Chapter 8

Monday when I stepped into the kitchen I found the plate of cookies I left Dad missing. I read the note he left me.

“These are my favorite. Thanks Sam, I’m sorry you were here all alone. I’m only working one shift today, I’ll be back about 4. Love you, you’ve been doing a great job with the painting.”

Dad knows I only make these cookies when one of us starts missing Mom too much. Usually it’s me, but sometimes he asks for them too.

I have a cup of coffee, but without my usual additive of dark chocolate almond milk. The last of it went into the cookies the day before. I eventually fix myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast. After eating I wash the bowl and cup, staring out the window at the back yard.

I eventually get my laundry going, and head into the downstairs bathroom. I spend most of the morning removing the towel racks, shower curtain rod, and other items attached to the walls. I get everything taped up and covered just in time for lunch. I’m just about to make a sandwich when my phone says that someone is heading for the front door.

I look and see a couple guys and a delivery truck.

The doorbell rings, and I answer it.

“Atwoods?” the man asks.

“That’s us.”

“Great, I’ve got your new stove and fridge.”

The guy behind him asks, “Is there an adult who can sign for delivery?”

There should have been a reminder message that these guys were coming today, but I think quickly. “My Aunt just left, let me call her back.”

“That sounds fine, we’ll start unloading.”

I shut the door and quickly call Aunt Joan. “Aunt Joan, this is Sam. I need your help. The delivery guys are here with the new appliances, and they need an adult to sign for delivery and install.”

“I’ll be right there,” she said, and hung up.

I watched the doorbell camera on my phone for a moment, then stepped out. “Hey guys, she’s on the way. Let me double check you have the right appliances before you unbox them,” I holler out.

“Sure, I’ve got the manifest here, plus the model numbers are written on the outside of the boxes.”

I texted my dad, ‘appliances just arrived, called Joan to sign for delivery’

He must have been at lunch because the reply came quick. ‘sorry, they called Monday and I forgot to tell you’

Than after a moment, ‘thanks for handling’

I pulled up the email order, and compared it to the boxes that had been pushed to the end of the truck.

“That’s them, I’m going to go start unloading the fridge. You can bring them in once my Aunt gets back and signs for them.”

I sent another text, this time to Joan. ‘don’t sign until you’ve checked them over for dents or damage after they are unboxed, Sam’

Then I grabbed the cooler from the utility room, and started unloading the freezer then the fridge items into it. It would take a while for the new unit to get to temp, I hope we didn’t lose anything. I’d probably have to use up the frozen meatloaf for dinner tonight. I left it in the cooler where it would add its thermal mass.

I was standing on the porch when Aunt Joan arrived in her little red Miata. One of the guys waved and said, “Hi Joan, I should have recognized the Atwood name.”

“Hi Nick, good to see you again. So show me what they look like under the cardboard so I can sign off on the delivery for Sam,” she told him, giving me a wave too.

I remembered that the stove had a drawer under it for storing pots, so I quickly emptied that, then checked inside for anything that needed keeping. There wasn’t anything.

A guy knocked on the door then opened it, “Sam, are you ready for us to take the old appliances out of the way?”

“Come on in Nick, both are ready to be moved. Let’s get the new ones plugged in and running before we pull them all the way out of the house.”

“Which room do you want to set them in?” he asked.

“Dining room there,” I told him, pointing at the room that had the most space near the door.

He acknowledged with a nod, and turned to shout out the door, “Mike the old ones are ready to move.”

In a well practiced display of acrobatic talent they had the two appliances away from the wall, unplugged, and up on straps as they deftly carried them to their temporary resting area. Moments later in a reverse of the original procedure the two new stainless steel appliances were brought in, and set in place.

“Normally we would tell you to let the refrigerator settle in place for an hour before plugging it in, but this model uses a different kind of compressor pump and doesn’t have that problem,” Nick told me as he plugged the fridge in.

“Do you have the app installed yet for the oven?” Mike asked.

“Alexa, connect to the new device,” I told the echo show 5 mounted under the kitchen cabinet, next to the sink. It did it’s little routine, and I double checked the Alexa app on my phone.

“Alexa, start oven cleaning cycle,” I told her.

“There’s still packaging in there to keep the tracks from rattling,” said an anxious Nick.

“Alexa, oven off.”

“They look nice, Sam,” Aunt Joan said from the doorway.

“They do, don’t they? The new vent fan for above the stove arrives Thursday,” I told her while Nick quickly removed the packaging from around the oven racks.