"Morgan, how are you doing?" He inquired, putting down the receipts that he held in his chubby hands to shake mine.

  "I'm good. How are things here?" I responded, looking around the store.

  Instruments were hung on the walls and we're displayed in cases for customers to see. Classical music played on the sound system so it could be heard throughout the store and in the small office in the back.

  "Things are good. I'm not sure if I told you the last time you were here, but this is my last year of business." He informed me, looking around the store he had been running for twenty years.

  "What? You're closing the store?" I asked, disappointed by the news.

  "Yes. I'm getting too old to be running it and my wife insists that I start enjoying my retirement. Considering my retirement started when I opened the store, I think she might be right."

  I knew that Oscar had a point. The salt and pepper hair that he had when I met him six years ago had turned completely white, and the number of wrinkles on his round face had doubled.

  "What's going to happen to the store?"

  "I'm going to sell it. My kids have their own lives. They don't need the added responsibility of running this place too. I'm gonna miss it though." He replied with sadness in his voice.

  "Me too. I've spent a lot of time here." I replied, remembering how excited I was to find the store six years before when I first started looking for a guitar.

  My therapist had suggested finding a hobby to give me an outlet for dealing with the emotions that I had been struggling with. With Oscar's help, I discovered how much I enjoyed playing music and found a new passion for life. He was the reason why I decided to give music lessons. I wanted to give kids the same gift that Oscar gave me.

  "I know. I still remember when you came in to buy that guitar of yours. You were still a teenager with hair down to your waist and torn-up jeans. Now, look at you." He said looking me over, "Well, you got a haircut at least."

  I chuckled and ran my fingers through my hair. The memory of buying my guitar was one of my favorites. It changed my life and knowing that soon the store would be gone made me sad.

  "I have a lot of wonderful memories in this place. You taught me how to play the keyboard here."

  The memory of Oscar generously offering to teach me to play after listening to me attempting to figure out the keys on the keyboard he had set out as a display.

  "That is something I will never forget. It was so easy for you to pick up. I know people who tried for years and couldn't learn what you did that first afternoon. I told you, you were a natural. I hope you continue to keep music in your life." He said, his pale blue eyes full of pride.

  "I will. Music is my life. I have no intention of letting it go."

  "That's good. How are the lessons going? Do you have any natural musicians?" He asked with genuine interest.

  "Actually, I think I might have one."

  "Really? What instrument?"

  "Guitar. She's only eight, but she can pick up on things very easily. I just started giving her lessons, but she is already able to play a full song.”

  I looked over at the clock and remembered the lessons that I had scheduled for the afternoon. I wasn't sure whether I was up to giving music lessons. I called my students scheduled for two and three to tell them I wouldn't be able to make it. Trying to figure out what to say was a little difficult. The fear that was spreading about the virus made people overreact to things.

  In the end, I decided that a normal doctor's appointment was the closest I could get to the truth without causing panic. My schedule showed Kayla as my four o'clock appointment. That was a lesson I wasn't sure I wanted to miss, but I overloaded my mind as it was. Another encounter with Professor Jones would only add to my list of uncertainties.

  Chapter 5

  Gavin

  Morgan had been on my mind all day. He was someone that was impossible to ignore. People like him demand to be noticed. Everything they do revolves around it. Recently, I had begun to doubt that Morgan was the person he portrayed to the world.

  "How was the show yesterday? I forgot to ask?" Henry asked as we sat down in my office.

  "Which show would you be talking about? The inappropriate one that is supposed to take place in my absence or the inappropriate one that takes place in my presence?" I responded, smiling at the thought of what kids try to get away with.

  "I guess, either one. You are a witness to both of them, right?"

  "Actually, I must have missed it yesterday. I was running late because Claire called again. That is the show that makes me nervous."

  "Is she back in town? I hadn't heard anything about airports opening up again."

  "No. She's not back in town yet. Believe me, when she does come back, she will make her presence known."

  "Professor Jones, there is a call for you on line one." Ana, the office clerk, informed me as Henry stood up to leave " It's Morgan Andrews. He said that it's about Kayla."

  I quickly ran through the possibilities of what might be going on in my head. Her guitar lesson didn't start for another hour. She wasn't even out of school yet.

  I glanced at the folders on my desk.

  “What is it, Morgan? I don’t have a lot

  of time.” I said, shuffling through the stack of papers.

  "I just wanted to let you know that I will be late for Kayla's lesson today. My mom isn't feeling well, and I am with her at the doctor. There is a full house here, so I'm not sure when I will be done." He informed me in a hushed and slightly muffled voice.

  "That's fine, Morgan. I hope your mom feels better soon. If you need to reschedule, that's fine." I responded, feeling a mix of concern for Morgan's mother and disappointment that he may not give Kayla her lesson.

  It was the disappointment that caught me by surprise. I couldn't explain it, even to myself. Why should I be disappointed, because Kayla's guitar lesson might be rescheduled? I finished grading the last few papers I had before I headed out to pick up Kayla from school.

