Turn up the Heat

was around the corner from mine. Within minutes, I was outside her building. Their place, like mine, was on the top floor of a house that was surrounded by other houses. Ours were two of the rare streets left in Brighton that weren’t jammed with large apartment complexes. Ade and Owen, however, had the only apartment in the house; unlike me, they wouldn’t have Noah-esque neighbors who sunbathed in skimpy clothing. The owners lived in the main part of the house for half of the year and spent the other half in South Carolina. Consequently, Ade and Owen wouldn’t have to worry about irate neighbors when the baby cried. The building was attractive: a yellow house with a lovely front porch and black shutters. The front lawn, with its tall shade trees, would be great for the baby. A separate entrance on the side of the house gave them private access to their top-floor apartment. As I ascended the narrow, twisty staircase, however, I wondered how in the world they’d carry up a stroller or a baby in a car seat. The door to the apartment was open. I had to squeeze past two cardboard boxes to get into the hallway. I nearly cried.
    This was a beautiful place, with freshly painted walls, but God, it was so tiny! The front door opened into a minuscule hallway. To my right was a small living room, ahead of me was the doorless doorway to the galley kitchen, and to my left were three doors. I’d have given anything to be able to buy my friends a big, fat house in the suburbs where they’d have the space they needed to raise their child.
    “Ade?” I called.
    “In here,” she answered.
    I took a left and found Adrianna in what was obviously a large closet. Matching up the closet with a description Ade had given me of the apartment, I realized that she was in the nursery. In spite of a small window with an old radiator under it, the closet was a closet. But she could definitely get a crib in here. And almost nothing else. I was heartbroken.
    Ade stood up and smiled at me. “Thank you so much for helping. I didn’t know where to begin, so I’ve been trying to push some stuff in here for now.”
    “You’re not supposed to be pushing anything!” I admonished her. “I’ll move whatever you want.” I did some quick muscle poses to demonstrate my Herculean strength.
    She laughed. “Don’t worry. I haven’t been lifting couches or anything. I just have to get some of this put away, because with my belly sticking out like this, I can hardly move around here.”
    “Tell me where to start. I’m at your service.”
    “Well, I found a couple of boxes of sheets and towels. Maybe you could unload those into the bathroom closet? Right there.”
    I stepped out of the “nursery” and went to the bathroom at the end of the hall. There was barely enough foot room for me to stand, but the bathroom did indeed have a skinny linen closet with plenty of shelving. Boxes with Adrianna’s neat labeling were next to the door. I yanked the packing tape off the tops and began refolding and storing the contents.
    “How did it go with the movers?” I asked. “And when is Owen going to be here to help?”
    Ade stood in the hallway. “The movers were great. I just stayed out of their way, and they had all my stuff out within a half hour. Right after they finished unloading here, Owen’s movers showed up, so the timing worked out well.” She looked at her watch. “He should be here by midafternoon. He has a meeting scheduled with a new restaurant he’s hoping to get, but I don’t know how long that will last. I need some water. Want some?”
    “Sure.” I nodded.
    “Hey, can you pull out a set of sheets for me? The movers actually put together the bed for me. I want to get it made up before I collapse later.”
    Ade went to the kitchen, and I poked through the boxes until I found a matching set. “Gosh, how many sheets and towels does one person need?” I was discovering set after set of white linens.
    I traded her the sheets in my hands for the water. “That really nice set of heavy sheets?” she said. “That’s from my vacation to Cabo last year. And those superthick towels? Same place.” She shrugged.
    “You wasted suitcase space on towels you could buy here? Why didn’t you just wait until you got home?”
    Adrianna laughed. “I didn’t buy them, silly. That’s what hotels are for!”
    “You stole these?” I myself was barely able to use the little hotel soaps and shampoos without feeling pangs of guilt. And