The Unexpected Gift

Chapter 7

I woke up later than usual.

In fact, I probably would still have been asleep if it wasn’t for Racso jumping up on top of my back.

I guess someone is ready to go outside.

After pushing Rasco off of me, I got up slowly and made my way to the back door. I opened it up and immediately Rasco is rushing out. He must have been holding it longer than I thought.

Now that he is safely outside and not in danger of having an accident, I head towards the kitchen. If I am going to start my day off before my body and mind is ready for it, I need coffee.

Turning on my old coffee pot, I rub down my arms trying to fight off the chill that I am feeling. It is a lot colder in the house than it normally is.

While I wait for the coffee to get finished, I head over to the thermostat and see if I forgot to adjust the temperature last night in my half dead state when I got home. I normally keep my thermostat set to where the heater did not run too much during the day while no one was home, but then brought it back down to where it was not too cold.

Making my way to the thermostat, I glanced at the lit-up screen. The thermostat states that the heater is set up to 68 degrees. However, it also stated that the actual temperature was at 62 degrees in the house.

Well, that is not adding up.

It should not be this cold in here, especially if the heater is set to come on at 68 degrees.

I know it really does not get that cold here in Texas, especially if you are accustomed to snowy winters. But living in Texas for the past ten or so years has completely taken away my ability to survive in the cold. I hated being cold!

So, doing the logical thing, I went and checked my breaker box to make sure that maybe the breaker did not blow for the heater. Yeah, living on my own for the past five years, I have learned a few things about home improvement.

I am very much capable of doing small maintenance tasks around the house. There is no sense paying someone to come all this way out here to do something that I can do myself.

I walked down the hallway to my mud room at the very back. Once I was in the mud room, I closed the door, so I could get to the breaker box that is right behind it. I have never been good at any form of electricity, but I know enough to tell if a breaker is blown or not.

Opening up the breaker box, I found the breaker that was labeled Furnace. After inspection of the breaker, I am sure that it is not the breaker that is the problem.

So, now I am in trouble. I do not know anything about A/C and heating and could not even begin to try and figure out what is wrong.

Walking back to the kitchen in defeat, I went to check to see if my coffee was finished. At least that should be able to warm me up some. It should be finished by now because of how long it took me to walk to the breaker box and back.

Thank god for small miracles. My coffee was finished brewing.

I pulled out my favorite coffee mug and got busy making my coffee the way I like it. Half creamer, half coffee, with a small teaspoon of sugar to finish it off. Taking my mug with me to the back door. I look out through the window and see Raco chasing after a squirrel that has found his way into the yard.

I slowly sipped my coffee, as I stood there watching Rasco run around like a crazed beast. He was nowhere near close to catching that poor squirrel, but he was trying his hardest. I couldn’t help but laugh at his antics.

I stepped away from the back door, deciding to give him a few more minutes outside before I brought him back into the house. He was having too much fun to make him come in just yet.

I went back into my bedroom to get my phone off of the charger. I had a quick check to see if I had missed any calls or messages, but saw that I only had one message from Steph asking if I had made it home safely and that she was going to be heading out in the morning to her parents.

‘Hey, yes! I made it home safe and sound :}! I messaged her back.

My phone dinged almost immediately.

‘b***h! I was about to call 911!!!!!! Why are you just not responding?’ I rolled my eyes at her response.

‘Sorry crashed out almost the sec I hit the bed’ was my answer to her statement.

‘OMG……You are killing me!’

‘LOL’ I typed out.

‘Donot LOL me. I am dying over here!’

‘You are not dying! Dramatic much’

‘Whatever……hey I am leaving this morning to head out to my parents. The offer still stands, and you can go with me’, she messaged me.

I signed at her thousandth attempt to get me to go with her.

‘Not this time…..tell them I love them and miss them for me though!’ I texted her.

I could practically see her rolling her eyes at me and exhaling dramatically.

‘OK……but they will not be happy about my half-ass greeting from you.’

I couldn’t help but laugh at her antics.

‘HAHA! Have a great time and stop messaging me and get on the road. U have a long drive. Also message me once you are there……love yah!’

‘Loooooove yah toooooo’ was her text back to me.

I back out of my message threat with Steph as I am walking back into the kitchen. By the time I made it into the kitchen, Rasco was at the back door waiting to be let into the house. So I went and let him in. He immediately headed over to his bed and laid down.

Squirrel chasing most really has worn him out.

I sit down at my bar stool at the kitchen island and start scrolling through Google on my phone trying to find an A/C company to call to come out and see what is wrong with my heater.