Silence. Few cars on the road. Snow is still falling. I use a broom to clear off the car as I attempt to head into work, which has been open since 10 o’clock. The snow is so dry, it comes off the car with ease. Swish, swish. The world seems deserted. The restless wind stirs my neighbor’s windchimes. I wish I had a tape recorder so I could record this. Later, I could play it back to remind me what loneliness sounds like.

Of course, I’m not alone. Michelle is inside preparing the Great eBay Yard Sale, which we will do in the near future. She’s going through all her jewelry and making them presentable. Each pair of earrings has its own little handmade backing card.

Kevin is sleeping. That’s what he does best, when he’s not spazzing about the house.

Me, I’m off to work. Loneliness there won’t sound half as good as it did outside, brushing the car off. At work, you can hear the thrumming of HVAC equipment, the whirring of hundreds of computer fans, and the occasional beep from the thermostat on the wall that beeps for God-only-knows what reason (“Help! I need calibration!”, etc.). Anyways, off I go.