Aunt Rhonda's

When Billy was discharged from the hospital, he went to his Aunt Rhonda’s to recover.

In the hospital, he had been put in the children’s wing despite being 22, and now at Aunt Rhonda’s, brightly colored letters above the couch proclaimed “WELCOME BACK BILLY”.

“We're going to have so much fun!" she said.

“Whatever."

As soon as she left for work, he removed the letters from above the couch.

Outside, the sun poured relentlessly over the city. He opened a window for fresh air. Trucks climbing the hill nearby seemed to groan in exasperation. Eventually it got on his nerves and he closed the window.

He had spent years in these cramped quarters as a child while his parents were in jail or rehab. He had always wanted to get away, and he wanted to now.

When Aunt Rhonda returned that evening, she said, “It's like old times having you here.”

“As soon as I can walk, I’m outta here."

“You should increase your medication if you're going to be that irritable."

Then she noticed the letters missing from the wall. She gave him a sharp look. “Help yourself to dinner,” she said, and as if suddenly wanting nothing to do with him, disappeared into the kitchen.

The blender whirred. Outside, traffic rumbled, and people called back and forth to each other across a parking lot.

He pictured her alone in the kitchen, sullen. He didn’t mean to make her miserable. He took the letters, and balancing on one foot, hung some of them back on the string.

When Aunt Rhonda came back and saw them, her expression softened into a smile. “We’re going to have so much fun!”

The letters above the couch read, “THANK U AUNT RHONDA.”

“I'm becoming as ridiculous as her,” Billy thought to himself.