Covid Consequences

COVID CONSEQUENCES

Author's note: I have been trying to think of a Loving Wives story related to Covid since I had Covid months ago. The following story is the result. Editing mistakes are mine. I hope you enjoy.

"Where's my 'loving' daughter? Why isn't she picking me up?"

"Wes, she sent me here to pick you up. She has to get the guest bedroom prepared for you. Now get in the car."

"Well Chase, you can just turn around and go back home. I'm not going. I can be sick here without her help. She's probably hoping to get to see me die."

"Geez. I don't need this crap. Let me put this in simple terms even you can understand: Get your ass in the car or I'll come pick you up and throw you in."

"If I wasn't so weak from this damn Covid shit, I'd whip your butt. You better be nice to me if you ever want help from me again." I had to take a break and cough for a while. Chase is about 6'3" 240 pounds and could have wiped me up even if I was at my peak physical condition.

"Wesley, it's not even a close choice: having you angry at me or having Shannon angry at me. Now if you could suck my dick like your daughter can, it might make it a closer choice."

"Fuck you."

"That would make it closer still." I couldn't help but grin at that one.

I made it out to the car while holding on to Chase's arm. Chase went and retrieved the small bag that I had packed despite my contention I wouldn't go. Now, I hoped that the cough drop and allergy medicine I had taken would reduce the irritating symptoms.

On the ride, there was almost no chatter. I didn't feel like talking until Chase started playing some shitty popular music. "Chase, haven't you got some Eagles tunes?"

"I'm not allowed to play the Eagles."

"Why the Hell not?"

"They're an endangered species. Especially since Glen Frye died."

"If standup comedy isn't already dead, you just killed it."

*****

When Chase and I arrived at the house, Chase took me into the living room. I was shocked and pissed off to see my ex-wife, Cecilia, sitting on the couch. From the looks of her face, she was also suffering from Covid.

"What the Hell is she doing here?"

Cecilia answered for herself, "Coughing, sniffling, aching and throwing up. Glad to see you too, asshole."

Just then Shannon came in from the kitchen with some liquid for her mother. She did not have a happy look on her face.

"Don't even start with me Dad. I'm not any happier with this than you are. You both need help for the next week or two and I'm the only family you two have that can help you. Believe me, if it wasn't a life or death situation I wouldn't . . . No. I promised myself not to go there." She paused briefly to gather up her energy.

"Here's the deal for both of you. There was no way I could run back and forth between your houses now that you live so far apart. Bringing you two here is for my convenience, not yours or Mom's. If you have any problems with that, get over it."

"Shannon, you know I would have never come if you had told me the bitch from Hell would be here."

"And you wonder why I didn't tell you in advance? I don't remember sudden stupidity being one of the symptoms of Covid."

Cecilia interrupted, "For Christ's sake, Wesley, think of someone else for a change. Shannon and Chase are making a big sacrifice taking us in like this. Hell, they're risking their own lives."

I retorted, "What the Hell would you know about sacrificing for someone else? You . . . you . . ."

Shannon screamed, "JUST STOP IT! Both of you. You two are sick with Covid now, but you've been sick with hate for even longer. I will not have it in my house even if I have to tie you down and gag you."

I put in my two cents, "You ungrateful twit! I put up with years of her abuse just so you could have a father and a mother at home. Don't tell me . . . "

"SHUT UP, DAD!"

Cecilia intervened. "That's right. Don't let him get away with it. I was the one who made the biggest sacrifice to stay in a loveless marriage and . . . "

"SHUT UP, MOTHER!"

Silence fell for a few seconds. Shannon's whole head and neck where flushed red with anger. I remembered she tends to get hives when she's upset. "You two assholes did not do me any favors by staying married those last few years. When you both told me that I was the reason you stayed in an unhappy marriage, you congratulated yourself for your 'sacrifice.' You expected me to be grateful to you.

"Well, guess what? I felt HORRIBLE. I felt guilty because I was the reason you two kept yourselves living in misery. ME. It was MY fault, but you never gave me a vote in the matter. I had had a vote, I would have voted for divorce years before. You really think you two did much quality parenting those last few years? Do you know how many times I went to my room crying because I knew you two were so unhappy? Do you know how happy I was to go off to college? Did you know that the college I picked was because it was the one that was the longest distance from home?

