Page 48 of Ruled Out

S

How’s home? It’s freezing here.

Me

You need to get that heating figured out in your dorm. If it’s any colder than when I was last there, it’s practically freezing. I could see my own breath at one point.

S

Tara has already complained about it, but it’s an old building. They said we need to get additional heaters if we’re that cold.

Me

You should definitely do that. It’s not healthy to sleep in the freezing cold.

I should know.

S

Yeah, I know. I’ll buy a couple of storage heaters when my next paycheck comes in.

Me

Which is?

S

Week or so.

Right before I reach the counter, I stop and open up my browser, buying a half-dozen top-of-the-line storage heaters, then set them for next-day delivery to her dorm building.

Me

Use the extra blankets you have and complain to the maintenance team again. They need to check the furnace.

S

Okay. When will you be back?

Me

Three nights here, and I’ll be back on Monday night.

I want to tag oncan I see you?to my message, but I resist.

S

Okay. Be safe.

When I walk backinto the house with three hundred dollars’ worth of groceries, Mom is exactly where I left her—on the couch, scrolling through TV channels.

I carry the bags through to the kitchen and begin restocking the cupboards. “See you got a new TV,” I shout over my shoulder.

Mom hums in acknowledgment. “Wayne got it a couple of weeks ago.”

“What happened to the old one?”

Silence.

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