I giggle. “I tried to warn you. You don’t have to lie though. Deep down, you’re thanking the shit out of me for making you watch it because it’s the most addictive thing you’ve ever seen.”
He sighs. “Fine, you win. Ineedto watch more. Did you see those wedding pictures from Carole and her new husband?”
I can’t help the laugh that flies out of my mouth. “I forgot about that! What self-respecting man would do that?”
“Um, someone who knows she’ll feed him to the tigers if he doesn’t.” He pauses. “Or she’s really a dominatrix, and that’s his leash.”
“Oh my God! You’re totally onto something there!”
We both laugh.
“Okay, are you ready to move on to episode four?”
“Yes!” I say, relieved that it’s finally time. “I got lost in the hole that is the internet, looking up stuff about this virus.”
He lets out a deep breath. “It’s freaky out there.”
“At least I found out a friend of mine is out of ICU, so that’s great news.”
“Yeah, that’s awesome. A coach I had in the minor league a few years ago has it too. Last I heard, he was starting to feel better. It seems like a lot of people are fighting it and winning.”
I nod, pressing my lips together. “I weird thought today.”
“Do I want to know?” he deadpans, obviously teasing me.
It’s nice to know he’s getting to know me and my crazy ideas so well.
I chuckle. “Yes, you always want to know my thoughts because they’re brilliant and forthcoming.”
“Okay then, enlighten me, oh smart one.”
“I saw that insurance companies are going to be reimbursing premiums on car insurance because no one is actually driving now. With no one driving, then car accidents are way down. Since they won’t be paying out to fix those cars, they’re giving people the money back to help them financially.”
“Really? But then think about that. Auto body shops won’t have cars to fix.”
“Exactly. Things I didn’t think about until we were forced to sit at home. But here’s what really got me: if there are fewer accidents, that means less are dying on freeways. Did you know roughly thirty-seven thousand people are killed on freeways yearly?”
“Wow. No. That’s a lot.”
“Right? It breaks down to roughly a hundred a day. So, in a weird, twisted way, if we’re on lockdown until May first, just in the month of April, three thousand lives that would have been lost in car accidents aren’t going to happen. Well, hopefully. Some people are still on the road, so, you know …”
“But many more are dying from the virus than three thousand.”
I sigh. “I know. I was just trying to look for a silver lining. There’s always something positive you can take out of a negative situation; you just have to find it.”
“Like me meeting you,” he says breathlessly.
“Like me meeting you,” I say, matching his tone with a grin on my face.
“Okay, my silver-lining girl, let’s forget about the world’s troubles and get lost in the troubles of three other crazy lives that I didn’t even know existed until a few hours ago.”
I smile. “Let’s do this.” I press my lips together and then twist them before asking, “Do you think I could ever get you to—”
“Don’t even think about it,” he interrupts me.
“But you don’t even know what I was going to say!”
“I know! But if it has anything to do with this show, then the answer is no. Hell no actually.” He laughs.
