Truthfully, I could live in Dumpwater, Arkansas and be happy, as long as it was with Braxton.
“I think I’d settle for whatever made you happy,” I said, reserving hope that he’d continue his desire to live on the beach. “You decide what you want, and I’m along for the ride.”
“I think I might be ready for a change,” he said. “Hap’s a prick, but he’s a happy prick. I don’t want to live the rest of my life chasing life’s loose ends and end up old and angry. I want to be like the Old Man.”
I laughed. “You’d rather be a happy prick?”
“I would.”
I picked at my food, dreaming of living along the coast. In a matter of moments, I became so excited I could barely contain myself.
The front door swung open.
We both looked up.
Hap stopped dead in his tracks and gave each of us a little jolt of his laser sharp glare. “What are you two dipshits looking at?” he asked. “Never seen an old man walk through a door?”
“Evening, Pop,” Braxton said.
“Fuck you,” Hap snarled. “It’s none of your business.”
Braxton gave him a flippant look. “I didn’t ask a thing.”
“You were getting ready to.” He shifted his eyes to me. “And so were you.”
“I wasn’t going to say—”
“Keep your yap shut,” Hap said, taking long strides toward his bedroom. “You’re not sweet talking me out of anything.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “I’ll just talk to Marge tomorrow.”
He laughed as he walked past. “We’ve taken an oath of secrecy.”
“Girl code trumps any oath between a man and a woman,” I said.
He paused and turned to face me. He glared. “Is there such a thing? Girl code?”
“Oh yeah,” I said. “It’s an unbreakable bond we all share.”
“If you’ll agree to leave her alone about it, I’ll tell you this, and no more.” He looked at Braxton and then at me. “Agreed?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
He grinned. “If having fun is a crime, I ought to be doing life in Folsom Prison.”
“I’m glad you had fun,” I said, trying not to smile too much.
“So am I,” Braxton added.
“What were you two blabbing about?” Hap took a moment to look at each of us. “You look like a couple of numbskulls that are plotting to rob a bank.”
“We’re just trying to decide what’s for dinner tomorrow night,” I lied.
“You two are either a couple of morons or a couple of liars,” he said, alternating glances between us. “Tomorrow’s Taco Tuesday. On Taco Tuesday, we have fucking tacos.”
“Thanks,” I said. “All the days kind of run into one another.”
“Think nothing of it,” he said with a wave of his hand.
Halfway to his room, he paused. “Oh. Almost forgot,” he said over his shoulder. “Fix another plate for tomorrow night. We’ve got someone joining us.”
“Is she staying for Scrabble?” I asked.
“Well, there’s not much sense in giving her the boot as soon as we get done with dinner, is there?”
“I suppose not,” I said.
“Then she’ll be staying for Scrabble.”
“Are you going to join us?” I asked. “You can have a seat and help us with our bank robbery plot.”
“Nope, the neighbor gal and I are going to make hand gestures at each other through the window,” he replied. “Have a good night.”
His bedroom door closed. I smirked. Hap may have been a prick, but he was a very likeable prick.
I went back to picking at my food. Moving to the beach together may not have been a big deal to Braxton, but it was a huge deal to me. If we were moving into a new home together, it confirmed Braxton’s commitment to me, and to our relationship.
I was eager to discuss it further.
“Sounds like that went well.” I poked a piece of cauliflower and then glanced at Braxton. “Where were we?”
“We were moving to the beach,” he deadpanned.
“Oh, that’s right,” I said, fighting a smile. “I almost forgot.”
Braxton
The governor announced the stay at home order was lifted. The state rejoiced. Free travel was allowed, and all businesses were able to reopen. Things were much different following the pandemic. The experts claimed this was the way it would be for the foreseeable future.
Basketball, football, and soccer were now played privately, in what were formerly public venues. They were televised live. Attending sporting events was something of the past.
Buffets were no more. The chance of infection being transferred from person to person through the shared silverware, serving pans, and countertops was far too great. Casinos were ghost towns, due to the elimination of slot machines. As it was impossible to clean a machine after each use, they were banned from public use. Las Vegas was a ghost town.
The floors in grocery stores were marked with arrows, allowing traffic along the food aisles to travel in one direction, only. Lines were marked on the floors at the checkout aisles, six feet apart. See-through plastic walls separated the cashier from the customer.
Restaurants used throw-away menus, reduced their seating capacity to 50% of the former allowances, and the servers wore gloves and masks. Tablecloths were paper, discarded by gloved workers after each use.
Airlines were forced to revamp their planes, changing the seating capacity and adding sneeze guards between seats. Due to the reduced seating capacity, the cost to fly went up 300%. Flying was now for the rich, and for those willing to take the risk to be confined to a petri dish in the air.
Rental cars were disinfected with chemicals and steam cleaned upon their return. A certificate of compliance was provided to the renter upon signing the contract.
Ride sharing was limited to two persons per vehicle seating row, regardless of the designed seating capacity for the row. No more 3 people fitting in a back seat of an Uber.
Working from home was commonplace, and would remain in effect for many corporations, making office space a thing of the past. Companies weren’t willing to risk lawsuits for placing workers’ lives at risk.
Social distancing measures remained in place. Masks were to be worn in public. Violators were fined for the first offense and jailed following the second.
Conspiracy theorists claimed the virus was developed in a laboratory and inflicted on mankind to allow the changes to be made. Yet others claimed it wasn’t as bad as the news media claimed it to be. I wasn’t sure one way or another. All I knew for sure was that I contracted COVID-19, and that the illness took me to death’s door. It was while standing at the razor’s edge between life and death that I realized I didn’t want to live my life in the manner I’d been living it.
Labeling it COVID-19, the flu, or a spiritual awakening didn’t matter. I saw that changes needed to be made in me, and the way I was living life. That’s all that was important.
It was now time to implement those changes.
“C’mon, Old Man,” I complained. “The freeways are going to be bumper to bumper if we wait. She said to be there at noon.”