Running Out
"A bad smell and where it came from."
She quickly lit some incense to cover up that horrible smell. Rotten cabbage or eggs, maybe; it was hard to describe, but familiar and distinct to anyone with a propane tank.
It meant the tank was down to its last gasps, the furnace pushing heroically to keep the heat in the small house against the winter chill just outside. It meant turning down the thermostat to 55, the bare minimum to keep things from freezing. It meant no using the gas stove to cook tonight; she'd have to rely on the microwave for the kids' dinner. It meant praying for spring weather to arrive tomorrow, because there was no money to get the tank refilled.
It was almost time for them to get off the bus. She fanned the smoke from the sweet-scented incense around the room, trying to keep the bad smell away. By now, the kids would know that smell the same as she did, and she didn't want them to worry about whether they'd get to sleep in their own beds tonight or all curled together in front of the living room heater like they had to last time.
She looked out the window through the icicles forming on the glass, and put on a smile as she waved to welcome them home.
She quickly lit some incense to cover up that horrible smell. Rotten cabbage or eggs, maybe; it was hard to describe, but familiar and distinct to anyone with a propane tank.
It meant the tank was down to its last gasps, the furnace pushing heroically to keep the heat in the small house against the winter chill just outside. It meant turning down the thermostat to 55, the bare minimum to keep things from freezing. It meant no using the gas stove to cook tonight; she'd have to rely on the microwave for the kids' dinner. It meant praying for spring weather to arrive tomorrow, because there was no money to get the tank refilled.
It was almost time for them to get off the bus. She fanned the smoke from the sweet-scented incense around the room, trying to keep the bad smell away. By now, the kids would know that smell the same as she did, and she didn't want them to worry about whether they'd get to sleep in their own beds tonight or all curled together in front of the living room heater like they had to last time.
She looked out the window through the icicles forming on the glass, and put on a smile as she waved to welcome them home.
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