Viral Diaries (2)

March 21, 2020

South Carolina

My husband is off for the next two days. This is his usual schedule, but the current state of affairs has him confined to the house with the rest of us. He recently found out that two of the rather wealthy elderly residents that work at his facility went on a cruise and were in close contact to the virus but refuse to isolate themselves. It would seem that the hubris of man knows not age, race, gender, or class.

He sits on the edge of the bed playing the electric guitar I gifted him early into our relationship. As he jumps up to face me, the iridesence of the abalone dragon carved into the fret board catches the light peeking through the blinds. It mirrors the glimmer that flashes in his eyes as he tells me he's learning the song "Biological Warfare" by the band Dethklok. He smirks, and says he felt like it was fitting for the theme of the times. Dark humor aside, I know he is worried. He recently contracted a sinus infection, and though the antibiotics he's been taking are working, he can't shake the fear that more may be wrong with him.

It's been a while since he and I have spent so much time alone together. We'd both gotten so caught up in work, doctor's visits, trying to socialize with others before the baby arrives...things of that nature. Seeing him fiddle around on the guitar takes me back to when we started dating. There have been a lot of little reminders of those days popping up lately.

Our baby shower would have been today. My mother-in-law was hosting and about two weeks ago, she made the executive decision to cancel until further notice. We understood and supported her reasoning, but I would be lying if I said that I'm not disappointed. Sentiments of normalcy slip away little by little with each passing day.

My husband turns around again to ask what I'm doing. I tell him I'm working on some writing. He gives me a sly smile and asks if I'm writing about how big my butt is. I smile back and then return to my keyboard. It's nice to see him in good spirits. Things will be okay, I think. For the time being, anyway.