An Ordinary Epidemic Read Online Free PDF Page B

he left?

    Sean bustled into the kitchen an hour and a half later, wellrested. ‘Oscar not up yet?’
    â€˜You should ring your sister.’
    â€˜And good morning to you.’
    â€˜Ring her now, it will be getting late there.’
    â€˜I have, in fact, already rung her. I’m surprised you didn’thear me. I’m surprised Oscar slept through. We had a terrible line. I had to yell.’
    â€˜So why didn’t she answer yesterday?’
    â€˜She overindulged at her birthday celebrations and turned off the phone. Then forgot she turned it off.’
    â€˜And the epidemic?’
    â€˜Is literally hundreds of miles from her. Did you make enough coffee for me?’
    â€˜I drank it, I’ve been up for ages.’
    â€˜You shouldn’t get up so early.’
    â€˜Did you tell her to be careful?’
    â€˜I told her not to drink so much. London to Manchester’s the same distance as Sydney to Canberra. She’s fine, she’s safe.’ Sean contemplated her. ‘Zac’s safe in Canberra.’
    â€˜Says you.’
    â€˜My sister and Zac are a long way from anybody who is sick. As are we. Breathe.’
    â€˜It will come here. It will get to London, probably before it comes here. In fact it’s almost certainly already in London.’
    â€˜There’ll be warnings, first cases and second cases, and we’ll do all the sensible things when the time comes. If you go on like this, you’ll be a mess before anything even happens.’
    â€˜It will come...’
    â€˜Yes, it might, and we’ll be ready. But that’s not yet. I’m not saying ignore it, but you only need to be ready.’ He put his arm around her shoulder and rested his head on her hair. ‘You taking Oscar to school today or is it my turn?’
    â€˜I’ll take him. I’m working from home.’
    He straightened and threw his hand up in exasperation. ‘You didn’t go in yesterday. This is what I mean...’
    â€˜It’s Tuesday, I work from home on Tuesdays. I didn’t go in yesterday because I had an appointment. It doesn’t mean I have to go in today. I’ll go in tomorrow.’
    â€˜Then I’ll do the school run tomorrow.’

    They got to Oscar’s school seconds before the bell. The pavement was crowded with children in white polo shirts and blue track pants drifting randomly like atoms in a gas. She wove her way between them to the gate, Oscar clutching the towrope of her sleeve.
    The bell rang and the atoms ricocheted around, more vigorous but no more purposeful than before. Oscar hugged her around her middle, and she kissed him on the head.
    â€˜Bye Mum,’ and he was off. She watched him run into the crowd surging towards the school doors until she couldn’t tell which blue and white back was his.

    Hannah turned on the computer with every intention of reading emails, easing herself into work. It wouldn’t hurt to have a quick look at The Herald and The Times , maybe the World Health Organisation and Centers for Disease Control websites. And the weather in Canberra. Fifteen degrees maximum, four degrees minimum. She thought about checking if his fleece was still in his room, but it wasn’t as if she could take it to him. She brought her email to the front, and looked for something from Zac. Nothing but work.
    Mr Moon jumped onto the keyboard and rubbed himself along the monitor. He registered a nonviolent protest by going limp in her hands as she dropped him on the floor and used the momentum of his fall to spring back up. ‘Go and bug someone else.’ Half an hour gone and the most riveting information she’d found was that parliament was recalled for an emergency sitting to pass legislation allowing quarantining of individuals. One of the minor parties was calling for a proper debate.
    She typed in ‘Manba’ and scanned down the page of results. The little snippets didn’t tell