to be filled with paranoia. He was paranoid by nature and haunted by conspiracy theories. Anne, on the other hand, saw the good in the world. She was the light that he needed and if lying was what was going to keep his world lit up, then that’s what he needed to do.
‘See, the thing with HIV is that it’s a slow killer, like cancer. Ebola’s different. Even if they’re holding back a cure for HIV, people still have the opportunity to live long fruitful lives. Ebola drops you within days. It’s something that’s horrible to look at and so, I don’t think they’d stand around and allow something like that to flood the streets if they could help it.’
‘Hmm...’ Anne nodded. ‘Well, I guess I get to apologize for last night and throwing a fit.’
Stewart sprung to his feet, ‘No, no. Don’t apologize. You really have no need to apologize. This here,’ he said placing his hand lightly on her chest, ‘this is what makes you who you are. This is what makes you so perfect. Don’t you ever apologize for your heart.’
Anne moved her head up to greet Stewart’s. It was a gesture that he truly appreciated. The feeling of her moving her face against the stubble of his beard was indescribably good. He closed his eyes and reveled in the moment.
‘Okay,’ Anne said.
Stewart opened his eyes and for the first time that morning, noticed what was going on outside the window. ‘Okay,’ he replied, moving away from Anne and closer to the window. Eventually, his forehead was pressed firmly against the glass. He couldn’t believe what he saw. He almost wanted to rub his eyes just to see if he’d wake up. Unfortunately, he knew that there was no chance that he’d been dreaming.
Through the window, Stewart focused his eyes on Ed’s house. What was once a neat Florida home with vines running up the sides and a face always peeking through the curtains, was now a home filled with more action than could be contained. Yellow tape was draped over the lawn, around the house and over the rosebush that Ed so proudly boasted about. Stewart watched as one masked guy, or perhaps girl, trotted into the house after another. He watched as one piece of furniture made its exit by means of the strong but definitely tired hands of the hazmat team. It all didn’t seem real to Stewart. It seemed like something out of a movie.
Some things were too good to be true. This, on the other hand, was what nightmares were made of.
Chapter 8
Anne and Stewart tuned into the news to get an idea of what was going on. They hadn’t left their home for over a month and a half, and though they were living comfortably on all their supplies, they wished for a glimmer of home each and every day. Anne had suggested that they keep away from the news for a while as there was hardly ever anything cheerful to see. Even those cutesy reports of cats and dogs being rescued had been exchanged for reports about bats and monkeys carrying the virus. Day after day, it seemed as though all that was being broadcasted was a body count and cries of how the hospital could hold no more patients.
Ebola, like the parasite it was, had clung to an approximated 1 in every 1000 people in Fort Lauderdale, Anne and Stewart came to realize from listening to the news. They knew it was bad because there was hardly any activity going on in their entire neighborhood. Ed had been taken away and presumably quarantined after that horrible night when he came banging on their doors. God only knew if he or Evelyn were actually infected, or even if they were still alive. Instead, Stewart would peek out the window every day hoping to see Ed’s face staring back at him, but this was never the case. But the changes in their neighborhood weren’t only based on Ed. The usual teenagers skipping along to school and cars whizzing past at all hours of the night had stopped. Their entire neighborhood was swept by a stillness that was unnerving.
Of course, Stewart appreciated the fact
‘See, the thing with HIV is that it’s a slow killer, like cancer. Ebola’s different. Even if they’re holding back a cure for HIV, people still have the opportunity to live long fruitful lives. Ebola drops you within days. It’s something that’s horrible to look at and so, I don’t think they’d stand around and allow something like that to flood the streets if they could help it.’
‘Hmm...’ Anne nodded. ‘Well, I guess I get to apologize for last night and throwing a fit.’
Stewart sprung to his feet, ‘No, no. Don’t apologize. You really have no need to apologize. This here,’ he said placing his hand lightly on her chest, ‘this is what makes you who you are. This is what makes you so perfect. Don’t you ever apologize for your heart.’
Anne moved her head up to greet Stewart’s. It was a gesture that he truly appreciated. The feeling of her moving her face against the stubble of his beard was indescribably good. He closed his eyes and reveled in the moment.
‘Okay,’ Anne said.
Stewart opened his eyes and for the first time that morning, noticed what was going on outside the window. ‘Okay,’ he replied, moving away from Anne and closer to the window. Eventually, his forehead was pressed firmly against the glass. He couldn’t believe what he saw. He almost wanted to rub his eyes just to see if he’d wake up. Unfortunately, he knew that there was no chance that he’d been dreaming.
Through the window, Stewart focused his eyes on Ed’s house. What was once a neat Florida home with vines running up the sides and a face always peeking through the curtains, was now a home filled with more action than could be contained. Yellow tape was draped over the lawn, around the house and over the rosebush that Ed so proudly boasted about. Stewart watched as one masked guy, or perhaps girl, trotted into the house after another. He watched as one piece of furniture made its exit by means of the strong but definitely tired hands of the hazmat team. It all didn’t seem real to Stewart. It seemed like something out of a movie.
Some things were too good to be true. This, on the other hand, was what nightmares were made of.
Chapter 8
Anne and Stewart tuned into the news to get an idea of what was going on. They hadn’t left their home for over a month and a half, and though they were living comfortably on all their supplies, they wished for a glimmer of home each and every day. Anne had suggested that they keep away from the news for a while as there was hardly ever anything cheerful to see. Even those cutesy reports of cats and dogs being rescued had been exchanged for reports about bats and monkeys carrying the virus. Day after day, it seemed as though all that was being broadcasted was a body count and cries of how the hospital could hold no more patients.
Ebola, like the parasite it was, had clung to an approximated 1 in every 1000 people in Fort Lauderdale, Anne and Stewart came to realize from listening to the news. They knew it was bad because there was hardly any activity going on in their entire neighborhood. Ed had been taken away and presumably quarantined after that horrible night when he came banging on their doors. God only knew if he or Evelyn were actually infected, or even if they were still alive. Instead, Stewart would peek out the window every day hoping to see Ed’s face staring back at him, but this was never the case. But the changes in their neighborhood weren’t only based on Ed. The usual teenagers skipping along to school and cars whizzing past at all hours of the night had stopped. Their entire neighborhood was swept by a stillness that was unnerving.
Of course, Stewart appreciated the fact
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