Shannon paused then continued, "I would have done anything to have helped you, but then I find out that I was the one keeping each of you from happiness. Well, parental-units, fuck you both very much. As soon as you two are well, or dead from Covid or killing each other, I do not plan on seeing you again. And that will go for any grandchildren."

Cecilia said, "Oh, Shannon are you pregnant? We shouldn't be around you if you might be pregnant. The doctors say they don't know how Covid might affect a pregnant mother."

Shannon sighed in exasperation, "Mother, I am NOT pregnant. Chase and I are being super cautious because, unlike you two, we want to be sure our child grows up with two parents who will love each other or dissolve the marriage if we no longer want to be together. I have the example of your marriage -- the example of how not to act towards a spouse, and especially how not to raise a child."

Chase joined the conversation, "I was not supportive of Shannon's decision to bring you two here. Our marriage has already suffered because I catch her comparing me to what you did to Cecilia. She's all the time asking me if she's treating me like you treated Wes, Cecilia. I have walked on a lot of egg shells. I will be very glad when you're gone."

Cecilia and I felt as sick emotionally as we did physically. I grudgingly spoke up, "I'll try to be as little a burden to you and Chase as possible, then I'll leave as soon as I can. Shannon, I'm sorry. I really meant to . . . " I couldn't finish because I started crying. Cecilia followed soon after.

In a few minutes, Shannon had gotten her emotions under control. "We're taking you two to your bed. If either of you complains that you have to share a bed, I'll slap that one silly. You two shared a bed with someone you couldn't stand for years so you can do it for two or more weeks. We have only one guest bedroom and it only has one bed. If you two want to fight verbally or physically, just don't do it when I'm in the room. I will not referee."

Cecilia and I were helped to our new bed. We got caught up on medication for the Covid symptoms. Shannon laid down one rule before letting us sleep. "If you have trouble breathing, let me know immediately. I don't want to take you to the hospital unless that happens. I already know that you will not get admitted to the hospital unless that is the case. The ICU here is already full. As far as calling me, there is a baby monitor beside your bed if you need me for any reason, but it better be a damn good reason."

Cecilia and I were both tired. She saw me pull back the cover on the right side of the bed. "Creature of habit, huh. That's always the side you slept on when we were married."

"Actually, I chose this side because I need access to the wall outlet." I hooked up my CPAP machine while Cecilia watched me.

"That's new Wes. When did you get that?"

"About six months ago. My cardiologist suggested I see a pulmonary doctor. She diagnosed sleep apnea and soon I became a masked man at night."

"Does it keep you from snoring?"

"I don't know. I never knew I was snoring until you told me years ago. I think the noise from the machine covers up any snoring."

"How loud is it?"

"You'll soon find out. If it's too loud, you can pull the plug. That will be good practice for you if I'm ever on a ventilator."

"Ha, ha."

Soon we were asleep. In about four hours, I woke up. The bed was cold. It was cold because it was soaking wet. It didn't smell like urine, and I felt the need to pee, so I figured I hadn't pissed in bed. Then I noticed I was sweating profusely. Cecilia was too. I called Shannon on the baby monitor and asked her to bring new sheets. Within a half hour, the sheets were changed, we had cleaned up and dried off, and Cecilia and I were back in bed. Shannon had taken our temperature. We were both had a little over a degree in temperature at that moment. We assumed our fevers had spiked sometime during the night. Shannon left and soon we heard the washer running.

The next morning, Chase brought us a light breakfast. I always eat a big breakfast -- always. Today was the end of always. Toast and juice were fine. I didn't want any more. Cecilia said that she couldn't taste anything. I told her that I could. She said, "That figures. I always suffered the most while we were married. Why should that stop now?" We got another dose of OTC meds for headache, fever, runny nose and cough. We went back to sleep.

