I walk away before I can say anything I might regret.
It’s annoying to have accidentally witnessed his little act that borders on altruism. Even though I know everyone is more than their surface—my work couldn’t possibly let me forget it—sometimes it’s easier to view someone through the single dimension you want to keep them tethered to.
But before that thought can worm its way in, my phone rings.
“Nora!” my mom says, breathless. “I think my new fish tank is broken, and I’m afraid all my fish are going to die.”
I pop my headphones into my ears so I can take out my keys as I approach my building. “Why do you think it’s broken?” I ask, knowing the simplest question will probably turn into the most complicated when it comes to my mother.
“It’s making some gurgling noise,” she replies. “And one of the Waldos keepsstaring at it.”
“Tan-and-black Waldo?” I ask.
“Yeah!” she says with amazement, as though picking out the most likely fish starer is a magical ability.
“He likes to watch stuff,” I mention. “I wouldn’t read anything into it.”
I open my own door to George standing there, like a gremlin who knows exactly when I’m going to be home. It would startle me if it wasn’t so frequent. I reach down to give him a pet.
“I just can tell something’s wrong. The fish are anxious. Waldo’s anxious. I need you to come look at it.”
“Waldo is fine,” I say, and George tilts his head at the name, like an accusation because I shouldn’t be speaking any other dog’s name in his presence. “And I don’t think fish can get anxious?”
“What about the gurgling?”
“Is there a manual of some kind for the tank?” I ask. “A YouTube video you can watch? A help desk phone number?”
“Oh, that’s an excellent idea,” she says spacily, as though calling her daughter is the first line of defense for fish tanks and any other solutions are a brilliant but unknowable alchemy.
“I’m sure there’s a warranty,” I add.
“Oh, you know I don’t save paperwork,” she says with an air of disdain.
“Thankfully most things are digital at this point.”
“I appreciate you finding it. You’re the best, Nora.”
“I—” I’m about to say no but cut myself off before I even get started. What’s the point? It’ll be faster to just look up the damn thing for her rather than having her call me fifteen times about it. “Send me a text with the make and model of the tank, and I’ll try to find the manuals online.”
“Where would the make and model be?”
“On the back of the tank?” I guess, now apparently fully pulled into this nonsense. I grab George a little green treat, and he seems to forgive me for mentioning Waldo.
“I’ll find it and send it to you,” she replies.
“Great. And don’t forget to look over that paperwork before Shabbat dinner, okay?” If I have her on the phone, might as well remind her.
“Oh, can you print it out again?” she replies, distracted now by, I imagine, her ridiculous, theoretically faulty fish tank.
“I left it on your desk in a manila folder,” I remind her. “It should be right there.”
“I think your dad was organizing,” she says. “Anyway, gotta run because I think Waldo wants to go out. I’ll send you a photo of the fish tank later, okay?”
“Okay,” I sigh. At least maybe if she gets distracted by Waldo, she’ll forget about this fish tank.
“Bye, love!” she says and hangs up before I can even respond.
I think about Cassie and Shauna and resign myself to adding a note to my to-do list to print out the bank forms again. I have to remind myself that getting my parents in a better financial position is just clearing the path. She’s not going to change, but I can get us all to a better place. I’vegotto get us there.
