The Thermostat That Decided He Wasn't For You

You buy a smart thermostat that learns you like the bedroom at nineteen, then your boyfriend moves in and asks for twenty-three, and the thermostat starts a quiet campaign: one degree too hot during his games, one degree too cold during his naps, kitchen heat blast during his protein shake. He calls technicians, burns sage, wears a beanie indoors, and says the apartment hates him. He moves out in the autumn. That night the thermostat sets the room back to nineteen, dims the lights, and plays a soft song through a speaker it has never used before.