I came home to a freezing house
How my sister convinced me to drive for an hour to her house just to watch TV was beyond me.
But, I found myself seated on her couch, enjoying some wine and watching our favorite series. I knew she needed me and decided it was worth the trip. We didn’t even get to talk about what was bothering her. I knew she’d tell me when she was ready to share. For now, she just wanted company and not to be alone with her thoughts. It was getting late, so I told her I had to leave. I’d called my wife to inform her I was running late, and she told me she’d be home later. I drove fast to get home early and prepare for her a meal because I knew she’d be exhausted. My wife was part of the health care workers tackling the pandemic. She was holding our family together after I lost my job last year. The minute I opened the door, I didn’t feel the warmth I expected. I knew I’d left the heating system on, so something must have happened with the HVAC unit. The house was freezing, so I walked over to the indoor unit only to find it had shut down. We’d forgotten to call the AC service company before winter, and this was why the unit wasn’t working. I booked an appointment with the local AC service company for the next day and went to light a fire. By the time my wife got home, it wasn’t too cold, and dinner was ready. I explained to her the HVAC unit wasn’t working, and I’d turned on the mini-split AC in our bedroom.