In spite of this, she gave the impression that she was interested in me and, if I didn’t pick up the wrong signals, attracted to me. Naturally, this...appealed to my ego. Surprisingly we found common ground in technology - it turns out that museums are actually pretty high tech. She described how they scanned objects using multi-spectral scanners in order to avoid the metameric issues one gets with an RGB scan. I was actually quite impressed at her knowledge of color science and it wasn’t long. Chapter 2 - On the RoadWe didn't get out of town until late afternoon on Thursday. We wouldn't get to Bismarck until close to midnight. Everything was going wrong with this trip. Doom stalked us as we drove west on I94."It's only 450 miles!" Barb had said. "We can be there in less than eight hours."For those of you who have never done it, driving across the Minnesota prairie in April is boring. It isn't beautiful. It isn't magnificent. It's just plain boring. I had been born and raised in. " I have to hear her voice again, toground me, bring me back to this life."Ah, the missus." He always calls her that - a term of acceptance,mirroring the way he refers to his own wife.I had already messaged her about the meeting's positive outcome.I miss you.Love you.We're going to get the contract.Still love you.Will he be in the bar? The old me? They had warned against using termslike, "the old me." Whoever that man in there is, he is not the old me.Likewise I am not the old Pradeepta. Maybe he’d decide he wants to choose a much more intimate way to punish her.She gets up and heads to the pool. She needs to chillax and get a fucking grip. If anyone could read her mind they’d have her in a mental hospital. The cool waters restore a small splash of sanity.After a few laps, she stops. She can usually swim a lot more, but she’s feeling a little off. From the far end of the pool, Uncle Ryan smiles and waves with drink in hand. When she waves back, he beckons her over. She swims.