You were invited by your boss to dinner at his home. Taking the train out of the city, a cab dropped you on the gravel roundabout in front of a grand old stone home. Pausing for a moment in the portico, it occurred to you that maybe you should have spent more on the bottle of wine you brought.
It was a little odd when he answered the door and invited you in. Gone was the Brooks Brothers suit, replaced with a linen shirt that showed a tuft of silver hair at the chest, just above the trim of an almost old fashioned gingham apron. When you entered the living room, he introduced you to his wife, who was sitting regally in a wingback chair enjoying a cocktail and a cigarette. You'd seen photos on his desk. Of course, she was younger than him, maybe a second wife, you wondered. She was striking in person, in that way that an attractive woman could make flawless with enough time and money. But she also looked poised, not a trophy. Who knows, maybe the money was hers? She gave off a bit of that vibe, pearls and silk blouse, dark hair framing her face in a cut that was both respectable and uncommon. She nodded in your direction and said she was happy that you accepted her invitation, but she didn't bother to get up.
At dinner she sat at the head of the table and patted the seat next to her for you to sit down. Your boss served you both then sat down at the other end of the table saying it would be best because he still had a dessert to check on. He popped up regularly to refresh drinks and didn't speak much except to agree when his wife looked for him to do so. She peppered you with questions about your background, and complimented you on odd little things, like your hair and how you had an elegantly long neck, for a male.