Jenny

by Melinda Vandenbeld Giles

Feb. 29, 2020

“Not exactly hopping,” my friend announced as we entered the hall, taking in the neon lights and the effort someone had made to put up a strobe ball. Very parents-night-out white middle-class vibe. I get enough of that on a daily basis. Not something I was looking for on my Saturday night out. More like hot sweaty bodies all converging together under the swirling lights with the feel of the bass under my pounding feet.

I looked up at the small video screen where the DJ was playing some new version of “Rhythm Is a Dancer.” It was advertised as the Retro Video Dance Party after all. I couldn’t even hear the bass.  “Well, it is the Legion. What can you expect?”

We just smiled at each other. “What the hell. We’re here and we always have a blast. Cheap drinks too!” My friend, Rachel, headed straight to the bar and I followed. We usually start with the cheap beer and work our way up to the shots. Best bang for your buck and we were both looking to get a nice buzz going.

“Corona,” I ordered. My usual. Not too pricey and since I’m not a real beer drinker anyway, it lasted longer than if I ordered wine. I can down wine or a cocktail in seconds, but beer is just too fizzy for that.

We took our drinks and headed out to the dance floor. I was kicking up a good pace when some guy shows up and starts chatting.

“Corona, huh. Not scared of getting that Coronavirus?” he jokes. I look at him. I’d seen him dancing with his friend earlier and watching me before working up the nerve to come over with that zinger line. Tall, broad-shouldered, white, cocky grin, bald.

“Is that your pick-up line?” I smiled back, not sure yet if I wanted to engage in a conversation or not.

“It’s crazy, huh? All over the news all of a sudden. You just watch. You’ll be the last one buying that stuff.”

Little did I know that just over a month later, on April 3rd, Corona temporarily suspended production in Mexico, but not because of falling sales but because it was considered a nonessential service. Sales had actually risen by 34%. The whole world was about to change and there we were drinking, dancing and discussing beer.

Notes: “Ontario Confirms New Positive Cases of COVID-19": All Protocols Followed and Risk to Ontarians Remains Low.” February 29, 2020 2:50 P.M. Ministry of Health TORONTO — Today, Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, confirmed three new positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 11