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Pop asked me, "Are you going to be scared by yourself?"
I shook my head in befuddlement, "No." What am I, six years old?
He said, "I would be scared."
I asked, "What would you be scared of?"
"People breaking in. Getting beat up." He mimics, "Let's use the old man for a punching bag!"
He is only leaving for a couple of days, for a reunion - family or school, I cannot recall. It's not as though he is going to California for a couple of weeks to visit Victor. It's only a regular outing for him. But I guess he was feeling chatty. It was a hell of a morning, and we were sitting in the big room catching our breath. The weekend had looked so promising, too - before it started turning into hell on wheels. We had a good grocery day yesterday, and Pop was set to leave with Kay this morning for Shiner, and I would get the house to myself.
The air-conditioner sprang another leak. In past years, it would start leaking right away when we first start using it. That's why I thought it wasn't going to be a problem this year, because it had been running fine for a few weeks now. Live and learn! The timing was so critical, too, that this should have come up just as Pop was leaving for a little trip.
When I discovered the problem in the early morning, I was tempted to keep the information to myself and aver that I did not learn of the problem until after they left for their trip. I was worried that Pop would forbid the use of the a-c until he gets back and has it fixed, and I probably wouldn't be able to hold that line. I was getting ready to use towels to soak up the leakage, and dry the towels on the clothes line, circulating towels throughout the day. I was not prepared to roast in the afternoon heat if it could in any way be avoided. In hindsight, I can see that my plan would have been one of my most bone-headed plays ever. As it turns out, Pop called right away, and our a-c guy actually came over before Pop left.
However, that was only one part of what made this morning so special. One of our refrigerators broke down, both freezer and refrigerator halves. They stopped blowing cold altogether. We had to unload everything to the other refrigerator and freezers. We also had to throw a lot of stuff out, for fear that some of the food went bad as well as to save some space. What a weird coincidence for the a-c and the refrigerator to break down at the same time. It feels a little spooky, like Someone is trying to tell us something. Maybe it's a basic message, being made loud and clear: our old house is falling apart!
While Pop and I were having our conversation, noted at the top, the a-c guy had not yet come, and we were talking about costs. I wanted to test how committed he was to maintaining a comfortable home, and I asked him what would happen if we needed to get a new air-conditioner. He stunned me, "We will have to go without air-conditioning." "What?!?" He said, "Do you know how much a new air-conditioner costs?" I didn't, but I figured maybe a thousand, a thousand five-hundred. He said it costs ten or fifteen thousand dollars!
After that sunk in, I suggested that maybe it would be better if we moved to an apartment complex. I added, "There wouldn't be any yard work." Then he dropped another big news item on me: his credit is bad. He doesn't think we would be accepted for an apartment. I refrained from asking how his credit went bad, whether it was on account of Jack. It's not as if anything can be done about it now. The news surprised me as Pop has still been fairly free on our budget, like there is not a cloud in the sky - just clear days and sunshine forever. True, he recently considered cutting down his Dish-TV budget and eliminating HBO, but he seems to have drawn back from making even that little cut.
During our little chat, I was reminded how we became a two-refrigerator family, in addition to a large freezer, despite being only a two-member family, not counting the cats. He won the second refrigerator in a drawing. Yes, that makes sense. I cannot imagine Pop buying a second refrigerator on his own. Although he has a certain princely self-image, that would have been obscene luxury, though he has become quite used to it and does not want to lose it. It's like the big-screen TV. Once he got one, he cannot consider going back to a regular TV. It would be a shameful demotion, which is striking for a man living on bad credit.
I shook my head in befuddlement, "No." What am I, six years old?
He said, "I would be scared."
I asked, "What would you be scared of?"
"People breaking in. Getting beat up." He mimics, "Let's use the old man for a punching bag!"
He is only leaving for a couple of days, for a reunion - family or school, I cannot recall. It's not as though he is going to California for a couple of weeks to visit Victor. It's only a regular outing for him. But I guess he was feeling chatty. It was a hell of a morning, and we were sitting in the big room catching our breath. The weekend had looked so promising, too - before it started turning into hell on wheels. We had a good grocery day yesterday, and Pop was set to leave with Kay this morning for Shiner, and I would get the house to myself.
The air-conditioner sprang another leak. In past years, it would start leaking right away when we first start using it. That's why I thought it wasn't going to be a problem this year, because it had been running fine for a few weeks now. Live and learn! The timing was so critical, too, that this should have come up just as Pop was leaving for a little trip.
When I discovered the problem in the early morning, I was tempted to keep the information to myself and aver that I did not learn of the problem until after they left for their trip. I was worried that Pop would forbid the use of the a-c until he gets back and has it fixed, and I probably wouldn't be able to hold that line. I was getting ready to use towels to soak up the leakage, and dry the towels on the clothes line, circulating towels throughout the day. I was not prepared to roast in the afternoon heat if it could in any way be avoided. In hindsight, I can see that my plan would have been one of my most bone-headed plays ever. As it turns out, Pop called right away, and our a-c guy actually came over before Pop left.
However, that was only one part of what made this morning so special. One of our refrigerators broke down, both freezer and refrigerator halves. They stopped blowing cold altogether. We had to unload everything to the other refrigerator and freezers. We also had to throw a lot of stuff out, for fear that some of the food went bad as well as to save some space. What a weird coincidence for the a-c and the refrigerator to break down at the same time. It feels a little spooky, like Someone is trying to tell us something. Maybe it's a basic message, being made loud and clear: our old house is falling apart!
While Pop and I were having our conversation, noted at the top, the a-c guy had not yet come, and we were talking about costs. I wanted to test how committed he was to maintaining a comfortable home, and I asked him what would happen if we needed to get a new air-conditioner. He stunned me, "We will have to go without air-conditioning." "What?!?" He said, "Do you know how much a new air-conditioner costs?" I didn't, but I figured maybe a thousand, a thousand five-hundred. He said it costs ten or fifteen thousand dollars!
After that sunk in, I suggested that maybe it would be better if we moved to an apartment complex. I added, "There wouldn't be any yard work." Then he dropped another big news item on me: his credit is bad. He doesn't think we would be accepted for an apartment. I refrained from asking how his credit went bad, whether it was on account of Jack. It's not as if anything can be done about it now. The news surprised me as Pop has still been fairly free on our budget, like there is not a cloud in the sky - just clear days and sunshine forever. True, he recently considered cutting down his Dish-TV budget and eliminating HBO, but he seems to have drawn back from making even that little cut.
During our little chat, I was reminded how we became a two-refrigerator family, in addition to a large freezer, despite being only a two-member family, not counting the cats. He won the second refrigerator in a drawing. Yes, that makes sense. I cannot imagine Pop buying a second refrigerator on his own. Although he has a certain princely self-image, that would have been obscene luxury, though he has become quite used to it and does not want to lose it. It's like the big-screen TV. Once he got one, he cannot consider going back to a regular TV. It would be a shameful demotion, which is striking for a man living on bad credit.