The next couple of days were the worst for us physically. Shannon and Chase were punctual in checking our temp and keeping us supplied with liquid and medications. Our chests felt like something heavy was on top of our lungs but neither of us experienced more than slightly labored breathing. All the flu-like symptoms continued. I felt sorry for Cecilia who had to throw up occasionally. I had to tell her to quit apologizing for the inconvenience. If she had to throw up, she had to throw up. I felt bad enough that I wasn't even tempted to rub her nose into my not having it as bad as I had. By day four we began to feel the symptoms lessening.

After breakfast one morning, Cecilia seemed wider awake than usual. I asked if she would like to talk some. She said she would if the talking didn't become insulting and yelling. I promised to behave. I doubt she believed me.

"I don't know about you Cecilia, but I was really hurt to find out that our 'sacrifice' for Shannon may have hurt her worse than if we had gone ahead and gotten divorced earlier. I guess good intentions don't count when it results in something bad for someone else."

"I feel the same way, Wes. God, I hope she doesn't follow through with her threat to not let us see our grandchildren. It would kill me to know that I had grandchildren but couldn't see them." Cecilia started sniffling.

"Cecilia is there anything you can think of that we could do that might make her feel better towards us?"

"I think behaving the rest of the time we are here would help. What were you thinking?"

"Typical man solution, I thought I could give them some money towards a baby nursery or a college fund. I really don't want to die a bitter old man with no family around him."

"Don't worry. I promise I'll be there to dance nude on your grave." We both chuckled at that image in our heads.

"So, Cecilia, how come you haven't remarried by now? You're still a very attractive woman. I can't believe you haven't been hit on."

"Oh, I've been hit on and I've hit on a few myself. I have to admit that I've just spent more time with you in bed this last week than anyone else since we divorced. Unfortunately, this time with you and Covid has not been the worst of my recent bedroom experiences.

"In truth, I rarely have gone past a first date with a guy. I was wondering if I had terminal bad breath or something. Then I found out. One night, my dinner date got up and walked out on me during the meal. As he was leaving, he said, 'I think there is a good person within you, but you've covered her up with hate. You need to see someone and get a handle on your anger. You can call me when you're over your ex-husband, but don't call me before then." I sat there by myself, alone stunned.

"What did you do then?"

"I replayed the conversations I had had during my dates in my head. That's when I realized that I had monopolized most of the time during my evenings out by bad-mouthing you. Believe me, that's not what prospective husbands want to hear about. So, I took the one guy's advice and went to a professional therapist. It took almost a year, but I thought I had succeeded in controlling my anger against you. But when you showed up yesterday, I felt the old anger returning and was ready to start my old pattern on negative interaction with you. One of the reasons I've been so quiet the last few days is that I've spent most of my time trying to get back in touch with the me that doesn't hate you anymore."

"So, is there a part of you that doesn't hate me?"

"Yes, but after what Shannon said when we got here, there's now a part of me that hates the old me and the new me is scared the old me will return. I don't want that. I really don't hate you, Wes. Well, not as much as I once did anyway." She paused and then continued, "What about you? I'm surprised you don't have some young, blonde bimbo waiting for you."

"I looked up 'Bimbo' in the phone directory and couldn't find any current listings. Actually, I have gone on dates and even had some women ask me out on dates. It feels funny telling on myself like this to you, but you're the only one it might make sense to. I went on my first few dates just to have sex. I needed to prove my manhood or something like that. I was successful in having sex about half the time. Then one of the women said after I ejaculated, 'Look, Wes, I can get fucked by any man. I am looking for a man who wants to make love to me. When we have sex, I get the impression that you were punishing your ex-wife by being so rough on me. I like you, but don't ask me out again.' Talk about a blow to my ego."

"Did you go see a shrink?"

"Hell, no. Real men don't go see shrinks. They withdraw and go pout in the corner. My current solution is that I have been looking at porn sites and masturbating a lot. The women I generate in my mind don't care how I treat them, don't charge me, and I avoid STDs."

"I have to ask you something serious Wes. Do you think we both benefitted by getting a divorce?"

"No. I think the only ones who benefited were our lawyers. We both wasted a lot of money on trivial settlement issues. There have been many times when I wish I had back some of the money I gave to my lawyer. What about you?"

"I guess I didn't start feeling so regretful until after my therapy. As far as the money goes, I had to borrow money from my parents until I developed a lifestyle that matched my new income. You know how you used to fuss at me about not using coupons when shopping? Guess who lives for the Thursday newspaper and the ads now?"

