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with my parents' solar installation supposedly scheduled for early tomorrow morning, i wanted final confirmation that this was actually happening. the last time i spoke with lucas was thursday afternoon when he replied via e-mail to a few questions i had. he said the right things, but i wouldn't believe it until it actually happened. i called him at 11:30am but it went to voicemail. i ate a blueberry muffin and a cup of maxwell house hazelnut drink for lunch then called lucas back at 1:30pm. that's when i finally got ahold of him. he said we were still on for tomorrow. he was on his way back to the office to speak with the project manager for final confirmation and would call me back afterwards.

i went to the cafe in the afternoon to remove the battery from the motorcycle in storage at my grand uncle's backyard shed.i brought my phillips head screwdriver and no. 6 hex wrench. afterwards i covered up the bike and trickle charged the battery for the winter in the cafe basement.

i continued to belmont. i was prepared to spend the night here, since the solar installation would begin at the crack of dawn. my mother contacted me and said my grand uncle had been transferred to the sancta maria nursing facility for long-term care and my father was taking care of the move from mt.auburn hospital. coincidentally, my grand uncle was just moving from one address to a different address on the exact same street (just a mile away).

i didn't hear back from lucas until after 4pm, when i nearly called him back because i couldn't wait any longer. we had a bad connection, but i got the gist of it. equipment would be delivered at 6:30am, and the workers would begin the installation at 7am. lucas himself will show up around 10am, arriving from leominster (i thought he lived in easton).

i started making my risotto at 6pm, timed to coincide to when my parents returned home. my mother returned first, got a ride from my reluctant sister who originally told my mother to simply walk home. my father got back from the nursing home right around 7pm when i finished making the risotto. i increased my ingredient portions by half: 1.5 cups of arborio rice, 2 cans of chicken broth + 1 can of water, 1-1/2 cups of white wine, and a whole bag of frozen broccoli florets. instead of a cup of parmesan cheese, i only used 3/4 cups as it was too salty last time. the portioning came out perfect because i made just exactly enough for 3 large bowls of broccoli & italian sausage risotto. i usually squeeze out the sausage to make mini meatballs, but this time i saved the casings and threw them into the pot for a small dose of chewy mystery meat.

i went to bed about the same time my parents went to sleep, around 10:30pm. i had to get up early anyway, at 6am, to move the car so the delivery truck can load all the supplies on the driveway. i slept in my sister's old bedroom. it was pleasantly comfortable underneath two layers of warm blankets, but the sheets smelly awful, like cardboard boxes were left on them and imparted an ass-like smell. besides the smell, anxiety about what would happen tomorrow morning prevented me from getting a good night's sleep. i didn't actually fall asleep until around 3:30am, tossing and turning throughout and intermittently playing with my phone.