Chapter One
Phillip shivered. The mornings were getting colder as August faded into the distant reaches of his memory; it was already October, and soon it would be time to pull down the heavier blankets. The sounds of the two alarm clocks, muted by the insulation between the attic floor and the kids’ ceiling, brought him into full awareness. He glanced at the clock by his own bedside, and sighed. Another early day.
Gene and Jeanne were already stumbling their way towards their respective bathrooms as Phillip came down from his room. Both mumbled greetings to each other and to him before closing their doors; he reciprocated their good-mornings as he headed down to the kitchen.
As he entered the kitchen, the clock-radio mounted on the shelf clicked on, right on time. It was a convenience that he enjoyed, and the kids didn’t mind the morning news playing while they ate breakfast. He had just finished making his tea when the children came down the stairs, brighter-eyed than they had been upon waking. “Did you sleep well?” he asked.
“A little,” Jeanne said, opening the cereal cupboard. “I kept waking up.”
“It’s getting a little colder,” Gene nodded. He had the bowls and spoons in his hands.
“Can’t we turn on the heater yet?” Jeanne asked.
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