Riding to Vanity Fair

Covid-19

My arms tighten around the lovely woman I intend to spend the rest of my life with.

Nancy.

She may not be awake yet, but she's still an angel. I can't help myself but to nuzzle into her neck, just a little bit.

Pure bliss, this is.

I've got a feeling that it's gonna be a great day. I know, I know, I practically say that every day. I'm an eternal optimist. I'm living life to the fullest.

Rose walks over and licks my hand, soon followed by her puppy eyes. I'm convinced she learned it from me.

"Morning, Rose. You hungry?"

She nods vigorously, only to be interrupted by my phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Morning, Dad."

Mary.

"Mary, baby! How are you, love? What are you doing calling this early?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping you could come over."

"Rather early for that, isn't it?"

"A little, but now that Stella is gone, I've got no one to talk to..."

"Aww, don't say another word, honey. I'm on my way."

Poor Mary. I understand. Stella has been quite busy in the fashion business recently and this trip she's going on is everything.

Never fear, Macca is here...

Nancy was just barely awake, fighting her eyes to stay open.

"Nancy, love?" I coo to her. This perks her up. I seem to have that charm. "Mary invited me over to her house this morning. I should be back soon, ok?" I press a soft kiss to her temple, which only lulls her back into her golden slumbers...

I give Rose the food she's been craving before heading off to my daughter's cozy home.

"Dad!" Mary smiles, practically running up to hug me.

"Ah! Be careful, baby. I'm gonna be 80 soon, y'know."

"So hard to believe. Anyway, come on in! It may be a nice day, but you still don't deserve to stand outside. I made breakfast for us!"

My nostrils are greeted with greeted heavenly scent of what Mary has spent the last half hour working hard on:

Pancakes.

I lick my lips. I haven't had pancakes in ages.

We eat the filling flat cakes, chatting about anything and everything.

"And so yes, I helped Stella with some of her stuff, but once she left, I haven't really done much. Just some basic chores, is all. I need to get out of the house." Mary sighed.

I frowned. "We'll have to change that then, honey. Maybe not today, but another day."

That perked her up. "Thanks, Dad. You're the best."

I knew I'd have to go home soon, but I didn't want to. I love my children far too much and even the fact that one of them is leaving for a fashion show is difficult to bare. Stalling, my eyes gravitated towards the TV. Mary and I both sat on the couch as we saw the unfortunate sight beyond it:

Covid-19 is spreading across the universe. It is unknown as of now what it is, but we are looking at a possible pandemic. As we can see here, people are already starting to prepare for what is to come. We advise you to stay indoors.

Mary and I could only look at each other in shock.

This is one of my books that I've had planned for so long. I've wanted to write it for a long, long, long time (ha ha). I originally didn't know what to do for it, I just had the title because I love the song and I thought I would work around it. So I did. 😊