Continued...

Dani was self-assured and confident, balanced and extroverted, and luxuriated in her fullness as a mature expressive woman; all of which fell away like a mask as she blinked owlishly at Dr. O'Leary, Sr. Brigid by name.  Dani looked down at her shoes and fidgeted like a second-grader.  She looked up and whispered, "Do you think I would be OK here, like, to work?" 

"Oh dear," thought Bridgid, "we have a special one here, a Lämmchen.  Pasce agnos, wherever they may be, what a surprise!"

Bridgid whispered back in a low voice, as though to a small child, "We would like to have you here.  Will you come?" 

Dani whispered back with a look of awe on her face, "I would like that.  Yes."

Bridgid added, "I did not think you would be so shy."

Dani leaned back, still looking down, and blushed.

Bridgid let out a small, gentle laugh, warm and pure like a copper bell.  She said, "It's okay.  Thank you for trusting me.  I wish to see you do well.  You are a remarkable lady."

Dani gathered back into her old confident self, and rang out proudly, "Yes.  Yes, I would like very much to join your faculty.  Let's make it happen."

"Fine, then." Said Dr. Bridgit O'Leary, "As Dean of the Humanities here, I have the privilege and authority to welcome you to our university. Let's meet again tomorrow with some other faculty for the specifics." Then, very quietly - "I am always here for you, to speak again, any time."

They rose and exhanged pleasantries, as Dani suppressed well the urge to race from the room.  Smooth, balanced, very graceful, they said their last good-byes, all good protocol; the door closed.

"Dr. O'Leary can make a whore blush in an interview.  One more secret that I can never tell."  the dean mused.