I knew whose house I was going to when the dispatcher handed me the address.
I grew up in that house, and I wasn’t anxious to go back there.
I tried changing AC jobs with another HVAC technician, but the dispatcher said the owner had specifically requested me. I wondered why my father would want me to repair the air conditioning unit when he kicked me out for choosing not to go into the military. When I got there, my father answered the door and literally marched me outside to the AC unit. I asked how mom was doing, and he told me to repair the air conditioning, and if there was enough time, we could talk afterward. I nodded and went right to work on the air conditioning unit. It didn’t take long to find that the air filter hadn’t been changed for sometime, and there was a blockage in airflow. Once I changed the air filter and cleaned the excess fluff from the air vent, the air conditioning unit started running again. I filled the coolant and closed up the AC unit. I knocked on the door before entering, and my mother answered the door. When she saw me, she cried and wouldn’t stop hugging me. It was the first time I had seen her in five years. She said she had found out I was working at the local HVAC company, and she was proud of me. We talked for nearly half an hour before my father showed his face. He asked what was wrong with the AC unit and how much he owed me. He hesitated, but when he shook my hand, he also grabbed me in for a hug.