  The line to pick up children grew quickly between three o’clock and three fifteen. I tried to get to the school as early as possible. The one good part about teaching part of my classes online was that I got to the school earlier. However, after reading the sign at the front of the school, I could see that it wouldn't be something that I would need to worry about.

  Seconds after the bell rang, kids came pouring out of every exit, racing to their parents so they could go home. For the foreseeable future, it seems like that is where everyone is going to stay.

  Morgan arrived for Kayla's lesson only a few minutes late, to my relief. There was something about him that made me want to learn more.

  They sat in the living room once again while he showed her how to play a new song.

  Listening to Morgan play the guitar, gave me a feeling inside that I hadn't felt before. The talent he had was impressive and the emotion he put into his music was surprising.

  It had been years since I had thought about anyone as much as I had thought about Morgan. I tried to ignore the feelings I was starting to feel for him and reminded myself that those kinds of thoughts would only bring trouble.

  "Can you stay for dinner tonight?" Kayla asked as soon as her lesson had finished, holding Morgan's hand and using her best puppy dog face.

  "You are more than welcome to stay, Morgan. We would love to have you." I assured him, hoping that he would agree.

  "Thank you both. I would love to." He replied, smiling down at Kayla.

  "Yay!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down in victory.

  While I made dinner Kayla and Morgan sat at the table coloring. The sight of the two of them brought a smile to my face that I had trouble hiding.

  "How long have you played guitar?" Kayla asked, still coloring her picture.

  "Since I was about five years old. My grandpa taught me how to play when I went to visit him and I visited him a lot." Morgan answered with a hint of sadness in his voice.

  "Do you still visit him?" Kayla pressed, sounding like a journalist doing an interview.

  "No. I don't. I just haven't had the time and he is really busy too." He responded, looking up at me as he spoke.

  It wasn't hard to see the tears that were starting to fill up Morgan's eyes. I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach. There was more to him than he let on. He must have become an expert at hiding his feelings from the world.

  After dinner, Kayla insisted on showing Morgan our backyard where she played. I strolled over to the door that led to the backyard and saw the two of them sitting at the patio table with Kayla's brand new tea set. Kayla stood in front of him pouring tea and talking excitedly about something I couldn't hear.

  The smile on Morgan's face told me so much about him. It was genuine instead of plastered on in hope that the world will have a specific perception of who you are. Being around Morgan was a vast contrast to living with Claire. Suddenly, the phone rang, startling me and interrupting my thoughts.

  “I have been calling for over an hour. Why didn’t you pick up the phone?” Claire snapped at me from the other end of the telephone line.

  “If I didn’t answer, it was because I was busy. I would have called you back when I got a chance, Claire. You didn’t have to keep calling.” I said as calmly as I could possibly force myself to be.

  “What were you doing that made it so difficult to answer a phone, Gavin? You are a teacher for Christ's sake. You should be able to do something as simple as answering the phone. Do you not know what multitasking is?”

  "Claire, please stop. This isn't necessary."

  “Gavin, you have my daughter. I need to be able to get a hold of you at all times.”

  “Claire, I am not a babysitter. She is my daughter too, and I can’t jump every time my phone rings just in case it’s you. You aren’t even in the same time zone and you call whenever the thought crosses your mind. You told Kayla you were going to call her yesterday. Before that, we hadn’t heard from you in almost a week.”

  As you said, Gavin, I’m in a different time zone. It isn’t always easy to call with all of the things I have going on here.”

  “Well, it isn’t always easy to answer the phone, with what's going on here.”

  “Seriously, Gavin? What could you possibly have going on there? You have Kayla with you all the time.”

  For a second, I was stunned by her ignorance of what it was like to be a parent. It was when she said things like that when I realized how little interest she had in being a mother. I turned around and caught a glimpse of the clock. That is when things started to make more sense.

  “Claire, that's enough. I am not interested in arguing with you. When you want to have an actual conversation, call me..” I said, hanging up before she had a chance to respond.

  "Is everything okay?" Morgan asked when I walked back into the living room.

  "Yeah. Everything's fine. Where is Kayla?" I replied, looking around the room.

  "She said she had homework. She is an amazing kid. Are you sure you're okay? You sounded like you were arguing."

  "It was just a difference of opinion. I don't think it's appropriate for me to discuss my personal problems with a student."

  "Oh. Well, Kayla is my student and I just dumped a butt load of personal problems on the two of you."

  I laughed despite my best efforts to stay serious.

  Kayla ran into the room as I looked over at the TV just in time to see the word National Emergency in big bold letters running across the bottom of the screen. I walked over to the couch and picked up the remote to turn up the volume. “Has declared the State of Emergency. The CDC confirms the first cases of this virus in the United States. For your own protection, officials are asking for everyone to stay home. The infected patients have been quarantined. The CDC is now transferring the families of those patients to the local hospital for testing as well. Officials say that there is no way to tell if these patients may have come in contact with anyone else or if they may have passed on the virus. We will keep updating you with the latest news as we get it.”

