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

the two men held each other’s gaze. The smile on Chester’s face faded, and his expression grew serious. The sudden change in the room’s atmosphere made Jason shift uncomfortably in his chair.

“Do you mind if I come up and have a listen?” Chester asked.

“Of course,” Jason said, thankful to move.

The elevator was silent as the two men rode up to the apartment. The gentle dings of each floor passing were like a metronome, timing their ascent. The elevator dinged one last time and stopped.

“I should have texted Sam to make sure she isn’t up here naked,” Jason stated awkwardly and instantly regretted it. Chester didn’t seem to be in a joking mood. As Jason opened the door to the apartment, he called, “Hey babe? Chester is here. Are you decent?”

“Good morning, Chester.”

Samantha was sitting on the couch wearing black tights and a white t-shirt. She put down her phone on the coffee table and stood up.

“Is Jason bothering you?” she asked.

“Of course not, dear.” Chester smiled warmly. “I am happy to be of service.”

Jason waited a moment for Chester to remove his shoes and head towards the bedroom. Chester paused and stood in the doorway of the bedroom. After a moment, he pressed his ear against the wall and listened.

“Hmmm.”

“Do you hear it?” Jason asked quickly.

“One of the building’s mechanical rooms is below your apartment. It’s quite loud inside that room, but I didn’t think you could hear it outside,” Chester replied.

“Oh. Well, what about the people that just moved out? Did they ever complain about the noise?” Jason asked as he scratched his stubble.

Chester looked thoughtful.

“Not that I remember, no. I guess I didn’t talk to them much at all, actually. But there was…” Chester trailed off.

“Was what?” Samantha asked.

“Well,” Chester started. “There were noise complaints against them fairly regularly near the end. I had to come up here a few times to ask them to keep it down. The police even came once or twice.”

“Big partiers, huh?” Jason mused.

“Fighting,” Chester said somberly. “When they moved in, they seemed like a nice couple. I believe she was a nurse, and he was some fancy chef at one of the hotels downtown here. But the screaming! Near the end, I thought they were going to kill each other!”

Chester noticed the shocked look on Samantha’s face. He attempted to provide some levity by following up with, “But they didn’t, of course. They asked if they could break their lease early, and we obliged. I doubt they would have spoken since they moved out. They really seemed to hate each other.” Shrugging, Chester continued, “I will go down and have a look; make sure everything is in order in the electrical room. I could call in an electrician to make sure everything is up to code and see if they can do anything about the noise. Best I can do for now.” Chester smiled and turned towards the door.

He put on his shoes, opened the door, paused, and looked back at the couple.

“You two aren’t like them at all. You look so in love. I can tell these things, you know.” He smiled again and closed the door behind him, leaving Samantha and Jason staring blankly at each other.

Thump!

“What the hell was that!?” Samantha exclaimed after a loud noise from the window made them both jump.

“I dunno. Maybe a bird or something hit the window,” a somewhat stunned Jason replied.

They hurried over to the large living room window to find nothing but a smudge.

“Poor bastard. I bet that hurt.”

Samantha looked away with a sad look on her face. “Remind me never to clean the windows.” She sniffed.

Moving to the couch, she looked up at Jason and said, “More and more people are dying in China every day now from that virus. It looks pretty bad on the news.” She sounded concerned. Jason sat down next to her on the couch and put his arm around her shoulder. “Yeah, well, they can keep it. Damn wet markets. They must know that shit is no good!” he said with anger and a touch of fear in his voice.

Jason scooped the remote from the coffee table in front of him and pressed the power button. The screen lit up, and the 24-hour news station appeared. They were playing an endless video loop of Chinese people being torn from their homes by men in riot gear and gas masks, makeshift hospitals, giant trucks spraying God-knows-what in the streets, and mass graves. It was a grim sight. The Chinese had the city of millions of people on lockdown, and the borders of the province were closed. Still, experts and reporters discussed the potential for this new coronavirus strain to spread to other areas.

“We’re ok, babe,” Jason said reassuringly. “Most of the experts are saying that China has it contained, and even if it does get out, it’s really just another kind of flu. It kills a lot of older people, I guess, but most people can fight it off.”

Samantha nodded.

“So you’re screwed, is what you’re saying?” she joked as she grabbed the remote and turned off the tv.

“Oh, come on!” Jason complained. “I’m not that much older than you.”

Samantha grinned and leaned over to whisper in his ear, “Old enough to be my daddy…”

“Oh shit!” Jason exclaimed as they both laughed. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“So, what would you like to do today, cutie?” Jason asked, grateful for the levity.

Samantha’s eyes grew wide. “Explore the city!” she demanded.

And so they did.

CHAPTER 3

The busy streets were loud as the couple made their way outside.

“Everyone and their mother out today,” Jason complained.

The dull roar of conversations mixed with the growling of engines created an unsettling ambiance.

“It’s kind of exciting, isn’t it?” Sam said with bright eyes and a wide smile as she grabbed Jason’s hand. Jason smiled back. “It’s cool, yeah. Lots going on.”

He sped up to keep pace with his lover.

“At least it’s not freezing. Where is this market you went to?” he asked.

“Just up here!” Sam