“Did she offer any explanations as to why they think this has occurred?” Jack asked.
“She did,” Laurie said. “Their studies have shown that the virus is unusually unstable outside of a host. They believe that the temperature must have varied in the buried Eskimo hut and might have even approached thawing on occasion. That’s a far cry from the usual minus fifty degrees at which viruses are typically stored.”
“Too bad it didn’t affect its pathogenicity as well,” Jack said.
“But at least it made the CDC-engineered quarantine effective,” Laurie said, “which everyone knows isn’t the usual case with influenza. Apparently with the Alaska strain, contacts had to have relatively sustained close contact with an infected individual for transmission to occur.”
“I think we were all very lucky,” Jack said. “The pharmaceutical industry deserves a lot of credit too. They came through with all the rimantadine needed in record time.”
“Are you finished playing basketball?” Laurie asked. She looked over Jack’s shoulder and could see that another game had commenced.
“I’m afraid so,” Jack said. “My team lost, thanks to me.”
“Is that man you were talking with when I arrived Warren?” Laurie asked.
“That’s right,” Jack said.
“He’s just as you described,” Laurie said. “He looks impressive. But there’s one thing I don’t understand. How do those shorts of his stay on? They are so oversized and he has such narrow hips.”
Jack let out a laugh. He looked back at Warren casually shooting foul shots like a machine. The funny thing was that Laurie was right: Warren’s shorts defied Newton’s law of gravity. Jack was just so accustomed to the hip-hop gear, he’d never questioned it.
“I guess it’s a mystery to me too,” Jack said. “You’ll have to ask him yourself.”
“Okay,” Laurie said agreeably. “I’d like to meet him anyway.”
Jack turned back to her with a quizzical look.
“I’m serious,” she said. “I’d like to meet this man you are in awe of and who saved your life.”
“Don’t ask him about his drawers,” Jack cautioned. He had no idea how that would go over.
“Please!” Laurie said. “I do have some social sense.”
Jack called out to Warren and waved him over. Warren sauntered to the fence, dribbling his basketball. Jack was unsure of the situation and didn’t know what to expect. He introduced the two people, and to his surprise they got along well.
“It’s probably not my place to say this…” Laurie began after they had spoken for a while. “And Jack might wish I didn’t, but…”
Jack cringed. He had no idea what Laurie was about to say.
“… I’d like to thank you personally for what you did for Jack.”
Warren shrugged. “I might not have taken my ride all the way up there if I knew he wasn’t going to pass me the ball tonight.”
Jack formed his hand into a semi-fist and cuffed the top of Warren’s head.
Warren flinched and ducked out of the way. “Nice meeting you, Laurie,” he said. “I’m glad you stopped by. Me and some of the other brothers have been a bit worried about the old man here. We’re glad to see that he has a shortie after all.”
“What’s a shortie?” Laurie asked.
“Girlfriend,” Jack translated.
“Come anytime, Laurie,” Warren said. “You sure are better-looking than this kid.” He took a swipe at Jack and then dribbled back to where he’d been shooting foul shots.
“‘Shortie’ for girlfriend?” Laurie questioned.
“It’s just rap-talk,” Jack said. “Shortie is a lot more flattering than some of the terms. But you’re not supposed to take any of it literally.”
“Don’t get me wrong! I wasn’t offended,” Laurie said. “In fact, why don’t you ask him and his ‘shortie’ to come to dinner with us. I’d like to get to know him better.”
Jack shrugged and looked back at Warren. “That’s an idea,” he said. “I wonder if he’d come.”
“You’ll never know unless you ask,” Laurie said.
“I can’t argue with you there,” Jack said.
“I assume he has a girlfriend,” Laurie said.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know,” Jack said.
“You mean to tell me you were quarantined with the man for a week and you don’t even know if he has a girlfriend?” Laurie said. “What did you men talk about all that time?”