Why didn't I kiss her," I groaned, achingly, to myself in a whisper, putting my right hand on my penis, recalling Janine's graceful legs first. As I started to stroke my head, slowly at first, I recalled her sighing my name, and it only escalated my lust for her. I wanted to hear her say that again so desperately.

"Oh, Janine," I sighed, jerking my aroused sex more quickly with my hand and with a little more pressure as I thought about the electricity that I felt when I touched her.

Next, my mind flipped to a time when Janine was in my office before she had stopped flirting with me initially, where she was in a very short blue skirt when she asked if she could load something onto the computers. At the time, I was extremely vexed with an equation that I was solving. Janine bent over in my office to pick up the wads of paper that didn't make it into the trash can, making sure her firm, round butt was in my eyesight, purposely. Although I ensured she didn't see that I viewed her, I did as any male would have and took a very lenghty appreciative look. Now I envisioned her tight rear and curvy legs, causing my desire to escalate, and wondered how her butt would feel in my hands. I would love to squeeze it.

"Oh God," I groaned involuntarily in my bed, "I want you so badly, Janine."

As I persisted in rubbing my dick at varying speeds, I imagined making love to her. I wanted to lose myself in her.

I recalled that I hadn't thought about a specific woman I liked during masturbation for a long while later. Not that I didn't regularly pleasure myself, but it was generally about a generic woman, not someone with whom I felt a compelling attraction and with whom I robustly cared for.

Dr. Ray Stantz

Usually, I am pretty oblivious to other people who were falling in love around me. With Spengler and Janine, or J as I call her, it was like a slap in the face. It was always obvious when they had a good interaction during the workday because both of our colleagues had this silly " in love" look on their faces. As a result, Venkman and I would always taunt Egon about it without Janine present, and today, he wore that very look.

"What happened with you and Janine earlier, " Peter asked Egon, who was working in the lab, "while we were gone for over an hour at the bank."

" HMMMM?" Our genius business partner questioned from underneath a microscope, not raising his head. Peter let it go for the time being with a mischievous glint in his eye and grinned at me.

"Obviously, something happened. Janine is floating on a cloud down there, and when I asked her a question, she couldn't answer it. Now she's a space cadet. What did you do to her, Spengs," I inquired of our friend?

"MMMM?"

"Egon, Four months ago, you wouldn't even take my advice to ask Janine on a date," Peter reminded his friend, jokingly, walking towards the lab's doorway, " and look at you now, crushing on her."

"MMMM?" Egon responded, still buried in his work. I guess he thought Peter was going to let this go, but he was wrong.

"You have that look on your face," I informed him.

"HMMMMM?" the theoretical physicist grumbled again.

"You mean the 'Gee, isn't Janine the loveliest woman in the world?' look? Yeah, he does even though Iggy's trying to hide it right now," Venkman agreed, " Spengler, did you know you had that look?"

Egon again disregarded our comments until Pete walked into the landing and screamed for his love interest to come up to the landing. Edgily, he glanced up suddenly and I gave him a knowing smile. Then our friend put his head back down to focus on his work again.

"Come on, Peter, be nice. Don't tease Janine," I pleadingly requested, looking at him when he returned.

A minute later, Janine arrived upstairs, as evident with her high heels thumping on the wooden floor as she walked. Like Spengs, she had a similar dopey or dreamy expression on her face with an ecstatic smile. Venkman and I called the "Gee, isn't Egon wonderful look?" Janine's eyes shone brightly when she inquired, politely, in the doorway,

"How may I help you, Dr. V. ?"

"Come on in here, please, Brooklyn," Peter invited, giving me a look indicating the goofy expression on her face to me by pointing at his own, and I shrugged.

Janine strolled into the middle of the lab with her back towards Spengler with a notepad in her left hand and a pen in her right, expectantly. When we didn't say anything at first, her head moved to the left towards me and then back towards Venkman.

"Yes," the Brooklynite lady inquired,solemnly.

"What happened here when we were gone," Peter demanded, looking back at Egon and then Janine.

"I ate lunch because it was my break time, " she explained, slowly like Venkman was dumb, narrowing her blue eyes and blinking slowly.

Pete looked at her skeptically for a long moment and then Janine angrily questioned with her hands on her hips,

"Do I really have to document what I do when you are gone? Dr. Spengler was here."

"Yes, he was, wasn't he," Pete analyzed the look in her eye and then asked, dubiously, "Iggy, what were you doing?"

"Eating lunch," he answered, without looking up, " I had finished my analysis of the data from last night, and I gave Janine advice about finishing her degree when she asked me about it."

Suspiciously, Pete looked from Janine to Egon and back again. He stated doubtfully, "Uh-huh."

"Is this all that you needed from me, Peter," Janine asked annoyedly, "I have a list of things to do today that you want me to complete by the end of the business day."

"Yes, that was it, " he conceded, finally after staring into her eyes.

Janine huffed and rolled her eyes on her way out of the lab, grumbling loudly about Peter wasting her time. I caught a glimpse of Janine and Egon glancing at each other with a tiny smile on their lips, respectively. As he stood to stretch his arms over his head, I observed my little sister give him a wink. Egon sat down to continue to work with an indifferent expression on his face, but I observed a tiny glimmer in his eyes which was sufficient acknowledgment for me that something may have happened.

"I don't believe that for one moment. You both have 'the look' on your faces," Peter concluded irritatedly.