My mother was always able to put a stop to something else.
He asked if I wanted him to bite my finger after I broke my ankle.
I said no, but he insisted that biting my finger would take my mind off the pain in my ankle. I knew he was joking, but it scared a part of me that if I even mentioned it to him, he’d do it. I was complaining about all of my homework when Mom asked what was wrong. I told him math was a pain. He said that if I got shorted on my pay and didn’t realize it, not doing my math wouldn’t be so bad, but learning math would get me closer to being a millionaire instead of a street guy. I wasn’t sure if this made sense, but he was pleased with his analogy. Our boiler died last week. I was walking stiffly because it was so cold on the property. Mom said to ignore the cold and I’d be fine. I had every intention of ignoring the cold caused by the boiler’s failure. I had a small space boiler in my bedroom and planned to stay there with it until the Heating and Air Conditioning serviceman arrived. When he asked if I was okay, Mom laughed, and I told him I had the space boiler Grandma had given me for Christmas. What began as an inside joke between Grandma and I quickly became the only way to stay cool in the house until the Heating and Air Conditioning serviceman arrived.