Married life was pretty much as I’d expected. The only difference was that since that day my gesture of goodwill was rejected, I hadn’t stepped foot in the kitchen. At home, I either ordered takeout or ate out. Allen didn’t say anything; we coexisted peacefully.
After a month, Leon started acting up again. The trigger was me finding the house too hot and paying to install three air conditioners. Allen had bought the house years ago; the decor was nice, but it had no A/C. I wondered, his salary wasn’t low, why not install A/C?
Allen explained awkwardly: “Leon’s mother said the electricity bill was too expensive and wouldn’t agree to it.”
I thought it was self-inflicted suffering. The next day, I found a technician and had them installed. Allen was working overtime when they were installed; they were already running by the time he got back. He was very apologetic and tried to transfer the cost to me, but I didn’t accept it.
Leon was indifferent to the A/C I installed, as if he didn’t care at all. But one day when I didn’t work overtime and came back early, I noticed Leon wasn’t home, yet the A/C in his room was running continuously. Later, I observed a few more times and realized he indeed had no habit of turning off the A/C; the outdoor unit ran 24/7.
At first, I thought maybe he’d never used A/C before and didn’t know it needed a rest. Just as I was pondering whether to tell Allen so he could teach his son, I saw Leon come out to use the bathroom, sniffling. The cold air seeping from his room made me shiver. Allen had taught him how to use the A/C the day it was installed. He was already catching a cold from being too cold, yet he still refused to raise the temperature. A boy his age couldn’t be unaware of hot and cold.
I understood. He wanted to make me “pay”. I decided to completely ignore it. I’m not his mom. Besides, I don’t pay the electricity bill.
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