"At least I gave you one good piece of advice during our marriage."

"Yeah, but why did you have to hide it under so much other bullshit advice." We both smiled.

"Cecilia, I can't remember anything we argued about that was worth my giving up on our marriage -- not that I want to remember something like that. Is there still a burning issue for you we need to address so we can at least be civil to one another?"

"Wesley, I think that we found some little things to argue about and started building a wall with the verbal bricks we were throwing at each other. By the time we stopped yelling at each other, there was a huge pile of bricks between us. Mostly I remember being mad at you because you were obviously so very mad at me."

"Cecilia, I have found out that I miss talking with you and I don't mean the yelling matches we had. Would you mind if I called you on the phone sometimes? Just to chat. I can't count the times where something has come up and my first thought was to tell you about it. I have wanted to ask your opinion on an issue several times."

"Of course, Wesley. I have been hoping that we could become friends again. I didn't call because I didn't want to be the one to flinch first. See, you're not the only one with foolish pride. Hopefully, we would act better than we did at Shannon's wedding reception."

"Oh my gosh. I have felt so guilty for that. I should have never brought an escort to try and make you jealous."

"And I should have never almost had sex with my date on the dance floor in retaliation."

"No wonder Shannon didn't speak to us for months after."

"Wes, instead of reviewing our old sins, do you want to just snuggle and watch a movie? You can pick."

"You know I only like sex and violence movies."

"That hasn't changed I see."

"How about 'Raising Arizona? It's a comedy and there's not much sex or violence in it.'"

"You still love that horrible movie?"

"Are you kidding? That's one of the funniest movies ever."

"Okay, but I get to choose the next movie."

"Let me guess, 'Pretty Woman.'"

"I hadn't thought of that, but now that you mention it . . ."

We watched movies and talked more as we started physically feeling better and better. Cecilia was envious of my ability to taste food while she still couldn't but she stopped throwing up. The symptoms we still had needed less and less attention and our fevers tended not to spike as frequently. We were getting better although we stayed tired most of the time. Our face-to-face discussions reminded me of the first two-thirds of our marriage, the good part.

After about ten days, we were sleeping in bed one night when Cecilia punched me. I asked, "What? Was I snoring?"

"No, you were poking."

"Poking?" Then I realized that I was sporting a boner. "Sorry."

"Was that intentional or a mistake?"

"That depends. If you like it, it was intentional. If you don't, it was a mistake."

She sighed. "It's not fair. I'm so horny right now, I could be talked into believing that we 'sleep-fucked' which I assume occurs just like some people sleepwalk and don't remember what they did the next day."

"Works for me." I lowered my briefs as she raised her nightgown. I felt between her legs, and it was gushy. No extra lube needed.

"Wes, put it in now before I change my mind." I obliged. Slowly I entered her and took my time. Despite my efforts, we both got off fairly quickly.

"Not the best sex we've ever had, but it will do. Thanks, Wes. I feel better now."

"Thanks? For what? I'm asleep." We snuggled until we fell back to sleep.

The next morning, we both were wanting to say, "We need to talk."

"Cecilia, I we have too much history to be just friends unless it's friends with benefits."

"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could start dating again and see what happens. You just might get lucky our first date."

"That might work. Since we live far apart, how about once every other week?"

"Sounds about right. At least to start."

Cecilia quickly got teary-eyed and hugged me. "Oh, Wes. I'm so glad you didn't die."

"Me, too. I mean, I'm glad you didn't die."

*****

DEPARTURE DAY

Shannon greeted us downstairs as we were set to go back to our homes. "Well, I see you both made it out alive. Thanks for not dying on me. I overheard some interesting conversations the last week over the baby monitor. You two seem to have reached some kind of sexual reunion if not a relationship reconciliation."

I spoke, "Yes, I think we have. We also want to apologize to you for how we misjudged your feelings when we said we sacrificed our happiness for you. We beg your forgiveness."

"Well, wish and beg all you want. I'm glad you're alive, but I'm not changing my opinion towards future contact with you. You've used up what little good will I had for raising me. You two can . . ."