HUM by Dan Hawley (book club reads .TXT) 📗

cheek on her way past him to the kitchen. “How was your first day?”

She began pulling food from the fridge and cupboards. Jason sat at the island, scrolling the newsfeed on his laptop.

“It was good, yeah. Just got settled in and met everyone. William is a bit intense.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I guess it comes with being a genius or whatever. He just like, stares into your soul, you know? But that’s all good, nice enough guy. Got soaked on my way over there this morning, gonna need some rubber boots!”

Jason took a sip of red wine and continued reading.

“Man, this virus is spreading fast.”

“I heard.”

“Trump says he’s not worried about it, but the CDC is warning that this thing could get out of hand. They say this coronavirus is more deadly than the regular flu. That even healthy young people are dying.” “That’s a little terrifying,” Sam remarked as she danced around the kitchen, mixing and frying and blanching.

“All of the cases are here on the west coast. At least our families back home are safe,” Jason said as the screen touched his worried face with an eerie blue glow.

“Dinner’s almost ready. Want to eat here or in front of the tv?” Samantha asked. “Jay? JAY!”

Jason jumped sharply as Samantha successfully pulled him from his trance. He blinked away from the hypnotic black writing set against the white screen, looked at his lover, and apologized.

“Sorry, babe. Got sucked in there. Let’s eat here. No distractions.” Jason closed his computer while Samantha smiled and loaded their plates up with food.

“Smells awesome,” Jason said as the plate’s offerings wafted up to his nose.

Samantha topped up his wine glass, filled her own, and sat down.

“It’s nice to just sit with you; no distractions.”

He cut his chicken and placed a bite in his eager mouth.

“How was your day?”

“It was good, I unpacked more and cleaned. Checked out some job postings and did some yoga. Tried to shower in peace…” she finished.

“Hey, I wasn’t trying to scare you!” Jason objected. “It’s not my fault you’re such a…”

“Such a what?” she retorted.

“Such a…do you hear that?”

Sam looked around with a puzzled expression.

“Uhhh, hear what?”

“It’s that damn hum again. Can’t even enjoy a goddamn dinner in peace.”

His anger intensified as he jumped up out of his stool and marched to the wall separating the living room and bedroom. He put his left ear to the wall.

“Jesus Christ. That’s so loud. Like, that’s not fucking normal.”

Jason took a step back and stared at the wall as if looking at something broken. Something he could turn off or fix to make it stop.

“It’s not so bad,” Samantha said, “I can barely hear it.”

“It’s like, the whole place is vibrating. There’s no way that’s ok!”

Jason’s knuckles turned white as his hands became fists. His jaw clenched, and his teeth scraped against each other.

BANG! and another, BANG!

“Jay!” Sam cried out. “What the hell are you doing!?” He struck the wall once more as if to subdue the noise.

BANG!

“Jason!” she jumped up and hurried towards him. “Jason?” she said again as she reached out to spin him towards her. He was panting, and a few drops of sweat were streaming from his brow. His wild eyes met hers and his expression softened. His pupils dilated and constricted as he focused on her. His jaw relaxed, and his mouth opened slightly.

“Sorry, babe. I dunno, was just trying to shake something loose in there or something.”

“Why did you get so mad, though?” Sam asked.

“I wasn’t that mad,” he responded, “it’s just, this hum, I hate it. How are you just ok with it? Doesn’t it drive you nuts?”

“I mostly don’t even hear it,” she said. “You just have to ignore it, Jay. Don’t let it get to you so bad.” “I know,” he said defeatedly and leaned in to kiss her. “Thank you for dinner. I’ll get the dishes.”

* * *

“How’s Dad?” Sam asked into the phone.

“He’s good,” her mother replied. “He’s a bit worried about you, though. We both are. People are talking about this virus like it’s the next plague, and you are all the way out there where it is. You are being safe?” The concern dripped from her words.

“It’s not that scary, really, Mom. It’s basically just another kind of flu, they say. We are young and healthy. We’ll be fine.”

Sam tried to reassure her mother, but a pang of doubt marked her tone. “We’re keeping an eye on it; hopefully, it will just blow over.”

Sam placed her wine glass on the coaster and relaxed back into the leather couch.

“Tell Denise I said hi,” Jason said as he passed her in his workout gear. He grabbed his running shoes, laced them up, and headed out the door.

“I’m headed up to the gym, be back in a bit.”

The door clicked as it closed behind him.

“Jay says hi,” Sam repeated into the phone.

“Hi, Jason,” Denise replied. “How is he doing with everything?”

“He’s good, yeah. Just settling in. I guess work went well today; he met his team. He just went up to the gym here in the building for a workout.”

“Well, that’s good he’s blowing off some steam. Keeping himself busy,” her mother said. “He can get a little…anxious if he has nothing to do.”

“Yeah, well, we have a lot going on. Never a dull moment in the city!” Sam said, still a little on edge from Jason’s earlier outburst.

“I love you guys,” Sam said.

“We love you too. And miss you like crazy already,” Denise replied.

“I understand wanting to explore the world and have new, exciting experiences, but I can’t help that I miss my baby. Ever since Toby…”

“I know, Mom,” Sam interjected. “Thank you for being so supportive. I miss you guys too. It just felt right, you know? To get away for a bit. With everything that happened. It’s like this opportunity came at the perfect time. We’re enjoying it here so far. And we can come home anytime if we want to. Nothing is holding us back.”

“That’s true,”