WaitgfortheBreeze
马蒂·阿通/MartiAttoun
“Noairnditiong？Howyousleep？”afriendasks，horrified.I’vejtrevealedthatyfailyhasdecidedtoshuttheairnditioneroffandtriourelectricbill.
“Nobodyopensadow，dayht，”warnsanotherfriend，whosedowshavebeenpatedshutforadecade.“Thisisthe90s.It’snotsafe.”
Onthisfirstnightofourst-cuttgadve’sonly85degrees.We’renotgogtosuffer，butthethreekidsgrubleanyway.They’vegrownup72-degreefort，sutedfrotheworldoutside.
“Howdoyouopenthesedows？”yhbandasks.Jigglgthetaltabs，hefallyreleasesone.Apotpourriofbugbodiesderatesthesills.Aswesprgthedowsonebyohenightnoiseshowloutside—and.
“It’stoohottosleep，”y13-year-olddaughteroans.
“I’abouttodiefrothisheat，”herbrotherhollersdownthehall.
“Jttryittonight，”Itellthe.
IntruthI’tootiredtueforlong.I’exhatedafterattendgGranda’sestateau.ItotedhoherovaltbathtubandthechairIooodonlikeabigshotbehdtheunterofherstore.
Myfaceissweaty，butIliequietlylistengtothecricketchoirsoutsidethatredofchildhood.Theneighbor’sdoghowls.Probablyatrespassgsquirrel.It’sbeenyearssceI’vetakeitoreallylistentothenight.
IthkaboutGranda，wholivedto92andstillsupervisedMo’sgardenguntiljtafewweeksbeforeshedied.Andthen，I’backthereatherhoethesurheatofychildhood.IoveypillowtothefootofGranda’sbedandangleyfacetowardtheopendow.Iflipthepillow，huntgfortheolerside.
Grandaseesthrashg.“Ifyou’lljtwatchforthebreeze，”shesays，“you’lloloffandfallasleep.”
SheksuptheVeianblds.Istareatthefilywhitecurta，willgittoftter.Lygstill，waitg，Isuddenly，noticethelifeoutsidethedow.Thebugchorshouts“Ajooga！Ajooga！”Neighbors，porch-sittgte，speakhazywordsthatsoothe.
“Keepwatchgforthebreeze，”Grandasayssoftly，andI“uhhuh”reply.Junebugspgthes.ThreeblocksawaytheFrisotrarublesacrossRooseveltAvenue.Icatchthestoffreshgrasschippgs.ThenIhearsothgI’tdede—perhapsatreebranchrakgtheasphaltshglesooreroofdoor.
Sleepy-eyednow，Ifothecurta.Itftter...
“Mo，didyouhearthat？”yseven-year-oldbrts，“Ithkitwasanowlfaily.”
“Probably，”Itellhi，“Jtkeeplisteng...”
Withoutthedrongairnditiohehoeisoddlypeaceful，andtheunfilterednightnoisesseecloseenoughtotouch.
IhopeI’awaketonightwhenthefirstbreezesneaks.
“不开空调？你们怎么睡得着啊？”一个朋友问道，显然有些惊异。我刚刚透露，我们全家决定关掉空调，以降低电费开支。
“不管是白天还是晚上，都没有人会开窗的。”另一个朋友提醒道，她家的窗户刷过漆后，关闭十多年了。“现在是90年代了，不安全。”
开始节电计划的第一天晚上，只有华氏85度的气温，尚没热到让人无法忍受，可三个孩子还是嘟囔起来，他们向来与外面酷热的世界相隔离，在华氏72度的舒适温度下长大。
“你怎么不把窗户打开啊？”丈夫问道，他轻微地晃动着金属插销，终于，一扇窗松动了。各种各样的虫子的尸体装点着窗台。当我们把窗户一扇又一扇地打开时，家里很快充斥了外面夜晚的喧嚣。
“睡不着，太热了。”13岁的女儿抱怨道。