“Look at this place,” Beth observed. “It looks more like a museum display than a working lawyer’s office.”

“I know,” Dwight agreed. “That old typewriter, an ancient telephone. There’s a fax machine in the corner. It’s all so archaic.”

“True, but we have to press on,” Beth said. “We need to put tags on everything in grandad’s office before the appraiser gets here.”

“This is a waste of time,” Dwight said. “These relics are probably worthless. We should just haul all this crap over to the Goodwill store.”

“We may end up taking it all there,” Beth said, “But we need to get it all appraised, even if it’s just to write it off on taxes later.”

The doorbell rang and Dwight went to answer it. The appraiser, a slight man wearing a three piece suit and round, wire-rimmed glasses and who introduced himself to Dwight as Ronald Plotnik, handed Dwight his business card. Dwight thought the guy looked as archaic as all of the junk in his late grandfather’s office.

After Dwight showed Plotnik to the room, the appraiser looked around and asked Dwight and Beth to excuse him while he took an inventory. “It will take about an hour.”

After 90 minutes, Beth and Dwight knocked at the office door. “Are you almost finished, Mr Plotnik,” Beth asked.

“Yes, yes,” Plotnik responded. “An incredible collection. It’s like stepping off of a time machine into an almost forgotten era.”

“Right,” Dwight said. “But let’s cut to the chase. What’s all this crap worth?”

Plotnik opened up his iPad, looked over his inventory notes, and said, “Item by item you might be able to get fifty for it, but I’ll give you forty-five for the whole lot

“Forty-five bucks?” Dwight said, disappointed. “I thought we could get at least a hundred dollars.”

“Well,” Beth to Dwight. “It will save us from lugging it all to the Goodwill store.” Then turning to Plotnik she said, “You will haul it all away, won’t you?”

“Of course,” Plotnik responded. “But I think there’s a misunderstanding. I was talking about forty-five thousand dollars. This room is a virtual treasure trove of relics from a past age.”

Written for today’s one-word prompt, “archaic.”