“Your package will be delivered between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM,” reads the message in threatening bold letters on my screen. My friend ordered some. I curse him that I have to get up so early on my day off and be alert all day for a package that can’t be delivered until 4:59 PM. Bye pajama day. At the end of the afternoon the bell rings, loud and urgent as a gas horn. I ignore the promise to myself never to answer the door with unwashed hair, in a bathrobe. My freedom is in sight. I open the door and the delivery person says: “Can I deliver a package to you for the neighbors?”
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A version of this article also appeared in the October 2, 2023 newspaper.