Thursdays

It was usually on Thursdays that I woke up and felt a little tickle in my throat. A little cough coming on. Lethargy.

Mom would leave the room and turn up the space heater in the bathroom where we got dressed in the mornings, as I’d sniffle and moan and cough louder… watching her from the corner of my eye as she finally came to the decision that I’d be staying home from school that day.