  I muted the TV and looked over at Morgan, who had a confused look on his face while Kaylan jumped all around him. He looked down at her with a look of concern rather than annoyance, which struck something in me. It was a look I had never seen grace the perfectly made-up face of her mother. I shook my head as if to shake the entire train of thought out of my head.

  “Kayla, sweetie, can you put your guitar away, so it stays safe? I need to talk to your dad for just a few minutes. Is that okay?” He asked, his voice filled with sincerity and his eyes filled with fear.

  “Morgan, are you okay? You look pale.” I asked as I watched the color drain from his face.

  “Did they say that they had confirmed cases here? The virus actually is in the U.S. now?”

  “Yes. Why? Are you feeling sick?” I asked and then it hit me “Oh my God. Morgan, I am so sorry. It’s your mother, right? Her doctor’s appointment. You’re worried because she is sick.”

  “It wasn’t a doctor's appointment. She was admitted to the hospital. They tested her for that virus, but they said it would take days before they get the results.”

  Suddenly, he looked like a frightened child, lost and confused. He pulled out his keys and turned towards the door.

  “I don’t think you should be driving right now, Morgan. Why don’t you call your sister and see how your mom is doing? It might make you feel better. There is a guest bedroom down the hall next to mine that you can use if you want some privacy.” I offered, pointing towards the room.

  He nodded his head then turned and walked to the room, closing the door behind him. I couldn't imagine how scared he must have been feeling at the moment.

  Chapter 6

  Claire

  Banging on the door woke me from unrestful sleep. Confused, I got out of the bed I had grown to hate, grabbed my robe, and made my way to the door.

  "Good morning, ma'am," the concierge stood at my door covered in protective gear with a clipboard and pen in hand.

  "Can I help you?" I asked, trying to pull myself out of the haze I was in.

  "Because of the health crisis, we need to ask you some questions and take your temperature.".

  "My temperature? I don't have a fever and if I did, I wouldn't discuss it with anyone besides a doctor." I stepped back to close the door.

  "The doctor will be by later today. It is our new protocol to screen all guests every day for signs of the virus." He brought the clipboard up and pointed to the list of symptoms. “Please let me know if you are experiencing any of the symptoms on this list."

  "No. I don't have any symptoms and I don't feel comfortable having this conversation with a concierge."

  "It is for everyone's safety." He replied, aiming the thermometer at my forehead.

  I watched as the number flashed, revealing that my temperature was normal. We both let out a sigh of relief before he thanked me and walked away. Glenn's voice in the other room grabbed my attention. Walking out of his room, he hung up the phone with a puzzled look on his face.

  "Can you believe this? The concierge is now playing doctor. He took my temperature." I said to Glenn, walking into the living area.

  "It's a precaution. To catch symptoms early." He explained to me, slowly walking towards me.

  "So now everyone is going to be doing medical exams?"

  Putting his arm around my shoulders, he walked me to the couch "I don't know. Claire, I just heard that Meilin and Li contracted the virus."

  "What? How are they? Are they in the hospital?"

  "They're dead, Claire. They went to the hospital three days ago and died yesterday, hours apart." He explained as he sat me down.

  "Oh my God!" I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand.

  My body froze, and the blood drained from my face, listening to the few details that he could get about their deaths. Taking a step back, I slowly lowered myself onto the edge of the bed. He stepped forward, kneeling on the floor next to me while I struggled to comprehend what he was saying.

  I looked at him in disbelief "How is this possible?"

  "They aren't sure when they contracted the virus or how long they may have had it. That's why they want to test us. As of right now, there is no reason to panic. I know this is a lot to process, and I wish I had better news." He said, taking my hands in his.

  "It's not your fault, Glen. You're right, we don’t know anything yet, so we should be optimistic. I just can't believe they are gone." I said and then something occurred to me. "What about their families?" he shook his head, lowering his eyes to avoid mine.

  My eyes widened in shock and my heart dropped to my stomach. Glenn looked back up at me as the tears rolled down his face. The horrible reality left me with a feeling of impending doom and a hollowness inside me that was unshakeable.

  When the doctor arrived around noon, asking the same screening questions that the concierge had asked. The answers were still the same as they were when the concierge asked me, but the confidence that I had before that I would be fine had dissipated. In its place was an escalating fear of the unknown.

  As a precaution, they covered the doctor from head to toe, making it impossible to see what he looked like and elevating my anxiety levels. His small brown eyes were the only part of him I was able to see. The concern I saw in them had me worried about what might be coming next.

  My anger and frustration over the fact that Glen and I were still stuck in a hotel room instead of being at home were eating away at me. It wore down every bit of my patience by the time he collected the samples to test for the virus. All I wanted was for him to go away so I could lock the doors and cry myself to sleep.

  "If you start experiencing any symptoms please call me immediately." He said, handing me his business card.

  I mindlessly ran my fingers over the raised letters on it and nodded my head. He offered an encouraging smile before he left the room with my sample in his hand.

 

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