Emotionally wrung out and exuding sympathetic milk from her breasts, Offred returns home by van in late afternoon. She reverts to the third-hand story of Moira, the gutsy rebel who dismantled a toilet-flushing mechanism and used its metal arm to intimidate Aunt Elizabeth, her hostage. By forcing her victim into the furnace room and exchanging her red clothes for the Aunt's khaki outfit, Moira escaped undetected, leaving Aunt Elizabeth for seven hours before the authorities discovered Moira's escape. While investigating, Aunt Lydia urges Janine, a willing stooge, to stay alert for information from the other inmates.
Keeping Moira before her as a model of courage, Offred intends to escape. She is awakened the next morning by Cora, a barren lover of children who hopes that Angela's birth is a good omen for Offred and the Commander's family. At nine that night, Offred breaks rules and enters the Commander's office and joins him in a game of Scrabble. To her, the illicit tryst is a bargaining session, from which she may obtain some concession. Before she leaves, he requests a sincere kiss.
