“Oh, that’s too bad; your dad must be stuck somewhere, too. Can you go to one of your friends?” Mom asked; she was apprehensive about him; ugh.
“No Susan, Ron is my only friend.” James smiled sadly. I didn’t want to repeat the ordeal, so I remained silent. But in my mind, I was raging, feeling helpless.
“What about Amy?” I said, trying to be intelligent about the situation.
“She went to her grandmother’s, out of state.” He said, smiling at me. This smile felt like a challenge.
“How about staying with us? We have plenty of room.” Mom offered. No, no, no…Living with that creep for one day is unbearable, and I have to live with him for who knows how long.
“But Mom…”
“You are so kind, Susan, I will repay you tenfold,” James said, looking at Mom and then at me. He won; it was like a small victory for him. Before I even had a chance, he had succeeded. Fuck this.
“It’s okay, honey; we all have to help each other in these times,” Mom said, as if she didn’t know him. He kept looking at her breasts. Touching her hand or ‘slipping’ to grab her ass. But she was clueless.
Out of nowhere, Mom coughed a little; it could have been anything in normal times – a closet, something stuck in her throat, allergies, but no. The obvious conclusion my mother came to was the virus. She had a look of horror on her face.
“Susan! I think this is the early stages of the virus; my dad is working on it; he told me this as a precaution.” James said, coming over to her and almost sitting on her lap. The bastard was lying; his father was in the medical field, but he was in such a low position that he was not even allowed to look at anything virus, let alone ‘work’.
“What? Really? Oh, honey, I have to lock myself in.” Mom said, worried about us.
“No, no, for someone infected, they have to stay out and wander around. You can’t expect to lock yourself in and be fine?” James said trying to convince her. I watched his reasons for staying with us unfold, but I was still powerless.
“That makes sense; we must stay away from each other, but I heard it can be spread by touch.” She said she was afraid it would spread to us.
“Mom, we don’t know if it’s the virus,” I said, trying to calm her down. No touching? I’m not ready to miss her body next to mine. It’s the only good thing I have!
“You’re right Susan, you have to stay away. But only from your related family. A study found that it can spread very quickly to related blood. So I’m sorry, but no more touching for you, Ron.” James said, pretending to be sad. But I saw it, I saw the smile underneath that sly smile.
“What the hell are you talking about? There’s no study like this.” I shouted, Damn it, James, are you trying to keep me away from Mom?
“You wouldn’t know, Ron, like I said, my dad’s working on it. It’s being kept secret for reasons unknown. Even I don’t know why.” James said, looking defeated again. He laid his head on my mother’s bare shoulder. His hand wrapped around her almost-covered belly, holding it as if it belonged to him as if he wanted to show me what I couldn’t do.
“If it’s for Ron, I have to stay away from him; I’m sorry, baby, but I have to keep you safe.” Mom said, visibly frustrated by this ‘rule’; after all, she loved me, and I could see that she was not completely happy about it. But at the same time, too stupid to know it was wrong!
