When Winter Blooms

e a lamin

eeded to know about the kind

edroom that was nicer than any place I'd ever lived, staring at the

ed, and come to the kitchen to f

h the third cabinet whe

morn

rning and the man was in a full suit, jacket and everything, ho

rning,"

e do you keep

cabinet direct

ately, like he'd calculated the exact amount of space r

d on the counter between

ked i

twelve poin

whole thing while the coffee machine did its t

e. Keep Lily's schedule consistent. No

rsonal questions about th

is off-limit

egarding non-Lily matters should be directed to

that on

ark,"

her number is

I looked

bout the house, or schedul

. P

outside bus

ma

ked a

ompletel

," I

travel mug, and made to

said, without

down at t

taken outside the building

to the

n first, the

, and I kept my voice completely ne

then. Look

corner of his mouth, barely anything, the smallest possible move

," he

r L

t i

d the elevator

y coffee and I thought: twelve rules, laminated, sli

a normal year. Or p

laminated and folding it felt mildly aggress

mother gave it to me when I was nineteen, and I stuck it on the fridge just to have so

nt to wak

alread

tely forty stuffed animals, very seriously explai

," I said fro

ya! I was telling

d," I

one is

p the enor

ald," I

to mee

bed in the same pink jumper from yesterday, which told me she'd

cookies and that you're goi

's ri

ced back at me with enormous, t

appy about t

N

n't like

e Gerald unconditionally fo

a while because Lily had opinions about her hair that

she liked, and she sat at the kitchen island and ate it with t

he looked up and said: "Is my

Do you know what time

ught ab

quieter: "He's

to the coffee I was nursing and I didn't sa

't upset

that have just become fact, already

e at half

the couch with a book when I heard the elevat

" I said, with

she only cried for about four minutes at bath time b

le

the bear,

s." He set his bag d

sk abo

hen island, jacket still on, looking somewher

u'd be home for

Didn't sa

hich wasn't entirely true, bu

just

Then he said: "I'll try to

let he

up his bag

g it the whole elevator ride up,

ait

idge, Is t

that a

at me for

said. "It

close, then his footsteps moved across the c

y book, Put i

it flat, and went to the fridge. I stuck it up with the sunflowe

o be

it where I c

because I planned to follow all of them. But bec

ing getting in, he lamina

the way he'd sai

se before he said he'd

he rules where I

I was going to n