A Pandemic Survivor's Omnibus II

THE “PANIC OF 2020” BY S. H. MARPEL, R. L. Saunders Sequel to “Doppel” - - - - * * * * "MILLIONS WILL DIE UNLESS you act." Two doctors had entered my office, despite my Chief of Staff's best effort to keep my schedule organized. Apparently, their message and dire looks affected his better judgment on interrupting me. Again. "Mr. President, the mathematical models don't lie. China has loosed another plague and we need to act." "And you're both saying that the only solution to this is quarantine everyone?" They nodded with serious faces. "Have you any idea how long we can ask the nation to just shelter in place? What I understand is that most people in New York, for instance, are living from paycheck to paycheck. And what about our supply lines for food and medicine?" "Millions, sir. Dying. Every large city in our nation having refrigerator trucks filled with body bags. Do we seriously have another choice?" "These American people are skeptics. They'll want to know why we need them to give up their jobs and stay in their apartments instead of hitting the bars and restaurants for their entertainment." "...Because otherwise, they die?" “Not your best punchline, perhaps.” I“These days many politicians are demanding change. Just like homeless people." - - - - * * * * THE PRESIDENT CALLED me the other day. He sounded tired. “Mr. President, how are things, what can I do for you?” “John, is that one question or two? Sounds like some of these press reporters I have conferencing all the time.” “No, sir. But then, maybe I was just wanting to start off with something that would help put you at ease.” “The only thing that would ease my mind would be some time off from all this mess they call running a nation.” “How about coming out here for a bit? We've got some of Molly's apple pie leftover – or maybe she'd bring a fresh one in. And Sal could get you back before you left. Well, maybe an instant later, just to not upset your Secret Service.” A pause on the line, but not much. “You can do that?” I waited for it to sink in. “Yes, John, from my experience with you-all, I guess she could. OK – it's a deal.” - - - - * * * * II“Some people have no idea what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - - - - * * * * SAL BROUGHT THE PRESIDENT over, just as we agreed. When I first saw them phase in, it looked like the two of them were just standing there and shaking hands. He was in a typical dark suit with a red tie, and she was wearing her tan business suit with gold pin stripes, her blond hair wrapped in a tight bun with two ivory stick-pins through it. Then she pulled him to her and gave him a big hug. He couldn't do anything but hug her back. As they did, her outfit changed to a light tan t-shirt over soft-washed, dark brown dungarees, while her hair untwisted itself to flow long and wavy down her back. She whispered something in his ear, where he said something quiet in reply – and his suit turned into an blue-patterned Hawaiian shirt with chino slacks below. Sal stood back a little to look over his outfit a bit, nodded in approval, then kissed him on his cheek. At that, she vanished, and he was left holding a tall iced tea in one of his hands. I was watching this from my narrow front porch, in one of the two wood Adirondack easy chairs. Just enough room for two of those and a pair of narrow, matching side tables. A small deck. When you stretched your feet out, they almost went over its front edge. “I could get used to having someone like her around.” The President smiled as he walked up to my writer's cabin. I stood at that, and came down to shake his hand. Then we returned to the chairs and had a seat on the shady porch. My own iced tea appeared in my hand as I settled down again on the dark brown chair cushion. Sal was a perfect hostess, better than any wait-staff I'd ever experienced or heard about. Of course, I was in my own preferred and usual red cotton pocket t-shirt and blue dungarees. “So, Mr. President, got any mysteries to tell me?” “John, please. Call me D. J.” I nodded – and waited for him to begin. “Well, we found out about a lot of things that weren't as they seemed. It all started earlier than we knew, and every prediction was wrong.” - - - -