More Shades Of Things To Come.

So last night Cici's friend Olivia called our house to invite Cici on a playdate. Olivia is in Cici's class at school, and she also happens to live just up the street from us.

This was really the first social phone call Cici has ever gotten from someone other than a relative, and she definitely made the most of it. After about twenty minutes, she hung up, and told us that the playdate was scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Tonight the phone rang, and, as so often happens in our house, we didn't make it in time. When I checked the messages, I found one from Olivia, that went roughly like this:

"Cici! It's Olivia! Where are you? Our playdate was supposed to be tonight! Call me!"

I called Olivia right back and asked to speak to her mom. Here is how the conversation went:

Dadam: Hi, is this Olivia's mom? This is Cici's dad.

Olivia's Mom: Hi.

Dadam: I just wanted to call and say I'm really sorry - Cici told us that the playdate was supposed to be on Sunday, so she must have been confused. Sorry about that!

Olivia's Mom: But the playdate is on Sunday.

Dadam: Oh . . . I'm sorry, it's just when Olivia called -

Olivia's Mom: Olivia called?

Dadam: Yes, she called and left a message asking where Cici was and saying it was tonight.

Olivia's Mom: Just a minute, please. [pause] OLIVIA!!!!