THE PANGEA CHRONICLES . BOOK 1.. 107.9°

107.9°

CDC FIELD OFFICE

Birmingham, AL

3 September, 2019

855 pm

 Hi daddy!!" The little girl's excitement made her greeting linger in the air like a bell, as she bounced down in front of the computer. Dressed in her favorite princess nightgown, she was beaming with joy at seeing her again.

"Hiya Jazzy." Richard had a lot more he wanted to say, things he had been thinking for the weeks since being thrust into his position. But for the man that vowed to never be silent, the words wouldn't come. Seeing his daughter, her hair shiny from just being bathed, caught those words in his throat.

Week after grueling week, Richard had endured smells that he would never forget. Horrible perfumes of chlorine mingled with those of death, and sickness. Seeing his Jazzy though, clean and ready for bed, washed it away. He could almost smell the hints of lilac and raspberry, her favorite shampoo. Wafting peppermint of her toothpaste, and the mildly scented detergent his wife used on all Jazzy's laundry.

"What wrong daddy," Jasmine asked, her eyes dimming with a look of hurt. "Why you Mr. Sad Face?"

Swallowing hard on the knotted words in his throat, Richard willed himself to smile big. He may have missed both her and her mother terribly, but at that moment, they were there. He didn't want to waste this opportunity to be happy. Because in all honesty, he didn't know when he might have the chance again.

"Whatcha talking about, silly girl? Daddy's Mr. Happy Face, see!" He pushed his already big smile upwards, wrinkling his well weathered cheeks. "Do you know how much I've missed you and your mommy?"

Jasmine twisted her mouth in six year old contemplation, her eyes darting upward. "Lots?"

"Of course lots," he said, smiling at her serious look. Just like her mother, he thought. "How was your birthday party, sweetheart?"

 He regretted the question the instant he asked it, as Jasmine's eyes began to moisten. "It was bad Daddy. I was crying cause you were working. Your boss is stupid, and your job is stupid. You promised. And they didn't let you come to my birthday. I hate them."

Of all the horrors that Pangea had wrought on his mind, they paled in comparison to the tears running down his daughter's face. He searched for the right thing to say, but it was too late, Jasmine had run off, crying.

 It took a moment, but eventually Veronica sat down in front of the monitor, a glass of wine in her hand. She looked tired. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. Her blue eyes that had always sparkled we're now hollow and sunken.

"Ronnie, have you not been sleeping again?" His wife was prone to insomnia when something was on her mind. But the way she looked now made him think she'd been up a long time, and he knew his absence was to blame.

 "Six weeks, Richard," She said flatly. "Six weeks ago I had to tell our heartbroken daughter you couldn't come to her birthday. Again. It would have been ok. I explained things for you, and she understood. She said she could wait a week for her daddy. But you never came back. You messaged. Texted us like an afterthought to your day."

"I'm sorry, Ronnie." And in his heart he truly was. "This disease, it's killing everyone it infects, and we are scrambling to figure..."

"I don't care Richard," she interrupted, tilting back her glass of wine. "I have stood by you for twenty years. When you said wait on my career, I did. On starting a family, on everything, I waited."