Diane walked home from the grocery store, with her usual bag of Friday evening groceries: celery, three apples, a box of low-fat triscuits and some microwaveable entrees. She had an addition purchase, a pound cake that had been in the day old bin. Diane was rather regular in her shopping and eating habits, but she thought for half off, she could afford a pound cake. And the calories wouldn't hurt, for a woman of her age, she was certainly in shape. She had a three day weekend, as she always did. She was a semi-retired actuary, living modestly but comfortable on her savings and on her part time job in the accounting department of a local university.
Diane was a fairly innocuous woman. She was five foot six, of medium build, and with a hair color that might have once been a strawberry blond, but now was light brunette with flecks of grey that she didn't try very hard to conceal. Her attire was businesslike, but neither severe nor expensive. Even in college, when she had been pretty, and secretly gathered men's admiration, she had not drawn attention to herself. Now, she was past the age of flirtation. She was not yet to the age where she would be a sweet old lady. The checker at the super-market would probably recognize her, and even be able to remember what she purchased. Her co-workers thought she was a good actuary, and a nice, if quiet woman. Occasionally, in slow gossip weeks, some might quietly wonder whether she was single, or divorced, or a lesbian. But the topic was forgotten almost as soon as it came up.
Diane opened the front door of her house, an action that was only noticed by her two cats, Becca and Zophos. One of the few things that Diane's acquaintances had noticed about her was that her house was much nicer than they would have guessed. Not that it was more luxurious than she could afford: accountants are smart enough to even avoid the appearance of impropriety. But given Diane's plain, worklike appearance, the artistry with which her house was decorated came as a surprise. The inside was covered with wood paneling that made the house look much older than its recent suburban construction would suggest. On the walls were many tapestries and mosaics displaying scenes that were strangely abstract and yet seemed to bring images to the viewer's mind. Not, of course, that any of this was that far out of the ordinary. Collecting objects of art was, after all, what many single professionals did with their otherwise unused income. Diane herself glanced at her home, enjoying the art she had slowly put into it over the years. Some weekends, she would spend more time on the art. This weekend, however, she had other plans. She smiled to herself as she fed the cats, and then slowly changed from her work outfit to a simple, yet elegant silk robe.