Jakarta Pandemic, The (28 page)

“Ed, you’re not the one watching her kids. Okay? We’re the only ones that really need to be here,” Eric challenged.

“She gave me this key a few months ago, in case her kids got locked out, or for an emergency. I’d say this qualifies. I don’t see anyone else with a key.”

“And I don’t see anyone here volunteering to watch her kids either,” Eric said, gesturing with his hands to Ed and Alex.

“Her kids know about the key. They didn’t tell you about it?” Ed asked.

“No.”

“How did you end up with the kids, Eric?” Alex asked.

“What do you care?”

“Let’s just cut all of the bullshit. There’s a reason you want us out of here, and it has nothing to do with that supposed list in your hand,” Alex said.

Ed regarded Alex with a surprised but satisfied look. Alex took his hands out of his coat pockets and folded his arms in front of him.

“Fuck you,” Todd said, and Alex flashed him a mock smile.

Eric remained silent, with a look of rage on his face. He crumpled the yellow piece of paper in his hand.

“I’ll tell you what. You guys can get the stuff on that list and check the house. Ed and I will stay here in the garage and lock up when you leave. I’ll wait out in the rain. Doesn’t matter to me, or does that still fuck up your real reason for being here?” Alex asked.

“Look, we’re going to get some more clothes for the girls, and…” Eric paused to look at Todd, who shook his head in response.

“And what?” Ed pressed.

“It’s none of their business, Eric,” Todd said.

“I’m not sure how any of this is yours either,” Ed said, staring at Todd.

“Jesus. Will one of you just come out and say it. You’re taking the food too, right?” Alex said, getting to the point.

“Not all of it…” Eric started.

“You don’t owe them an explanation!” Todd yelled.

“Now it makes sense,” Alex said, pointing at Todd.

“Go fuck yourself, Alex. I’m taking the kids next week,” Todd said.

“And you need to stock up now? Makes sense.” Alex shook his head mockingly.

“Nobody is taking any of the food in this house,” Ed declared.

“It’s only fair that if we’re feeding her kids, then we should be using their food!” Todd yelled indignantly.

“Take it easy,” Alex said.

Todd took a step toward Alex, and Eric put a hand on his shoulder to restrain him. “It’s fine, Todd, don’t let him push your buttons. That’s what you’re really good at, isn’t it? Pushing buttons?” Eric directed at Alex.

“Only when they need to be pushed,” Alex replied.

“I know you think you’re the shit around here. Tough guy marine. Decorated veteran. All that meaningless crap you and your wife have pushed on us over the past eight years. You may have impressed the rest, but your nonsense never worked with me or my wife,” Eric said.

“I’m sorry, did I just land in the middle of a different planet? What are you talking about, Eric?”

“You may not have ever said anything directly, but you’ve made it pretty clear that you think you’re better than the rest of us. Clear to me at least. You had most of us fooled until Sunday, when your true colors showed,” Eric said.

“Turned out to be a gutless loser,” Todd taunted.

Alex could feel his own blood rising and figured that the two of them could probably see that his face was reddening.

I need to redirect this.

“Hey, if you’re watching the kids, you shouldn’t have to dig into your own supplies to feed them. Do you agree, Ed?”

“Barely, but I’m listening,” Ed replied, staring intently at Todd.

“So what I propose is that you grab all of the stuff on that list, and then together, we’ll figure out how much food you should take.”

“Who the fuck are you to tell me my business!” Todd yelled.

“Exactly, I’m not having you guys stand over my shoulder like a prison guard,” Eric said.

“Then get out of here,” Ed advised.

“You’d just be screwing over the kids by kicking us out of here,” Eric said, and Todd sighed agreement.

“Pathetic,” Alex said.

Todd lunged for Alex, who stepped aside and turned his body with Todd’s motion, sending Todd toward the workbench behind him. Sent off balance, Todd stumbled full speed into the workbench with his hands and arms extended, which luckily absorbed some of the impact. Despite the cushion of limbs, his chest hit the edge of the bench hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He slumped to the garage floor, looking up at Alex, straining to breathe. Eric remained frozen in the middle of the garage, and Ed stepped clear of the potential melee zone.

“Do not try that again!” Alex warned, pointing at Todd.

