Marti took on her best little-girl-who-has-broken-the-vase demeanor and said, “I got something else I didn’t tell you about.”
Charles’s expression turned stern. He didn’t know what was coming but assumed it would lighten his wallet.
“What else did you buy?”
Marti was animated. “It is so cool; you’re going to love it.”
Charles stood silently.
“For what we’re getting, it really didn’t cost that much.”
Charles lowered his head and stared at Marti with his one eye. “Marti, what did you buy?”
“It will allow me to work so much faster.”
“Are you going to tell me what you bought or should I just wait until the bill comes?”
“No, silly. They’ll be here day after tomorrow to install it.”
“Marti, please tell me what I’m buying and what it will cost.”
“Okay, get this. We’re getting a VSAT.”
“What the hell is a veeset?”
“It’s V-S-A-T, VSAT, not veeset. Geez. Technically, it’s short for very small aperture terminal. It connects us to the Internet.”
“I already have Internet service.”
“You’ve got DSL from the phone company, Charles. It’s archaic, slower than hell, and it doesn’t work half the time I bet.”
“It work just fine, thank you.”
“Yeah, but what do you do on the Internet? Send a few emails and Google this and that. I mean, it’s not like you’re Internet savvy or anything. And let me tell you more. The VSAT is creepy fast. I’ll be able to download huge files in seconds. And just think about this. You’ll be able to do videoconferences and stuff like that.”
“I don’t want to do videoconferences. I enjoy meeting people face-to-face.”
“Come on, Charles. You’ve got to move into the twenty-first century. You don’t want to become an old fogey, do you?”
Charles ignored the question. “What does the V-S-A-T cost?”
The equipment and installation is less than $700. Not bad, huh?”
“Is that the total cost?”
“Well, not really. There’s a monthly charge, but we’ll have big-time bandwidth.”
“Marti, how much?”
“Well, they have all kinds of monthly plans, but I picked one in the middle.”
“How much?”
Marti winced and shuffled her feet. “I think it’s a great deal, less than $500 per month. But I picked the one I did so we won’t have any usage overage charges. It’s a great deal.”
“How much under $500?”
“Four-ninety-nine.”
Charles shook his head. “Well, I hope you can perform miracles with your new toys. God knows, you’re well-equipped.”
Marti ran to Charles and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad you’re not mad at me.” Her smile disappeared. “You do know we’re going to find the assholes that killed your wife, don’t you?
“I do, Marti. Thanks.”
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