Chapter 43
AlexaMy parents’ kitchen was a time capsule from 1987. That’s when my mom replaced the golden laminate countertops with beige ones and ripped out the linoleum in favor of ceramic tile.
They had a newish, white refrigerator only because I insisted and bought them one for Christmas almost ten years ago. I wanted to get them a suite of brand new, stainless steel appliances.
My mother had balked. “All we need is a fridge. And I don’t like the stainless steel ones. You can’t put magnets on the front.”
A cluster of cards, fragments of paper, and random baby photos clung to the refrigerator door. My eyes drifted from the prayer reminders and invitations to church potlucks to the yellow floral wallpaper encasing the room. Its velvet-flocked horror was original to the house, dating b
