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Summary
Just before the winter holidays, Allison receives some life-altering news: the dual blow of a cancer diagnosis and the impending closure of her workplace, a small liberal arts college struggling to adapt to the changing higher education environment.
Allison stepped out of the elevator, her clogs shuffling dejectedly over the white linoleum. There was a whoosh of cool air as someone exited through the automatic doors, scurrying into the dark of the parking lot. A string of blinking, coloured lights was hung cheerfully across the Plexiglas divider separating the woman at the information desk from the contagious masses. The receptionist wore scrubs and a headband with two Santa hats wobbling merrily above her blonde head. It was dark outside, the sun having slunk behind the Berkshire hills while Allison was informed of her impending death. The doctor had been young and apologetic, with a long face and distractingly sensuous lips. He was vaguely familiar, and as he opened the door to send her out into the world under the weight of her unexpectedly truncated life, she had the appalling realisation that she had swiped right on his smiling photo several times over the last three years.