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Diane’s alarm went off early, too early. She got up quickly, shook off her wine induced sleep and hurried to the shower. As she showered, she contemplated how to dress. I am just not going to follow those instructions to dress plain so to blend in, she thought, the main office is going to notice me when I go in and I’m the one they’re going to be gossiping about, for today at least.
She put on her makeup and then the dress, she was wearing the dress she had bought for a dinner party that had been canceled at the last minute because of an illness. It had hung right there in plain sight, waiting for an occasion, and this was just the occasion Diane had planned. She playfully looked into the mirror and tried to pose, “I got this” she whispered.

The hour-long drive back to the city gave her time to daydream. “I want your job” she imagined saying to her boss. Not that she would, or even wanted her boss’s job, no she wanted any promotion that would get her into the office. She desperately wanted out of the field and out of that dark, dank van with Kurt. She wanted to feel the pulse of the office, department and especially the city. In the field she was alone and cut off from everyone except Kurt. The drive was uneventful until the noise. Tum, tump, THUMP! Diane listened, Tum, tump, THUMP! “Oh not now!” she thought. “Okay fine” she said aloud, “either break or fix yourself!” The rest of the ride was quiet and she soon returned to her thoughts. When she arrived at the tall glass and metal building, she parked and as she got out of the car, paused, she looked at the big sign that read Internal Revenue Service, then put her head in both hands and mouthed “I hope this goes well.”