In This Together by Bella Books Authors

Author:Bella Books Authors [Bella Books Authors]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781642473339
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2021-04-25T00:00:00+00:00

Working at Home

J. E. Knowles

It was Day 111 of the pandemic. That’s what Tomas said. She dated the pandemic having become a reality in America from the 12th of March, the day the NBA shut down for the season. Raybelle thought of it as the date Tom Hanks and his wife had announced they’d tested positive for coronavirus. That summed up their coping mechanisms anyway: Tomas liked to watch basketball games, while movies were Raybelle’s preference.

“Go ahead and watch your movie,” Tomas would say, now that basketball was suspended. “I’ve got work to do.”

Always that reminder: Tomas was a doctor, a researcher in virology, while Raybelle was a former senator. With the world on its knees because of a virus, it was if Tomas had been waiting all her life to roll up her sleeves, literally, and get to work. She’d been out of clinical practice for years, but research was going to save the world. Whereas for Raybelle, over sixty and retired, the only safe thing to do was sit in front of the television and wait for the crisis to pass.

Like most people in the world, she was getting tired of waiting.

The longer they lived together, the more Raybelle realized how little they had in common. Of course in a movie, or a romance novel, this always meant the couple was destined for irresistible attraction to one another. And she and Tomas had had that, still did from time to time, but it didn’t get them through long summer days and nights and sure as hell wasn’t going to get them through COVID-19.

Raybelle was glad Tomas was working. Tomas was glad because she was able to help, to play an active role in addressing the situation. Raybelle was glad for that reason too, but also because it got Tomas out of the house. She worried about her at work, of course she did. But she also knew they’d drive each other crazy, if they had nothing to do but take turns with the remote control.

The fifteen-year age difference had never seemed important before. When things were normal—but Raybelle wouldn’t use that word; things hadn’t been normal, at least since 2016 when that fool had taken over her party, the Republicans. But if Raybelle had felt increasingly out of place in the Grand Old Party, at least there’d been speaking opportunities; she’d been able to go out and meet people, which is what she’d always liked most about politics. You were supposed to go into public service to help people, as with medicine, and Raybelle had. Her gift as a politician was to be able to walk into a room and just work it. Meeting or re-meeting each person, knowing what to say to him or her.

Now the rooms were off limits, and each person, if she could talk to them at all, was only on the other side of a screen. No handshaking.

Tomas had never been into large events, but she missed the gym. She’d rigged up a

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