“What’s wrong?”
“Emergency call,” he said, almost in a whisper.
“Emergency call, my ass,” she said. “You’re sick.”
“It’s nothing,” he said. “Just a bad cold. Maybe the flu.”
“I’m taking you to the ER.”
“For a sore throat? No way.”
“Stubborn old man,” she said.
When she let herself into her father’s house, she found Rudy lying on his stomach on the sofa, barely able to stand, still wearing work clothes. Knowing his routine of showering after work, this alarmed her.
“Can you make it to the car?” she asked.
When he shook his head, she called 9-1-1.
At the ED, she handled the billfold biopsy, and then the nurse gave her a sheet with phone numbers and told her to leave. She left Rudy’s ID and insurance cards but took his wallet and phone. Later, a nurse called, saying Rudy tested positive for the new virus and was being admitted. How a careful man like Rudy became infected baffled her. He’d worn gloves and a mask in public places. She considered his plumbing service calls into sick people’s homes and called Helen. The entire staff, and customers who Rudy had called just before he fell ill, needed to get tested and possibly quarantine.
“Visualize him coming home,” Helen said. “I’ll put his name on a bunch of prayer lists. And with my friends who do energy work.”
Helen’s friends doing “energy work” offered Alice no solace. Returning to her empty house—1,946 square feet of solitude—felt brutal; doing everything for herself and by herself seemed like watching herself die a little inside every day.
She played phone tag with nurses who kept her updated. He’d spent one night in a regular room before being moved to the virus’ ICU unit, where nurses dressed in yellow protective gear that made them look like astronauts. Within two weeks, they put him on a ventilator. Several plumbing employees, including Helen, tested positive and were quarantined. Alice told Helen to close the shop until everyone quarantined for two weeks. Even more puzzling, Alice did not test positive despite the proximity to her father.
“He could have gotten it anywhere,” Helen said.