I ask my sister if she’s been drinking, and she says of course not. I hear her click her tongue on the other end of the line, so I know she’s lying. I open the fridge for a Diet Coke. I tell her Kyle is worried, but we both know he isn’t. Something’s rotting in the vegetable drawer, but I don’t want to dig around right now, so I shut the fridge and open my can.

She tells me it’s hard at the window factory, that they’re going through winter layoffs. I tell her I understand. I walk towards the living room, eyes fixed on the muted television. She says she may not be at our Christmas because the factory pays double. She tells me that she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to get Ky a gift this year if she loses her job. I splay myself across a loveseat and tell her that things have a way of working out. She supposes so. I reach for the remote because the five o’clock news is coming on. Click.