Page 46 of The Man I Hate

“I’m not interested in her beyond what’s already happened.”

“Maybe you ought to be.”

“She’s hot-headed.”

He raised his hand to his chin and pondered my response before meeting my gaze. “Might be part Italian,” he said straight-faced. “Italian gals are like Mexicans. They’ve got tempers like drunken sailors.”

“She’s not Italian.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Her name’s Anna Wilson.”

He looked at me like I was an idiot. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Ever met an Italian named Wilson?”

“Her mother’s maiden name might have been Spaghetti or Rigatoni, or something.” He finished his beer and grabbed another from the cooler. “You never know.”

“Can we give this a rest?” I asked.

“Not much else to talk about,” he said. “Talking about the virus pisses you off.”

“There’s plenty to talk about,” I argued.

“Let’s talk about the Rourke legacy. You’re my only child, and it’ll die with you if you don’t get busy and have some kids. Whether it happens in my lifetime or after I’m long gone, it needs to happen.”

I spit beer across the porch. “I’m not having kids with my neighbor.”

“She’s the only one I can think of since your ex-wife that you’ve had sex with more than once.” He grinned a cheesy smile. “She sounds like a prime candidate. You said she owns her own car dealership, so she’s got—”

“She tricked me,” I replied. “The second time. I wasn’t planning on—”

He burst out into a laughing fit. “She duped you into having sex?”

“Pretty much.”

“Nobody’s ever tricked you into anything. Not even once,” he argued. “Give that some serious thought before you try to argue it.”

I couldn’t argue it.

He was absolutely right.

Anna

Elbow deep in a bag of Chex Mix and halfway finished with my second bottle of champagne, I watched intently as the governor gave a televised statement as to why ninety percent the state’s many golf courses were closed.

I hoped that one day I would be able to get out of bed and not watch the news. I desperately needed to find a way to move forward with living my life—even if I had to make changes while I was still sheltering in place.

I had an unhealthy obsession with knowing what was happening regarding everything that was COVID-19 related.

There had to be a way to find a balance. At the moment, nothing in my life was balanced. I was living a life of extremes. Overdrinking, gorging myself with junk food, and sleeping less than I had since college wasn’t healthy, and I knew it.

Change, however, was not coming easily.

I stared blankly at the television after the press conference was over, wondering what the next news highlight was going to be. They hadn’t updated the death total for the United States yet, nor had they shared the new total for infected residents in the state of California.

I wondered how things could ever get back to normal. They were now saying that a second infectious wave would hit the United States in 8 or 9 months. According to the CDC, the vaccine for COVID-19 wouldn’t be available for use on humans for another 18 months. By that time, it was probable that they would need another vaccine, altogether.