“Here’s the deal. Eric, you get the girls’ stuff, and Todd will cool his jets down here in the garage. Ed, why don’t you put together some food for the girls? Find a suitcase or an athletic bag, something big enough to fill with plenty of food. The girls can carry it around with them until Jamie gets back, and we can refill the bag as needed,” Alex suggested, moving out of Todd’s immediate striking distance.

Eric nodded at Alex, still dazed by the sudden violence. “You okay?” he asked, walking over to Todd.

“He’s fine. He just lost his wind,” Alex said forcefully.

Eric stopped and backed up slowly into the Honda Pilot, which startled him and moved him into action. He scurried around the SUV and opened the door to the house. Ed began to move in the same direction.

“Nice one,” he said, looking down at Todd, who was still taking shallow breaths of air and staring intensely at Alex.

“I’ll deliver the food to the girls myself. I don’t trust these heroes,” Ed said, skirting around the back of the SUV to follow Eric.

“Hey, you should put together a package for the Bartletts, too. These guys couldn’t have gone about this any worse, but I see their point about feeding Jamie’s kids,” Alex said.

“Sounds fair, but I don’t want to totally deplete Jamie’s supply. She’s going to need it for all of them when she gets back.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Alex said, and Ed nodded over the hood of the SUV, then disappeared into the house, leaving the door wide open. Alex turned around to face Todd.

“I’m sure you have a few ideas swimming around in your head, and I can assure you that none of them are healthy for you right now.”

Todd appeared to be breathing more easily, sitting with his back against a large green plastic bin stored under the workbench. Several tools lay in disarray on top of the workbench, knocked loose from their places on the pegboard behind the bench. Alex eyed a few of the tools warily, especially the hammer and a two-foot-long metal ruler.

I need to keep his hands from finding those.

Several minutes passed in complete silence between Alex and Todd, punctuated only by the occasional sound of rummaging in the house or sudden sheets of rain slamming into the sides of the garage. Todd finally stood up and dusted himself off, still glaring at him. Alex may have appeared relaxed and aloof to Todd, but inside, he was anything but calm. Until Todd moved away from the potential weapons on the workbench, Alex would keep his mind and body on high alert. As Todd beamed hatred at him, he struggled to keep his breathing under control as his heart raced.

Todd moved away from the workbench, never looking at it, and resumed his original position near the center of the garage. Alex felt his body loosen and stepped over to the bench, leaning his back against the same edge that had taken Todd to the floor, effectively blocking Todd’s view of the hammer and metal ruler. He heard something solid strike the floor in the mudroom and leaned forward to look through the doorway. He saw Ed moving around the mudroom, and Eric walked past him and into the garage.

“I have everything. Let’s go,” Eric said, holding a large pink nylon duffel bag.

“Are either of the girls sick yet?” Alex asked.

“Why would you care?”

“Asshole,” Todd added.

“You two still don’t get it, do you?” Alex sighed.

“Get what?” Todd said, as they both moved to the garage door.

“That their dad died from the Jakarta flu and their mother is in the ICU, that the two of them are very likely infected, and they need to be taken to the hospital and tested immediately for the flu. You’re fucking crazy keeping them at your house. They’ll infect everyone,” Alex warned.

“They’re fine. We’ve been watching them off and on all week, and even the Bartletts said they’ve been symptom free. Hey, someone has to take care of them. Certainly isn’t going to be one of you two shit bags,” Eric said, grinning at his own jab.

“Fucking losers,” Todd muttered.

“Shut up, Todd. Hey, are you still planning to take your turn watching the kids, or will you take a pass now that your free buffet ticket’s been revoked?” Alex asked, watching Eric closely for a reaction.

Eric looked to Todd for a response. Todd opened the door, letting in a wave of rain that poured into the garage, soaking the floor and the end of the workbench closest to the door.

“I’m done with these assholes,” Todd insisted.

“Good luck, Eric. Looks like the Good Samaritan is even more full of shit than you,” Alex yelled.

Eric looked torn, almost confused, as if the possibility of being stuck with Jamie’s kids indefinitely had never crossed his mind. Ed stepped around the front of the SUV on the other side of the garage, pulling a medium-sized red suitcase with one hand and holding two stuffed plastic Target bags in the other. Everyone focused their attention on Ed.

