Oooh….

I’ve made minor tweaks, and changed the tone of the last paragraph somewhat.

I’m not sure what the exact changes are but I like this a lot now.

@Robert: The 2nd last sentence originally read, “Sofiya looked at me pointedly.” It didn’t carry the tone that I was looking for. Most of the other changes are to improve wording and revise to make everything fit again without seeming unnatural. I like this a lot better now myself.

It reads more smoothly now. I think your edits did the trick.