After seeing Otto off to work, Kathy cleaned up the house, then sat around in the livingroom for a few hours, half-reading magazines and half-watching quiz shows on TV. The time crawled by, and her heart thumped with anxiety. She so wanted to get that job at the Chapmans', who lived only a few blocks away. She could work there without Otto ever finding out about it. Otto insisted that a wife's job was to stay at home, whether she had something to do in that home or not, and Kathy was bored to death.

If she didn't get out of here and do something soon, she'd end up in the asylum.

Eleven-thirty finally arrived, and Kathy walked two blocks down the street to a large white house hedged in with tall cedar trees. A new Mercedes sat in the driveway. She rang the front doorbell and heard chimes inside.

"Right on time," said the smartly dressed woman who opened the door. "Punctuality is next to Godliness, that's my motto. I cannot abide wasting time. I've taken an extra half hour for my lunch break today in order to come home and meet with you, Mrs. Finn, and I appreciate your being punctual."

The woman, Lois Chapman, led Kathy to the kitchen, where she was eating a lunch of fruit and yogurt. Lois was tall, slender, attractive, wore glasses, and was dressed like a female business executive, which she was.

"I don't have time for a dozen interviews," Lois said, "and you come with adequate references, so consider yourself hired on a probationary basis. Hours are flexible. You may come over to work anytime between seven in the morning and seven at night each weekday. I've made a list of your duties – basically keeping this house clean and straightened up, doing dishes once a day. Particularly, you must pay attention to Randy's bedroom upstairs, which I'm afraid will require a major cleaning every few days."