The waiting was a physical thing. It lived in her chest, a tight balloon. She checked the mail every day at 10:17 AM, just after the postman’s truck groaned up the hill.
Marta looked at the letters. Then at her curled hands. Then at his open, hopeful face. odsp and cpp
Zero dollars. But her son’s asthma inhaler would be covered. Her muscle relaxants, too. The waiting was a physical thing
“You don’t qualify for both,” the man on the phone had said. His voice was flat, like a shovel hitting dry dirt. “CPP Disability is for people who paid into the plan. ODSP is the province’s safety net. But if you get CPP, ODSP claws back dollar for dollar after the first $200.” Marta looked at the letters
Wednesday was for ODSP. Describe your typical day. She wrote: Wake up. Soak hands in hot water. Try to button my son’s shirt. Fail. Cry. Try again. She didn’t write the crying part. She wrote “Assistance required for fine motor tasks.”
Marta had written that down: Clawback . It sounded like something that happened to animals in traps.