I told her the electric bill was forty-eight dollars this month.

I told her the electric bill was forty-eight dollars this month. She stretched out on the hardwood next to the fan base and asked if that was for the cold air. Yes, I said. She thought about the number. Is forty-eight a lot of wind. It is a fair amount, I said. She got up and walked to the corner where a single grey feather from his old toy lay on the floorboards. She picked it up gently in her mouth and carried it back to me. She set the feather down beside my shoe and stopped when it was placed.