Occasionally a jewel fell off right after he glued it on. Otto would go into a rage, his face and fists quivering, then let out a roar. If I asked him what the problem was, he’d respond in a loud voice, “I—don’t—want—to—talk about it!”
“Sluggishly Norman moved about the Center, trudging from workfloor to lunchroom, lunchroom to workfloor, ad infinitum, resigned to the tedious but obligatory routines of life. There was no place he was eager to get to.”
“I was in the storeroom upstairs, stacking things as they arrived, and every ten minutes in walked this crippled but indefatigable gnome, hauling another box full of glasses.”