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carpet.
    “Let’s see. What can I show you first?” Vaughan said, picking up a remote. In response to the buttons he pressed, the double doors in the center of the cabinet slid silently to the sides to reveal a television with a huge screen.
    “It’s an HD cinema wall, plasma monitor,” he said proudly, “with component video to minimize distortion and composite video carrying luminescence, chrominance, and raster synchronizing information.”
    “Are we still speaking English?” I asked, laughing.
    “Wait till you see it,” he said. “It also has Dolby digital AC3 surround sound.” He pushed another button. A picture bloomed on the screen—a video of a man in a white sombrero and an ornamented Mexican jacket leading a magnificent dappled gray horse. Lively music poured from speakers positioned in every corner of the room.
    “Isn’t it great?” Vaughan shouted over the music. “That’s an Ezequiel Peña DVD. He’s a mariachi and ranchera singer. Can you hear the violins coming out of that speaker and the trumpets from this one?”
    “It’s wonderful,” I said. “Can you turn it down a bit?”
    Vaughan smiled sheepishly and lowered the volume. “I like it loud,” he said, “but I understand that not everyone does.”
    “It’s a remarkably sharp picture,” I said.
    “It can serve as my computer monitor, too,” he said, switching off the DVD to a blank screen. “I’ve got a cordless keyboard on that shelf over there that’s a gem. I just put up my feet and surf the Internet.”
    “All the comforts of home,” I said, reaching for a different remote. “What else can these marvels of technology do?”
    “Try it and see.”
    I pushed a button and the lights dimmed; I pushed another and the velvet hangings drew aside to reveal a bank of broad windows.
    “You can’t really tell now because it’s still dark outside, but the drapes eliminate ninety percent of the ambient light,” he said. “Makes a big difference in the picture.”
    I pressed the button to close them again, raised the lighting, and put the device back with its brothers.
    “Those are infrared—pretty common,” Vaughan said, reaching for a silver case, “but this one operates on radio frequency, so it works through doors and walls. I can control the music in every room in the house from right here.”
    “I have one remote at home, and I’m not sure what all the buttons do,” I said. “How do you keep track of it all?”
    “Easy. Look here. I put instructions on the back.”
    He handed me the remote. I held out my arm and squinted at the tiny type, but it remained illegible.
    “I can’t read this without my glasses,” I said.
    “Here, try mine,” Vaughan said, handing me his reading glasses. “It’s really not as hard as you think once you know which remote controls which equipment, and I’ve labeled each one.”
    “I’ll have to take your word for it,” I said.
    “You sound like Olga. But it’s fun once you get the hang of it. Maria Elena knows how to operate all this stuff. I gave her lessons, hoping she would use it for her own entertainment.”
    “And does she?”
    “I doubt it. I’m afraid she only lives in her own rooms and the kitchen when we’re not here. I wish she’d take advantage of the rest of the house. It’s silly just to keep it dusted for the two or three times a year we can get here.”
    “I think I can understand that, though. It’s not hers.”
    “True. But I was hoping she wouldn’t feel that way. We wouldn’t want this house if she weren’t here to help us out.”
    “It’s beautiful. I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of it tomorrow.”
    “Speaking of tomorrow, it’s almost here. I’m sorry. You must be beat, and I’ve kept you from your bed with my toys.”
    “I loved seeing them. You’ll have to show me how to get my e-mail tomorrow.”
    “My pleasure.”
    Vaughan shut off the equipment and closed the door on the playroom. In the hallway I remembered something