"But it hasn't been two weeks yet since the office party," Gloria said. That was where they had met and knew it was love, at the office party. "But maybe if we asked—" Kelsey said. "But we shouldn't rush it honey. It wouldn't be sincere!" "Yes, that's true," Kelsey said. "What would people think?" And then, as Alice watched, they seemed to draw slowly apart as though the face, the color, the sound and voices from the Tevee was throwing an invisible wall between them. They were staring at the Tevee longer and longer and finally they weren't looking at one another at all. There were always a number of people present inside the Tevee frame. If one person was talking, the background was full of people—people moving, dancing, walking, but there just the same, always. The woman was smiling intensely out of the screen. "Don't be left out," she said. "Be a solid member of your group. You can own a Sky-Splitter jet sporter now without offending your crowd. Our special consumer's research proves that now at last these amazing Sky-Splitters are no longer conspicuous items, but are fully accepted as normal by over ninety-three per cent of the consumer public. You can enjoy the cloud thrills of a Sky-Splitter without being considered in any way eccentric. Press your Interest or Order button now! An immediate demonstration will be arranged!" Dancers swirled. A Sky-Splitter jet dissolved from clouds. It was as if a dream had become abruptly real. Surrounded by people laughing and accepting one another, the sleek projectile gave the warmest impression of itself being organic and one of the happy, happy crowd. Kelsey jerked forward and jabbed the I-Am-Interested button. "I don't care," Gloria pouted. "I'd still feel kind of—well—like I was showing off if I had a Sky-Splitter." "But now everybody will have one," Kelsey said. Alice wondered when they were really going to make love. Like the lovers were always never quite doing on Tevee. But Alice decided she would never look at that. It would hurt too much.
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