Decker stepped into the dining area and stopped in his tracks. Seated around his homemade cherrywood table were four children who looked straight from the prairie. The two girls were garbed in high-necked dresses and opaque stockings; the boys had on black suits, white shirts, and hats. The eldest, who looked to be around Sammy’s age, was reading a volume of Talmud. The other three kids were engaged with the TV. Upon Decker’s entrance, their eyes went from the screen, to Decker, then back to the screen. The oldest boy looked up from his religious book, then quickly buried himself back in his study.

No one said anything. No one moved. Decker cleared his throat. “You’re the Klein kids?”

Silence except for the television. Finally, the older girl spoke, her eyes still on the TV monitor. “Are we in your way?”

Decker hesitated. “Uh, no. Not at all.”

The youngest, a boy, raised his head and caught Decker’s eye. Shyly, he asked, “Are you the cowboy?”

His sister elbowed the boy in the ribs.

“The cowboy,” Decker repeated. “Well, I ride horses and wear a hat. So I guess some people would call me a cowboy. Anyone know where Mrs. Decker is?”

Again, the elder girl piped up. “She had a doctor’s appointment with the baby that she forgot about. She’ll be back soon. Then we’re going to the zoo or something like that. Our mother told us to sit here and don’t move a muscle. Are you sure we’re not in your way? If we are, we can move.”

The kids didn’t seem unduly nervous at being dropped into a foreign land. As a matter of fact, they seemed unusually trusting, a testament to their sheltered life.

“I’m positive you’re not in my way.” Decker paused. “Your mother went with Mrs. Decker?”

The youngest boy said, “She took a walk. She told us to sit here and not move.”

The older girl squinted at the TV, eyes a mixture of awe and cynicism. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

“Pardon?” Decker asked.

“In this game. I think if she guesses the price of the washing machine, she actually gets to keep it?”

Decker bit his mustache. “Uh, yeah, I think that’s how it works.”

The girl turned to him, her face full of confusion. “It isn’t a joke?”

“Uh…no, it’s no joke.”

“That is unbelievable!” the girl said. “You mean they just give that lady a washing machine?”

“If she wins, yes.”

“How can they do that!” the girl exclaimed. “Why would they give away a washing machine? Isn’t that expensive?”

“And the automobile,” the little boy chimed in. “That’s real ispensive!”

Decker paused. How do you explain the corporate world and prime-time advertising to kids who never owned TVs.