Sudden

On March 12, 2020, the day after Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announced they had COVID-19, my mother’s Toyota Camry pulled into my driveway, and out she stepped with two suitcases, the food from her refrigerator, her recycling and her cat, named Jello, howling and spitting in its carrier.  “Just until we flatten the curve,” she said, reluctant to leave her apartment. “And not a minute…