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Page 124
Kitchens. Mr. Quadros is in a meeting. Can I take a message?" She wrote something on a piece of pink paper. "Thanks for calling." She put the object down.
Abby searched for a way to learn what the object was without sounding stupid. She pointed to it. "I've never seen one of those quite like that."
Lydia looked startled. "This phone? It's nothing unusual. Can't say much for the quality, but people calling never complain about how I sound."
"Do people 'call' you from outside this office?"
Lydia's brows lowered in a puzzled frown. "Sure, from all over the world."
Abby tried to assimilate this. People used "phones" to call one another, all over the world. Perhaps it was similar to a telegraph, except people could use it to talk to one another. Amazing!
Then there was a large, humming object on Lydia's desk. She called it a computer, and it performed remarkable functions, allowing the receptionist to place words upon it that later magically appeared on paper.
Abby chatted with Lydia between calls. She learned about modern fashion and that the use of face paint, called makeup, though common, was a matter of choice. She did not, however, grasp the difference between rock, pop, and rap music, nor what the meaning was of something called movies. Still, what a fascinating era she had traveled to!
Mike had been closeted with Ruth and Lowell for over an hour when the outside door opened.

 
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