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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. |
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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." |
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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." |
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"Do people 'call' you from outside this office?" |
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Lydia's brows lowered in a puzzled frown. "Sure, from all over the world." |
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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! |
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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. |
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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! |
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Mike had been closeted with Ruth and Lowell for over an hour when the outside door opened. |
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