“Eric, I’ll drop this off a little later. The suitcase is for the girls. One of these bags is for you and your family, to offset any food you’ve shared with the girls, and the other is for the Bartletts. How long have they been at your house?” Ed asked.

“Since yesterday morning,” Eric replied.

“Well, this might be a lot for just one day, but I know Jamie really appreciates what you’re doing,” Ed said.

Eric nodded his head in what might be his first genuine non-hostile act of the morning.

Todd didn’t look nearly so defused. “What do I get if I take the kids?” he asked greedily.

This guy is relentless.

“A good neighbor ribbon,” Alex interjected.

“Alex,” Ed warned, giving him the “take it easy” look.

“Fuck this guy. These kids aren’t going to be passed around the neighborhood for a food dowry,” Alex grumbled.

Todd let go of the garage door, and Ed moved up against him, shielding him from Alex. Alex glanced at the tools on the workbench and quickly determined that Todd was in a much better position to take possession of them than he was.

“Don’t worry about him. We’ll figure it out,” Eric said, pushing Todd through the door.

The two of them disappeared into the rain, and Alex saw them both pass quickly by the garage’s side window. Ed lowered the bags to the concrete, ran over to the door to close it, then turned around to face Alex.

“You really need to dial it back a few notches,” he cautioned.

“I know. I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t expect Todd to lose it that easily.”

“Well, he doesn’t seem very stable, so I’d avoid sending him the wrong signals. Especially when I’m around, please. Anyway, I think this should be enough for them, at least for a week or so,” Ed said, tilting the bulging suitcase.

“What does their food supply look like?” Alex asked, picking up the two plastic bags.

“All right, I guess. I really can’t tell how many weeks, but it seems like a reasonable amount. Maybe I’m setting them up for problems with this suitcase,” Ed said, putting his face in his hands.

“Let Eric know that he should integrate the food into the house’s daily meals, and that the suitcase doesn’t represent a restriction. More like an adjustment for two more people. If they run out and he’s still watching the kids, you can refill the suitcase. I think he’ll understand the food idea.

“Eric, or Todd, or most anyone on this block would be fair to those kids. I just didn’t like the precedent that their home invasion might set. I think this will work out fine. I’m more concerned about Amanda and Katherine getting sick. After we drop this off at your house, I’m going to run home and grab some anti-virals to put in the suitcase. If they start taking them now, and continue the full course, then hopefully, their symptoms won’t be as bad, and they might be spared the worst the flu has to offer.”

“I’ll make sure they start taking those. They should probably try to keep it a secret. Are they the same ones you gave us last year?” Ed asked.

“Yeah, either TerraFlu or Tamiflu. Same thing, really,” Alex said.

Ed opened the door and was hit with a pressure wave of wind and driving rain. He pressed the button on the back of the doorknob, and they both stepped through the doorway into the storm.

Alex sat at the corner of the sectional sofa next to Emily, who was kneeling on the floor next to the coffee table putting away a board game.

“Well, that was fun. Next time we’ll play Trivial Pursuit, the 80s edition, and your mother and I will be on the same team. Two decades should be a comfortable buffer for us,” Alex said, ruffling Emily’s hair.

“Dad, stop it,” she protested, grabbing his hand.

“Hey, Cartoon Network is on all day long around here. How could you miss so many of those questions?” Ryan asked.

“Oh, I do everything I can to shut that channel out of my mind.” Kate laughed. “Most of the shows are either gross or confusing.”

“We all know your mother is pretty easily confused,” Alex teased.

Ryan and Emily laughed, and Kate moved over on the couch toward Alex.

“Whoa, no need to resort to violence here. Third time today,” he protested.

“Yeah, you’re an instigator, just like your son,” Kate said.

“I don’t instigate stuff,” Ryan countered with a completely insincere look on his face.

“Right. You and your father,” she said and managed to get one of her hands through Alex’s defenses. She dug her hand into his lower right side, knowing he was terribly ticklish around the waist, and he reacted by moving his lower body away from her hand.

“All right, that’s it! Stop it!” he said in between bouts of uncontrolled laughter.