The New App

Betty is seventy-eight and lives in a small town in Ohio. Her sister Ruth lives in Florida. They have always talked on the phone every Sunday, but they haven't seen each other for three years. "I want to see her face," Betty told her grandson, Kevin.

Kevin is sixteen. "Easy, Grandma," he said. "You need a video call app." He took her old tablet. "First, we download the app. Touch here." Betty touched the screen very carefully. A small blue circle appeared. "Has it finished?" she asked. "Not yet. Wait."

Then Kevin said, "Now you need a password." Betty thought for a moment. "My cat's name. Biscuit." Kevin shook his head. "Too easy. Use letters and numbers." So she chose her cat's name and her sister's birthday. She wrote it on a piece of paper and put it in the kitchen drawer.

Finally, she logged in and pressed Ruth's name. The phone rang, and then Ruth's face appeared on the screen, with palm trees behind her. "Betty! I can see you!" Both sisters started to cry. They talked for two hours.

That was in March. Since then, Betty has changed a lot. She has called Ruth almost every day. She has joined a cooking group online and has shared photos of her apple pies. Last week she even sent Kevin a funny video of Biscuit.

On Sunday Kevin came for lunch. He wanted to show his grandmother a new game on his phone, but she wasn't listening. She was busy on her tablet. "Sorry, darling," she said. "I'm in a video call with the cooking group. Can you come back later?" Kevin laughed. "I think I've created a monster."