Pandemic

Walking into the hotel's bland lobby, what had been niggling at him since the moment they arrived came into focus — the scarcity of people. Granted, it was a cold Sunday evening in a remote western province, but this was China, the most populous country in the world. During his brief layover at the Beijing airport Haldane saw firsthand the smothering congestion of urban China. Now, not even 8:00 P.M. local time, Jiayuguan City was a relative ghost town. Suddenly the excitement surrounding their arrival made sense to him. The welcoming committee wasn't trying to impress the WHO delegates so much as reassure the local residents that the cavalry had arrived. Judging from the emptiness of the streets, Haldane decided their attempt had been in vain.

After another outpouring of smiles and handshakes in the hotel lobby, the WHO team parted ways with their welcoming party and fled to their rooms. Though clean and quiet, the rooms were small and dimly lit in the three-star hotel. Haldane had to agree with McLeod when the Scotsman bellowed from down the hallway: "Some guidebook's being awfully generous handing out stars!"

Haldane's seventh-floor room looked out onto a central plaza, which was as deserted as the rest of the street. Though the view was prettier than anything he had seen from the limo, he had little interest in the scenery. He headed straight for the nightstand phone.

Maryland was thirteen hours behind China (which officially maintains one time for the whole country despite spanning five time zones from east to west), but Haldane couldn't wait By the time the operator connected him, it was just before 7:00 A.M. at home.

Anna answered on the second ring. "Hello?" The line crackled.

"Hi, Anna, it's me. I'm in China," Haldane said, hearing his own voice echo in his ear from the delay.

"Oh, Noah," she said in a monotone. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No," she said softly. "Been up for a while."

Haldane knew what that meant. Normally, Anna and Chloe were sound sleepers in the morning. "Her ear?" he asked.

"Yes," Anna said. "She crawled into our bed around 3:00 A.M., but you know."

He did. It was a common occurrence at their home.

Lying back on the firm unfamiliar mattress, Noah could picture his wife wearing one of his T-shirts that fit her like a nightgown, curled up in their queen bed with Chloe squirming in her arms. Chloe would be in constant motion, writhing, sobbing, and sweating in turn, unable to find comfort despite the Tylenol. And Anna would lie still beside her, clinging to Chloe and whispering reassurances in her daughter's ear.

The visual brought a stab of guilt and loneliness. "Can I speak to her?" he asked.

There was a rustling noise on the line, then heavier breathing and a snort. "Chloe?" he said.

"Hi, Daddy." In spite of the static, her voice sounded nasal.

"Chlo, are you okay?"

"It hurts, Daddy," she sniffed.

Another stab. "Oh, sweetheart, I know. I wish I were there with you. I miss you so much." When she didn't reply he added, "I'm coming home soon."

"For breakfast?" her voice perked up.

"No, Chlo," Haldane sighed. "But soon as I can. I love you so much."

"Bye, Daddy," she said. He heard a thud as the phone dropped.

After a moment, Anna was back on the line. "You brought the first smile I've seen in a while," Anna said with new warmth.

"I wish to hell I could see it in person," Haldane said.

No answer.

"How are you?"

"A little lonely." She hesitated. "A lot confused."

Haldane sat up on the bed and squeezed the receiver tighter. "You haven't worked things out, huh?"

"Not exactly," she said.

They were both silent. Haldane felt every mile of the twelve thousand that separated them.

His mind wandered back to the scene in their living room a few months earlier. After weeks of having evaded questions about her withdrawn nervousness, Anna waited until her mother took Chloe for the afternoon before sitting him down for a "discussion".

Unsuspecting, Haldane had sat beside her on the living-room couch, enjoying a rare moment of intimacy as she caressed his hand in hers.

The tears came before the confession. Haldane sat silently clutching her hand, not out of support but utter shock, as she told him how her relationship with Julie, the single dentist who lived two doors away, had progressed from growing friendship into budding romance. Haldane wasn't floored by the same-sex angle; he knew that Anna spent two of her college undergrad years romantically involved with her female roommate. On first meeting their attractive neighbor with the short brunette hair and piercing brown eyes, Haldane sensed she might be gay, but he never suspected that his wife's moodiness or remoteness might be attributable to her having fallen for this woman or anyone else.