Tony Scott: Along Came COVID: Love and Loss in the 2020 Pandemic

“How did you buy yours?” Josh asked.

“She helped me pick it out. In fact, that’s how I found out she wanted to marry me. Up until then, I wasn’t sure.”

“Did you just tell me you sometimes don’t get the main idea, Jim?”

A unique smirk answered the question. Jim poked on the grilling food. Then Faith’s change-the-subject face appeared on Jim. “Brian was a shocker. But I guess I’m not surprised.”

Josh said. “It sure took me for a loop.”

“There are people to whom life happens. I used to think that it was because they didn’t want to make life happen, or that they were too lazy. But it’s not true. There are people who just cannot make life happen. They are just not able. In my experience, bad things happen to that kind of person.”

“I had not thought of that before. Peggy said something about us making life happen, but I had not thought about people who don’t make life happen.”

“Yes. There are plenty of them.” Jim motioned toward the door. “I don’t think there are any in this house. At least I hope not.”

Natalie and Faith emerged onto the patio to set the table, adorned by a vase with flowers brought by Josh, a lively tablecloth to complement the weather, and Saguaro cactus place mats. Plates, silverware, and condiments found their places.

The family sat to eat. “I’m so thankful to be together,” Jim revealed. “I realize that it might not have turned out this way. It’s hard for me to explain my relief that I still have two daughters.”

“We’re going to have a son-in-law,” Marianna added. “I’m happy we have Josh, that he didn’t get sick, and that he took such good care of Faith.”

Neither Josh nor Faith could speak. The restored health, the closeness of family, and the peace of home was enriching and rejuvenating, but at the same time overwhelming.

Natalie said, “Yes, I’m happy I still have a sister,” but she couldn’t avoid the stinger, “I guess.” There were giggles. “But I’m even happier that I’ll have a brother-in-law who I can depend on to take care of Faith. We get to plan a wedding.”

That lifted the timber of the conversation, bright smiles emerging on faces. “Yes,” Marianna said, “it will be fun to plan a wedding. When were you guys thinking this should be?”

“I don’t know,” Faith responded, speaking with her raspy voice. “We’re going to have a baby on September 22. Either we need to get a move on and get it done quickly, or we need to wait until October.”

“The weather is nicest in October,” Jim said. “July doesn’t strike me as the time to have a wedding in New Mexico or West Texas.”

“I think it should be outside,” Natalie said. “Then it doesn’t matter where we have it or how many people come.”

“We could have it in Angel Fire, or Cloudcroft, or—”

“Mom,” Faith said, “we need to have it where the people we invite can come. We weren’t thinking of a big crowd. We have to remember the Clinton half of the family, and all our friends in Albuquerque.”

“Are there others we should consider?” Marianna asked Josh.

“No. We don’t have a big family.”

“What about us, Jim?” Marianna asked. “My sister and her kids might like to come. We haven’t seen them in a couple of years. Their kids have all grown like ours.”

“Oh, gross,” Natalie said. “Julian and Devon? Creeps!”

“They’re family, Natalie,” Marianna said.

The talk wandered to talking about the residency. “It seems like your residency is hard work,” Jim observed. “Will there be time off for this?”

“We hope so,” Faith answered. “We hope we still have vacation time despite our long absence. Supposedly we only have five sick days per year, and we both used up a whole lot more than that.”

Josh said, “I haven’t talked to Dr Beacham about it, so I need to do that. Even if we only get a few days, it would still be manageable. Faith needs maternity time, too.”

“I think if we miss too much time, it counts against our training time requirements,” Faith added. “I haven’t checked that out either.”

Faith struggled to her feet to help her mother clear the table. Josh rose to help, but Natalie grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled him back down. When Faith and Marianna were out of earshot, Natalie asked, “She’s so weak and skinny. Will she always be this way?”

“No, Nat,” Josh said. “She will get stronger, and her bony face will soften like it was before. She has been eating well and she is getting agile.”

“How long will that take? Maybe we don’t have a wedding until she’s better.”

“I don’t know. I hope it won’t be long. She will improve faster than you can plan a wedding. Did you see what she ate here today?”

“Uh, yeah. I did notice that.”

“She’ll bounce back just fine.”

“Her voice is different,” Natalie said. “Will it always be like that?”

“I hope not,” Josh said. “But if that is the only scar from this misfortune, I’m happy. It could have been so much worse. I’ll take what I get.”

“Yeah.”

Dessert arrived at the table with Faith and Marianna.

“Carrot cake?” Jim exclaimed. “I didn’t know the party was for me! What are you guys having?”

“You don’t get it all, Daddy,” Natalie said. “I’m having a lot!”

The cake was served, all agreeing that it was superb. It was Josh’s first experience with the famous family recipe. “Oh my gosh! This is so good it’s dangerous.”

It was a family favorite, and undoubtedly Faith had not had any since July, but she kept cutting pieces off and gobbling them up, under Natalie’s watchful eye.

“I am sorry about Brian, Faith,” Natalie said.

“Boy, that was a kicker,” Josh said. “I didn’t see that coming.”

“Neither did I,” Faith said.

“You know,” Jim said, “your marriage might have been a victim of his problem. Which I didn’t know he had.”

“You never liked him, Daddy,” Faith said. “Maybe I should have taken a message away from that. Don’t marry someone your father doesn’t like?”

“We like Josh,” Natalie said. “We want you to marry Josh.”

“Yes, Faith,” Jim said. “Please marry Josh. Bring us Cori.”

“Oh, Cori,” Marianne said. “Bring us Cori. I am so excited about Cori. I even bought some clothes.”

“Mom, did you really?” Faith asked. “Let me see them.”

In a moment, Marianne returned with bursts of pink, frills, and lace. “Look at this. I am so proud of these. And look at this one! Here are some socks.”

Josh scooted closer to Jim. “How long does this last?”

“About twenty years. More than that if you have two daughters. Get used to it.”

“I will. I don’t mind it a bit. In fact, I am pretty excited myself.”

“I was too,” Jim said, “and I enjoyed every minute. My favorite moments were teaching them to ride a bicycle, taking them out on dates, going to their science fairs or soccer games, and teaching Faith to drive. And the prom. I have driving and the prom ahead of me for Natalie.”

“I noticed the pride on your face, Jim. I hope I get all that pride and joy also.”

“You will. I’m sure of it.”

The afternoon ended bittersweet with the long ride back to Albuquerque looming. Tearing away was arduous and slow, with tears and smiles, well wishes and sarcastic quips, handshakes and hugs.

The next morning, they were at work. The pandemic was beginning to wane, although schools and the University classes had remained cancelled. The streets were becoming mildly more populated. Face masks were everywhere, with awesome patterns, colors, and decoration. Churches, schools, and universities were still meeting online or attending inside cars. A second wave was predicted with no definite expectation of when that would be.