“What are you doing?”
“I’m salting the steps.”
“Oh.”
“Either come out or stay in. We can’t waste the heat.”
Carol was shaking a measuring cup of ice melt on the front steps with Rindy standing halfway inside the apartment chewing tonight’s dinner in her Rudolph reindeer slippers. She held the door knob in one hand making the splintered wood creak. It was so cold that Caron’s own breath was floating in the air.
“Mom, can we still watch a movie tonight?”
“Have you finished all your homework?”
“I wrote my comparison essay about the Great Depression and 2020.”
“Not much different, huh?” Carol stood back up waving her daughter to move back inside. She pulled the door shut behind them and they both headed into the living room where Therese was online Christmas shopping.
Therese closed her laptop on the couch just as Carol swooped down to kiss her.
“Have you been outside? You’re cold.”
“I’ve just salted the steps.”
“The sun should be up all day tomorrow.”
“I still don’t like having icy steps,” Carol pressed.
Rindy walked towards the coffee table to grab the remote.
“Are you guys fighting again? I hate it when you fight.” She switched the TV on Netflix.
“No, we simply disagree on certain things. That’s not fighting.” Carol watched as Therese looked annoyed now. She scratched her short length hair and huffed.
“I don’t want you seeing what I’m getting you for Christmas.”
“Are you kicking me out of my own living room?”
“Well, I’m in the middle of shopping online for you,” Therese explained.
“Mom, can we watch a holiday movie?” Rindy asked impatiently.
“You’ve been online shopping since we started dinner,” Carol protest. “I’m sure you can take a break.”
“Mom?”
“Just forget it. I’ll go,” Therese snapped, hugging her latop close as she got off the couch. Carol watched her move past her towards upstairs. Rindy was pointing at the tv screen at the old Frosty the Snowman cartoon.
“Let’s watch this!”
“Put it on,” Carol spoke wearily, sitting herself down, feeling her numb toes melt through her thermal wool socks.