Living with the ladies is like living in a refrigerator, Jake realizes, especially as the autumn deepens and the temperature drops. He stands in front of the thermostat downstairs wearing his white, ragged thermal underwear. Standing in the darkened house, he must look something like an apparition, he thinks, so he flips on a light. He stares some more at the thermostat. It's currently set to 60 degrees, which Jake used to think was warm, but that was because 60 degrees was usually only the temperature outside, never inside. His parents kept the temperature at 69 degrees year round day and night (because as Dad likes to say, it's a delightful number), but Francine and Masani, to save money, only raise the thermostat to 65 degrees during the day. When Jake complained that it was too cold, Masani told him to wear a sweater and Francine said, "Wait until you see your first gas bill and you'll understand. This is a grand old house. It's also a drafty one."
Then they took a house vote.
Jake lost.
Apparently, Donald got the housemates used to lower temperatures, claiming that they preserved his comic book collection better, and Francine and Masani grew used to it. "You also burn more energy at colder temperatures so you'll never need to go on a diet," Masani told him, laughing.
In the house, Jake sometimes expects to walk into a side of beef or a penguin. He's surprised it doesn't snow inside, or that they don't just unplug the refrigerator for the winter to save even more money.
So he rubs his hands together and blows on them for warmth and contemplates raising the temperature while everyone else is asleep. Maybe they'll realize how nice it is to, um, be warm, and let him set the thermostat higher all the time.
On the other hand, if he raises the temperature now, the day will even seem colder when he wakes up. One of the joys of mornings lately has been running downstairs to raise the thermostat up five glorious degrees, and listen to that hot air blow through the registers. Even the cats seem to be cold, despite their fur. Jake often finds them curled up together on the couch.
Jake sticks a finger out about to press the up button on the thermostat when he hears the creak of a floorboard. He looks around. He doesn't see anybody. He raises his finger again, then nearly jumps when something brushes up against his leg.
It meows.
"Monique! What are you doing up?" He scoops the cat up.
Her fur is cool, but he can feel the warmth underneath.
Hmm . . . maybe he should wear the cat as a neckwarmer all day.
He sets the cat down and pets her until she runs to the window. He follows her and moves the curtain to look out.
Snow.
Snow in November.
Welcome to the East side of Cleaveland, he thinks.
Then he wonders if it's warmer outside.
Blog Love Omega Glee is a novel by Wred Fright about two bloggers who fall in love while the world falls apart, which is being serialized on his blog. To start reading from the beginning or read another installment, please visit Blog Love Omega Glee Central on WredFright.Com. If you like what you've read, or you've read all of Blog Love Omega Glee and want more Fright, then please read his first novel.
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