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

would he? he thought. Did he really like it out here anyway? What was so great about Seattle? His brain went over some scenarios where the pandemic never happened. Would have been happy then? The fire in his belly cooled, and his shoulders relaxed.

“The pandemic can’t last forever, babe,” he said, looking out to the water. “And we need to get the results of this sleep test; maybe this doctor can help. Maybe he can figure out what’s wrong and fix it, or help me fix it. You have to give me that much.”

His voice had turned indignant and demanding, the liquid fire boiling up again inside. “And we can get a new place, somewhere bigger, without that fucking hum.”

There was a finality in his voice that Samantha didn’t like. Her brow furrowed, and her expression only hardened.

“Obviously, I want you to get better, Jay. But I need to take care of my health too,” she said.

Jason flashed a look over at Samantha’s stern face. Guilt raced up his spine and rested heavily in his mind. He realized he hadn’t even asked her how she was. How her appointment had gone. He had been too wrapped up in his own shit; too worried about the sleep disturbances and the hum

(Francine probably did need cleaning, though)

to consider Sam’s feelings. But why not? She looked fine, really. And they could always make another baby.

But damnit, he was going crazy over here! Literally out of his goddamn gourd! Maybe she was the selfish one, after all, demanding to go home right in the middle of him working on getting better. Maybe—

Jason’s thoughts were interrupted as Samantha turned and began walking again, towards the little market a few blocks away.

“I’m not saying we need to leave today or tomorrow. We will see what the doctor says and go from there.”

The couple walked to the market in silence. Once inside, Samantha and Jason grabbed a few essentials from the shelves: meat and cheese, eggs, and milk. They paid at the register, grabbed their bags, and headed out the door, sanitizing their hands along the way.

Samantha and Jason turned up the street with fists full of bags and headed for their apartment. Only a few words had passed between them since their talk, and they were both eager to get inside and go to bed early, putting another dreadful day in the past.

Jason opened the large lobby door for Samantha, and they entered the building. Their shoes clicked against the lobby floor as they passed Chester’s office. The light was on and the door open. The couple looked in as they passed to see Chester sitting at his desk, completely engulfed in his book. Jason pushed the round up-arrow button on the wall, and it lit up. He took a step back and looked up to the small LED screen above the elevators. One was coming down from PH, and the other was coming up from P2. Samantha and Jason shuffled themselves in front of the elevator from parking level two, since it would be there first. With a ding, the doors opened. Jason dropped his bags, and the meat and milk smacked the hard floor with a clap inside ruffled plastic. Samantha jumped at the sound and turned to look at Jason. His eyes were wide and transfixed on the open elevator.

“Jay?” She looked from Jason to the elevator and back. “Jason, what’s wrong?”

“Do you see?” he asked meekly.

“See what?”

“Do you see them?”

Samantha looked into the elevator and back at Jason.

“Jason, you’re scaring them; what’s wrong?”

The elevator dinged. Samantha thrust her foot in front of the closing door, and it popped back open hesitantly.

“I’m so sorry,” she said to the occupants. “Do you mind if we ride with you?”

Jason blinked with realization. She does see them.

“Jason,” Sam hissed. “Let’s go.”

Jason quickly picked up the fallen bags and headed into the elevator to stand beside a very annoyed-looking middle-aged woman and a very strange-looking little boy.

Another ding and the elevator door began to close. Samantha reached for the panel to press the button for their floor, paused halfway, and then let her arm drop. Jason, who was staring straight ahead, frozen, looked down at the panel and saw what Sam had seen. Their floor button was already lit. Jason’s eyes squinted as his mind raced. He couldn’t remember ever seeing anyone else from their floor, which was not uncommon in a large apartment building. Even more common now that people were staying home for the majority of their day. Jason could feel the little boy’s piercing eyes looking up at him, cold and unblinking.

Jason watched the little boy in his peripherals. He was holding the hand of who Jason could only assume was his mother. Jason cleared his throat and stole a glance down at the boy. The kid gave Jason the creeps, no doubt about that. Jason’s eyes moved from the boy’s shined, tiny black shoes up the brown tweed pants that disappeared under his tiny light-brown trench coat.

Jason couldn’t help but take in the sight of the boy. What child dressed like this? Maybe it was his mother who had put the outfit together. A thought flashed into Jason’s mind. Had she noticed him checking out the kid? Jason didn’t think so. If she had, she’d think Jason was some sicko looking to get pervy, and she would grab her child close to protect him.

Jason continued his inspection as the child continued to stare. Finally, past the boy’s thin, colorless lips and white porcelain cheeks, Jason’s tired eyes met a familiar sight.

The boy’s eyes revealed the exhaustion that his hard face attempted to conceal. The dark skin around his eyes was in stark contrast to his white cheeks. It almost looked as if the child was wearing makeup to black out the bags under his tired eyes. Jason and the boy stood in hidden conversation with their eyes locked until the mother finally noticed and pulled her son close, an arm around his chest.

Jason