** soundtrack: “Fireflies” by Owl City
February 2084. Stephanie Day is 24, Willow is 2. Justin Kim is 23, Lily is 15 months.
"We can't make it by today," Stephanie's parents would say on those rare days that neither of them could make the twenty-minute errand out to Lakeside Heights to make sure Stephanie was still alive. They acted like they'd left a small child at home and not a grown woman. "Do you have enough grocery money? Did you pay the electricity bill? Have you showered? Have you left the house this week at all?"
"I'm fine," Stephanie assured them.
"Maybe we'll send Aunt Sophie over to check on you."
"You don’t need to," Stephanie insisted. "I’m fine."
Although Stephanie had some doubts, they were mostly about color—buttercup or coral? She'd never decorated a room in her life, and she hadn't asked permission to decorate this one. Justin’s mother took the girls for the afternoon so that Stephanie wouldn’t have them crawling around the living room. It was cold outside, but she opened the windows and aired the room of paint fumes. She picked a brighter color. Her mother would probably hate it, but Stephanie wasn’t asking. It just felt like something that needed to be done, so she would do it. She would paint the living room yellow.
