Myra was grateful to find breakfast waiting when she stepped out on to the patio in her favorite denim shorts and t-shirt. She lifted her face to the sun. Closing her eyes she took in the ocean breeze. She opened them and admired a bright blue sky. Wyatt had been right, it was entirely too beautiful to stay in bed. She sat down at the table and sipped at her coffee while reaching for toast.
“Nah...ah...ah.” Wyatt corrected as he sat an egg white omelet down in front of her. “Low carbs Missy...low carbs.”
“It’s toast.”
“You can have one piece. One half teaspoon of low sugar jam or less. No butter.”
“I can’t eat all of these eggs with only one piece of bread.”
“Of course not. I’m sorry. Let me get you some pasta to go with those eggs.”
Myra sighed surrendering the second piece of toast.
“Good girl.”
Myra held her hands up in front of her like a pair of doggy paws and pretended to pant.
“There’s my favorite golden retriever. Would the good girl like an ear scratch?” Wyatt asked not missing a beat as he reached for her head.
She dodged Wyatt’s hand seconds before he made contact and slapped it away.
“So it’s toilet repair today.” Myra said as he took the seat next to her. “What do you have planned for tomorrow?”
A grin appeared from behind the rim of his mug. “You’ve been asking to do something fun lately so...tomorrow we are starting a week long tribute to landscaping.”
Myra’s fork stopped millimeters from her mouth. “We can’t do that Jacques would kill us for touching his grounds.”
Wyatt’s grin disappeared, his brow furrowed. “Jacques can’t hurt us because,”
“Don’t say it. Please don’t say it.” Myra looked at Wyatt.
Her PA’s silence confirmed what she had forbidden him to share.
“When?”
“Last week.”
“He died last week? We’ve known Jacques for years. I met his wife, played with his children! I should have been told. I would have gone to the funeral.”
“Con-tract.” Wyatt sang.
“Fine. I could have sent flowers.” She said hanging her head.
“Jacques lost his family during the first wave. Who would you have sent them to?”
Myra put down her fork and tossed her toast onto the grass for the birds. “It looks like you’ve won the carb war, I’ve lost my appetite.”
“I’m sorry sweetie but the ‘no news’ clause in your contract…”
Myra shook her head.
“It’s up to me to monitor what’s going on out there to keep you from being exposed to too much negativity. If I do my job and keep you from feeling down, it makes it easier for you to do your job and keep the rest of the world sane.”
“Have you ever wondered if keeping me so removed from things might be doing more harm than good?”
Before Wyatt could answer Myra’s phone beeped with a text message. The studio was canceling their broadcast due to a major news event. Wyatt’s phone beeped seconds later.
“I have to go check the news. Are you going to be okay here?”
Myra nodded.
“I’ll clean up the kitchen when I get back and then we’ll talk.”
She nodded and quietly watched her suddenly less beautiful ocean view. Myra finished her coffee and looked at the time. Wyatt had retired to his media room ten minutes earlier. She rose from her seat, heading back into the house. Myra stopped at the media room door.
The media room was the only room in the house that still had internet access. Wyatt could watch anything and everything that was going on in the outside world. Myra could not.
She could not turn on a television and get local news, could not stream a movie unless Wyatt downloaded it first for her to play back later. Wyatt accessed any digital books or music she wanted, although anything produced after the pandemic started had to be approved by Wyatt first. Myra couldn’t even do her own cyber shopping. Everything was pre-screened or pre-approved. Any correspondence with family or friends had to be written out long hand and mailed. Wyatt read everything before she sent it out and any responses before she saw them. All paperwork had to be placed in plastic sleeves so Myra was not exposed to the virus in any way. It was a long and drawn out process. She was finding it tiresome.
Myra knocked on the door.
“Yes?” Wyatt responded.
“I’m going to my office to write a letter to my sister.”
“Okay. Tell her I said, ‘Hi.’’
“Okay.” Myra continued walking down the hall. She stopped at her office door and took off her shoes. Picking them up she continued to the end of the hall. She opened a door and began climbing stairs. The door at the top led to a service balcony near the roof of the building and a telescope no one knew Myra had. She smiled to herself, it was nice to have one secret. Whenever it looked like a big news day Myra would sneak up the stairs and look out at the world around her in her own way. She did not know what she was looking for. A bit of information, anything that would show her what was really happening, what everyone was being so careful to keep hidden from her. She adjusted the stand and looked out across the sky. It was empty. No fires in the distance. Nothing to indicate large crowds out in the streets. Myra didn’t know what the big news events were she suspected some sort of rioting had been going on. Rioting was the one thing that would explain the number of broadcasts that had been canceled in recent weeks. That or a war and if there was a war going on surely it would have touched her and Wyatt more directly by now. As long as she kept her eyes and ears open. As long as Myra kept looking she was sure one day she was going to discover the truth.