Chapter 6

[Virginia]

We left in Jane's car the next morning heading for the courthouse to get married if we could and then to do a little shopping. There was nothing we had to have but some things we would like to have.

The courthouse was open when we arrived. We parked and went in.

At the counter, I asked for marriage licenses. The older woman smiled a little grimly and said, "We have had a run on those lately. We're waiving blood tests and the waiting time. I can issue you the license and the judge will marry you right away if you want."

Jane said, "We want." I nodded happily.

The clerk took our names and information, went to her desk and keyed everything in. She came back a moment later and said, "Here it is. The charge is ten dollars, if you have it. If you don't, we will let you have it free."

I said, "I will pay that amount happily."

The clerk grinned with us and said, "Congratulations. The judge is through there."

We thanked her and went to the judge's chambers and were married. We kissed emotionally when offered the chance. The judge said, "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Andrews. I know the risks but hope your marriage is long and happy." I shook his hand and Jane gave him a hug. We thanked him and left for Wally World.

We picked out a few more outfits for Jane's camping wear and some minor things that I needed generally. I went over to the sporting area and purchased more ammunition for the guns I owned. I didn't know if I would need any extra ammunition but it was better to have it and not need it rather than need it and not have it. They had plenty and I stocked up even on .22 shells for that rifle. Jane looked at my load and said, "Are you planning on starting a war?"

"No, but I don't want to lose if someone else starts one."

"Okay. Is there anything else we need to pick up here?" I shook my head. "Let's pick up a few fresh food items for supper tonight along with some wine."

"That sounds good to me." We picked out some food and wine, paid for everything, and left to go back to our home. I liked the sound of that.

"We're home, my good wife."

"Yes, my husband. We are."

We unloaded her car carrying everything but the ammunition inside. I took that into the garage while Jane went to the kitchen. I didn't mention to Jane that there was a forty-five automatic pistol in my nightstand that was loaded and ready if the need ever arose.

I came into the kitchen to smell some fantastic aromas coming from the direction of the stove. It seems that I have married a very good cook though I considered that a bonus rather than a necessity. I could cook but was not near as talented as Jane seemed to be. She had found wine glasses and opened the bottle. As I came in, she poured us each a glass. I came up to her to take the glass and clinked them together. I said, "Here's to a long, happy marriage."

"I would like that," she replied. After taking a sip each, we kissed. It was a delightful meal and a delightful night with my wife.

We got up the next morning. I had three five-gallon gas cans and we took them to the station and filled them and the tank of the truck. So far, things looked pretty normal except everyone was wearing surgical masks. We returned to the house and began to load the truck.

After talking about it, we decided to load the boat and trailer on the back. I checked and had a gallon of two-cycle oil. The tank in the boat was dry and I made a mental note to stop and fill it as well as top off the truck's tank. We loaded up and were planning that we might not return so didn't want to leave anything we might need. I packed a large bottle of sleeping pills that I had picked up somewhere in case we wanted to go out that way. I was happily surprised that we showed no symptoms yet.

We had an early lunch and cleaned everything up even making the bed and left the house headed for a wilderness area. During lunch, we talked about the choices using my knowledge of the ones where I had been camping, fishing and hunting in the past. We had settled on a local state park. It was close and there was a large national forest on the other side of I-95 if we wanted to really get away after we went through the subdivisions in between. If we survived, we could get back to my house easily. If we didn't, it would be as good a place as any. It had water so we could put the boat in and find a place that would be quiet.

It didn't take long to work our way around. The traffic was lighter than usual, which was not a surprise. We went in and paid our admission for the primitive camping area. The attendant told us that we would be by ourselves. We told him that no neighbors would be good since this was our honeymoon. He told us, "Congratulations," and waved us on. We went to the wilderness camping area and set up our camp under some trees and away from any others who might come here.

Jane asked, "Let's wait on the boat until tomorrow. It's getting late and I want to cuddle with my new husband." That was an offer I wasn't going to refuse.

All camping activity came to a halt for a while except for opening a bottle of wine. We removed our masks figuring to take our chances from this point on. The afternoon passed delightfully.

Later, Jane asked, "Why aren't we getting sick? According to the radio, so many, many people are sick along with deaths just like you predicted."

"I'm not sure. First, the virus may not have dispersed as well as we feared though that looks unlikely. Second, in the larger population, there is the real possibility of some people being immune just like Doris said. Finally, it's early yet. People will not all become infected at the same time. We know the President was sick two days ago and is probably dying or dead by now. I want to hope that there will be some natural immunity even though there may not be many. Like I said, we'll have to wait and see. In two weeks, we ought to check on things if we're not sick."

"George, I really hope we pull through."