Love in a time of the Rona

Marching through the fields during my daily government approved exercise I saw, in the distance, a young couple, walking slowly, clearly practising social distancing. I knew they were a couple as could hear them arguing from some way off.  Sure, ‘tis hard to argue quietly when you’re a) you feel quite strongly about something b) you’re in a field and c) you’re more than one meter apart.  

I did try not to eavesdrop, but short of putting my hands over my ears, eavesdropping was inevitable.

She couldn’t understand why he didn’t want to move in with her, at her Mom’s. It was alright for her, he said, because she wasn’t working, and because it was her Mom. But he was supposed to be working remotely. And that’s why he couldn’t talk to her on the phone all day. She said she’d set up a desk in her bedroom. But he thought work video calls might be awkward while she was still in bed, as he starts early. But she could get up with him, they could have breakfast together, before she left him to his work. He couldn’t see this working well for him, and what was wrong with the ways things were? 

As I said, I tried not to eavesdrop but this was all pretty loud, but they stopped arguing for a while, as while I marched past them, so I didn’t get to hear how it got resolved.

They stayed in my mind afterwards, and I had questions that I felt might never be answered. I was now invested in this love story, and was left wondering just what happened next?  

Well, as luck would have it, the next evening I ventured out again for my daily government approved exercise, and decided to take a different route. You can imagine my delight when I saw him standing on a corner. Then I spied her, walking, kind-of-happy-skipping, towards him. I crossed the road, to keep my distance social, as is the way now, in this weird world we’re living in. Despite being on the other side of the road I could see the grins on both their faces. It made me feel warm inside. She was swinging a sandwich bag and shouted ‘I’ve brought snacks’, presumably to make their socially distanced government approved daily exercise, a little more enjoyable, and date-night-like. Or, was I missing something? Are snacks now a euphemism for something else? Just look what's happened to aubergines! And would he be willing to touch her sandwich bag, without the required, but sadly in short-supply hand sanitiser?

As I said, I’m now really invested in this love in the time of the Rona story.