Britannia, NY

Ivy's been grateful for Karen's help with the office--having someone to take over some of the secretarial duties is a relief, partly because she adores company and having someone else there is fun, and partly because she's been so distracted by grief lately that she knows she'd be making mistakes if Karen weren't there to take charge of organisation.

It's the end of the week, and she knows Ken's sister is coming to visit soon, but she's in a fairly disastrous frame of mind. When she finally locks up the office and heads over to the bar for cocktails--which generally cheer her ups, so reliably in fact that she has it budgeted into her monthly expenses under Mental Health--she's dragging her feet a little, and even banter with the bartender and the Friday night regulars she's casual friends with doesn't help.

The result is that she goes over her usual limit; she doesn't really notice until the bartender ruffles her hair and says he's cutting her off, and Ivy grins her usual impish grin to see if it will change his mind, but it doesn't.

So she gets back home around 7.00, carrying her heels by the straps. She tries to unlock the front door for a few minutes before she remembers that Ken's home, and it won't be locked to begin with.