Chapter 2: A Reluctant Meeting

It was Sharon’s car.

Now, I had a problem. She was sure to collect a gang of crazies with her slow speed. She was coming here. I would have to make a choice provided she didn’t drive the car through the window into the office area. I looked behind her as she turned into the parking lot. I had wondered why our offices were located in a strip center. The company didn’t sell to the public and needed no front sales area. When I performed some simple research, I had found that the space was cheap and had been easily built out for our offices.

Sharon drove toward the space and parked about twenty feet from the door. She left her car and walked toward the front door. She looked normal which was good. I admitted to myself that she was probably the prettiest girl I had ever dated. She had no trouble attracting men. I was debating whether to open the door when I saw a gang of the crazies come to the lot. She ran to the door. “Hank, please, let me in! Don’t leave me out here!”

I said, ““Crap!” I went to the door and let her in locking it behind her. “Follow me!” I went to the door into the back and we went through it. I locked it, too.

I looked at Sharon with as much distaste as I could muster. That was a lot of distaste.

She looked at me pleadingly. “Hank, I’m sorry. You’re the only one I’ve been able to find. No one else answers. I was chased through my complex until getting in my car and driving here. You are my last hope.”

She made like she wanted to put her arms around me. I moved back from her. “Sharon, I didn’t want to see you. I still don’t. I sure don’t want you to touch me nor for me to touch you.

“What happened to Will?”

“He wasn’t important. It was just a one time thing to make you jealous. You were too busy working to have time for me. My mother said that would work.”

“It worked. I was jealous but I also won’t have anything to do with cheaters. I won’t in the future either. Sharon, we are over. That won’t change. I will leave here and you can have this place. I won’t share it with you. What part of all that don’t you understand?”

“But Hank. I have nowhere to go!”

“I understand. I’m leaving. You can stay.”

“Hank, I came here because I want to be with you.”

“I don’t want to be with you.” I thought to myself that I didn’t need this foolishness. There were real problems occurring in the world.

She tried a slightly different tack. “Hank, we should talk. We need to resolve this silly misunderstanding. It’s getting in our way.”

I pulled up a chair in a spot where she could not sit next to me. “Okay, talk.”

Sharon looked a bit worried. “Hank, we had never agreed to be exclusive. I had a little fling with Will. It was no big deal. You’re a great guy.”

“When I caught you, it was because you had invited me over. You knew what would be happening when I walked in. When I was dismayed, you ordered me out. I left.

“Now, I agree that we had no agreement to be exclusive. However, that didn’t mean I wanted to see you riding another guy cowboy style when you knew I would see it.”

“Hankie, I just wanted to get some exercise. Will should have been gone but he arrived late and I wanted seconds. His penis is almost as big as yours.”

“First, I don’t like being called ‘Hankie.’ If you do it again, I will figure that it’s intentional and designed to anger and humiliate me. Second, your actions suggested that either I was inadequate or that you needed more than one guy.”

“Oh, Hank! Will was just a friend. He and I have screwed for years. You’re very adequate but I do like a little variety once in a while. I love your size and what you do with it. I’ve missed you these last two weeks.”

“I guess that’s one view of the situation. I don’t share it nor was I interested in sharing you. I won’t because we won’t have sex again.”

“Oh, Hank, I shouldn’t have sent you from my apartment. That was a bad reaction to the surprise of finding you there. I should have watched the time more closely.”

“Sharon, what is the purpose of this conversation? Everything you’ve said convinces me more that we shouldn’t be together.”

She replied quietly, “I had hoped you would understand and we could be together again. I really have missed you.”

“That will continue to be true.” I paused. “I will show you how to work the back door system. My car is back there and I’m leaving.”

‘Hank! No! It’s your place. I’ll leave. I’m sorry that we can’t be together.” I had looked away thinking about leaving. “Just look what you’re missing.”

I turned to see that she was naked. She was always a hot looking woman. It’s just that I thought I understood her better and didn’t like what I had learned.

“Since you’re leaving, you might get dressed.” I started walking toward the front. Looking through the window, I saw the parking lot was vacant except for her car and the bloody areas.

She joined me with her clothes on. I could see a couple of tears in her eyes. “Is it clear?” I nodded. “Then, I’ll go. I’m sorry.”

She went to the front door and I unlocked it. She ran to her car, got inside it, cranked, and left. I locked the door back and went into the back to take it easy.

I just vegetated for a while. I walked back to the front and looked outside. It was quiet. Sharon’s car was gone and no one was passing by, crazy or not. I went back to sit at my desk and look at the latest news postings on my computer. There was a note of panic in the posts. I noticed that the usual pundits were not posting. I remembered most of them had gone to be in the “totality” area. I had a bad feeling about them. I felt safe here. I decided to stay here for now. The only issue was Sharon’s knowledge of my whereabouts. I could only hope she wouldn’t return.

That evening, I cooked up some food from the refrigerator in the microwave. It was okay. I realized that this location really lacked a kitchen and food supplies. However, I liked the location and knew the office at least as well as my home.

I slept on the couch waking in the morning to silence. Based upon the current situation, I felt that was a good thing.

New information on the Internet slowed and then stopped appearing on this second day after the Eclipse. What bothered me about that and the news shows not being live was that much of all that originated outside the swath of the eclipse. There was, in my opinion, more going on than was first known or about which anyone was talking. The silence from the area was unnerving. The cable feed failed over the second night.

I had stayed in my office for another night and saw no one, crazy or not, on the second day. That evening, I decided that a return to my home made sense. I needed a good shower and fresh clothes. Better food appealed to me, too. Obviously, none of my fellow workers were going to show up. I really didn’t blame them.

In the morning, I left from the back but closed everything up and locked it. I didn’t know but I might need this as a place of refuge. I knew I would have to bring food and clothing if I returned. I drove to my house without seeing or hearing any person or signs of people moving around.

As I drove, I could see spots on the road where people died. Most corpses looked to have been eaten partially or more. What surprised me was the lack of people of any type. In my mind, I thought, “Now, what?” I pulled into the garage and stopped. When I attempted to close the door, I then remembered that it didn’t work.

“Crap!” I went to the door into the house and unlocked it. Before going inside, I locked my car. Once inside, I locked the door. I went to my bedroom, stripped, and showered. My house had a good shower in the master and I enjoyed it. After a long, hot shower, I got out, toweled off, and shaved. I dressed and went into the kitchen for something to eat. I was fairly well fixed for food so made a nice lunch. I sat before the TV to find any news that might be available.