Free Jakarta Pandemic, The by Steven Konkoly Page B

in their plan,” he said.
    “Sexy is sexy?” Greg said and raised both arms to flex his bicep muscles.
    “Well, that is true, but their plan backfires when they all buy crap like this at the same time, and we all look equally crappy. Then it all comes down to sexy, where you and I have a considerable advantage. Unfortunately for you, I think Carolyn’s trying harder than the other wives.”
    “I’ll let her know your theory. I’m sure Kate would love hearing it, too,” Greg said.
    “Yeah, please don’t. Just because she doesn’t buy my clothes, doesn’t mean she can’t control what I wear. She’s already told me that I can’t leave the house without a collared shirt. I guess when you turn forty, you’re no longer allowed to wear T-shirts or a sweatshirt in public. She always pulls out the latest J. Crew catalogue, which appears out of nowhere, and points to the fifty-year-old, impossibly handsome, gray-haired father of three young children, who is raking leaves in khaki pants and an impeccably clean oxford shirt. Tucked in, of course, with a nice belt. And…God forbid, a sweater vest. She tells me, ‘This is how you should look out in public, not dressed like an eternal college student.’”
    “Yeah, sounds familiar. It is futile to resist.”
    “Pretty much, until I say, ‘Wow, his wife looks almost fifteen years younger than he does.’ I usually get clocked over the head with the magazine.”
    “Living on the edge, my friend.”
    “Hey, I have to keep her sharp. So, what dare brings you outside in those pants?”
    “Not much, I just wanted to see if you guys already went shopping. Did you see the paper?”
    “Not yet, but I heard about it from Sarah Quinn. She’s on her way right now,” Alex said.
    “We saw the evening news, and I thought about what you said the other day, so we both made trips last night to Hannigan’s. Thanks for the heads up. Sounded a little crazy until last night, then the news this morning. This thing is all over the country.”
    “Yeah, I meant to call you again last night. I’m glad you got out. We finished the last of our runs yesterday. You might want to consider braving the madness and hitting the stores again.”
    “We might. We did it with the kids last night, but I don’t think it would be such a good idea if the place is mobbed. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t more crowded last night. I definitely need to hit Cabela’s and Home Depot.”
    “Me too. Even with all of the shit we have, I still never feel like it’s enough. If this thing goes code red, you guys are welcome to ride it out at our house. We have the solar power, the wood burning stove, and plenty of food. Everything we might need and plenty of it.”
    “Thanks, Alex, but if it gets that bad, I’m pretty sure we’re gonna drive to my parents’ house outside of Albany. My parents’ house is pretty isolated, so we figured we’d hang out there until everything cools off.”
    “The offer still stands if anything changes,” Alex assured him.
    “Thanks, man, seriously. God knows we’d probably be better off at your house, but we should be fine at my parents. They stick to themselves and still have a functional sixties-era nuke shelter in their backyard. They’re stocked to the gills over there. I don’t think my dad ever bought off on the end of the cold war.”
    “Sounds like it should be perfect. When do you think you’ll make the trip?” Alex asked.
    “Good question. Carrie’s not sure how she can take off from the pharmacy, especially if a lot of people start getting sick. They’ll be swamped and probably have to double up on pharmacists.”
    “She should consider getting out of that pharmacy as soon as possible. Every sick person in the town is going to walk up to that counter. Seriously, that’s one of the last places you want her to be. Maybe she could take a few days off to spend at her ‘grandma’s bedside.’”
    A sly smile spread across Greg’s face. “Not a bad