hall, which was Revere Pewter, the same color as in New Albany. It was the only familiar thing in the house, which had been the sample so it came already furnished with black leather sofas and glass tables. His mother had told the realtor she preferred French country, but Kyle knew they were in no position to prefer anything. They’d had to move, and the sample was the only rental available. They didn’t have the money to buy. It had gone to the lawyers.
Kyle carried the last of the grocery bags into the kitchen, a small rectangle in the back of the house, ringed with white cabinets and a white built-in nook next to the window. His mother loved the granite countertops and Mexican tile floor, but always said she missed her island. Kyle would kid her, Mom, we are the island.
“Oh, thanks, honey,” his mother said, flashing him a smile. She was still pretty even though she was in her forties, with her brown hair in a ponytail that made her look younger. The guys on the basketball team used to call her a total MILF, but he never told her that. She had on her work clothes, a blue dress with a skinny belt, and she had found a job as a paralegal in Philly, only an hour commute. Landed on my feet! she liked to say.
Kyle set the bag down in front of the refrigerator, where his mother was unpacking the other bags. Buddy, their chubby yellow Labrador, walked from one bag to the next, sniffing the groceries, his toenails clicking on the floor and his thick tail wagging.
“Kyle, can you believe how big that store was?” His mother’s eyes shone with excitement, on a retail high after their shopping trip. She had talked about it all the way home, trying to put a happy face on everything, ever since their move.
“It was big.” Kyle petted Buddy to distract him from the grocery bags. The dog was a carb monster and always managed to find the bag with the bread.
“We’re so lucky it opened right down the street.” His mother stowed the apples in the plastic drawer, where they rolled around noisily when she pushed it closed. “I’m excited about my rewards card. What a great idea.”
“Great idea.” Kyle scratched Buddy.
“We can get our prescriptions filled there, too. No more running around like at home.”
“Mom, it’s a grocery store,” Kyle said lightly. She was always talking about how awesome it was here and so much better than home. She was trying to convince him, and herself. He knew why.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, have you? I mean, that’s what took us so long. It’s practically eight o’clock. Look!” His mother gestured at the wall clock, which didn’t have any numbers but 12. That annoyed Kyle, but he kept it to himself. Actually, he kept everything to himself. He’d lost his friends, the guys on the team, and his high school. Nobody would ever speak to him again. Even if they wanted to, their parents wouldn’t let them.
“Honey, is the ice cream in one of those bags? I don’t want it to melt.”
“Yes.” Kyle plucked the tubs of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream from the bag, her favorite, Cherry Garcia, and his favorite, Chubby Hubby.
Mom, can we still get Chubby Hubby? he had joked with her in the store, the two of them standing in the frost billowing from the massive freezer.
Ha! His mother had fake-laughed, but Kyle wished she would just be real. Like, say that’s not funny, because it wasn’t. Or maybe say too soon, dude. Or maybe it would never be funny. Nothing was going to be the same, ever again, and Kyle doubted it would ever be awesome.
He opened up the freezer side of the refrigerator with a tug, since the door practically vacuum-sealed closed. It’s a Sub-Zero, his mother had said with pride, like it was an achievement, not an appliance. She loved their new townhouse, which had everything top-of-the-line, the dishwasher a Bosch and the washer-dryer a Maytag. Like, they had great appliances, so they hadn’t lost anything. Except their entire life, and his father.
“I love that the store’s only ten minutes from the house. You could ride your bike there, couldn’t you?”
“Sure.” Kyle picked up a heavy bag of canned goods, since he always put away the pantry items and she always put away the refrigerator items, one of the few things they kept the same. What had happened was