Page 36 of The Man I Hate

“Fuck her,” Anna declared. “Let that inconsiderate bitch go.”

Although it was only momentarily, I’d forgotten about Anna. I glanced at her, and then at the quickly disappearing Mica.

“I’m sorry,” I said, meeting Anna’s fiery-eyed glare. “I’ve got to—”

The door swung closed with a bang!

There were two directions I could go. One would net me $100,000, and one would end with me likely losing a $1,000 bet.

Although I was torn, I turned toward Mica and took off running.

Anna

Sitting at the kitchen table, I sipped my coffee during one of the lulls between the throbs of my pounding headache. Furious about the previous night’s impromptu home invasion, I waited anxiously for Giselle to bring the contract for the home listing. After signing it, I could spend a few days preparing the home, and then be on my way back to Oklahoma. Within a week, I’d be free of Braxton Rourke—and his odd sexual issues—forever.

My phone pinged. I swept the tip of my index finger across the screen. It was a message from Giselle.

Have you seen the news?

I picked up the phone and typed my response.

No. Why?

Her response was immediate.

Turn it on. Channel 7

I reduced the sound to the lowest setting, activated the closed captioning, and turned on the news. I watched in complete shock as the words swept across the screen beneath a mask-wearing newscaster’s face.

In an effort to contain the virus, Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered California's nearly 40 million residents to stay at home. In effect immediately and until further notice, the residents of the state are to “shelter in place”, and not to leave their homes except for essential purposes.

Essential purposes are defined as getting groceries, obtaining prescriptions, and receiving healthcare. Commuting to jobs that have been deemed essential will also be allowed. All non-essential businesses are to be closed immediately and will remain closed until further notice. With the exception of deliveries, all restaurants are to remain closed to the public. Bars will remain closed to the public. Violators of this order will be charged criminally, leaving the residents no alternative but to…

I called Giselle. As soon as she answered, I let out a heavy sigh. “Oh my God. This is insane.”

“Washington and New York did the same thing earlier this morning,” she said. “They’re saying it’s going to be nationwide in a matter of days. The infected count in Washington is doubling every day. They’re up to 5,000 infections now, and it’s killing people at a much higher rate than what they claimed in China. They said in the news conference that China lied intentionally. Something about trying to protect trade.”

“Where does…what…are you still,” I stammered. “Are you still going to list the house? Can you?”

“Realtors aren’t essential,” she replied. “All things considered I don’t think it’s in either of our best interest to list it now. It will just sit on the market until this is all over. It’s anyone’s guess how long this will last. If other states follow suit, maybe it’ll be over in a month. If they don’t, and the virus continues to spread, maybe it will take two or three.”

“Two or three months?” I shrieked. “Months?”

“They said that’s a possibility.”

“People are supposed to go three months without work?” I tried to wrap my mind around the thought. “The nation will go broke.”

“The stock market crashed already,” she said. “As soon as the governor of New York made the announcement it fell nearly two thousand points. When our governor did the same, it fell another two thousand.”

My heart sank. The amount of people who were destined to lose money was in the tens of millions. If things didn’t change soon, it would be hundreds of millions. I stared at the television in disbelief that things could change so drastically in an instant.

“Are you going to be okay?” she asked.

“Financially,” I replied. “I’ll be fine.”

“If nothing else, you can get to know that neighbor of yours.”

Being confined to a home next door to Braxton was appalling.