This is a work of fiction. All characters depicted are 18 years and over.
The alarm had not gone off yet but Lancelot was right on time. He moved up from the foot of the bed and settled next to his best friend and started licking her ear. It was not long before she was awake.
"Lancelot, quit it. It's not even seven o'clock yet."
But the dog was persistent and just went right on licking her ear. He was hungry and it was time for breakfast. Susan tried pushing him away but it did not exactly work. Lancelot knew it was not anything to worry about and just moved from her ear to her neck. He knew persistence always paid off with Susan. If he had fingers, he would have her wrapped around one of them.
Susan turned over to face the dog and got a lick on her nose for her trouble. She giggled and started petting Lancelot.
"Want some breakfast? Yeah, me too."
Just as she turned back over to get out of bed the alarm went off. Susan shut it off and went to her bathroom to use the toilet. When finished, she washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror. She saw a young woman who could pass for beautiful but at the moment was a little disheveled. Her 5'3" frame was shapely, her brownish hair was a little longer than shoulder length, and her face with her green eyes and pug nose was cute. There always appeared to be a glint in her eyes as if she was thinking something naughty. Her breasts were still shapely and did not sag and had nipples that stuck out at the moment. All in all not a bad package she decided. Too bad that no one would see it for the next few weeks, maybe even months.
Susan donned her robe and moved to her kitchen. Lancelot was right behind her and sat as she opened the pantry door an got out his dog food. She poured about a cup into his bowl and sat it down on the floor. Next she refilled his water dish and put it back on the floor. She watched Lancelot eat his food and smiled.
She loved her dog. He was an American Eskimo. They are an all white long haired with dark eyes and nose. Their tails usually curved over their back and their eyes reflected their intelligence as well as their happy dispositions. They are rather small in size at only about 25 lbs. but made up for that with their boundless energy and great intelligence. They were very easy to train and always loved their owners and family. Lancelot was no different from this description except that he was sometimes over friendly with strangers which occasionally led to problems if the person did not like dogs. But it was hard for anyone to resist such a beautiful and playful dog like an American Eskimo.
When Lancelot finished eating Susan started her breakfast which consisted of eggs and an English muffing with coffee this morning. When she finished eating she put the dirty dishes in the empty dishwasher, cleaned the table and counters, and then went to get ready for the day.
She turned on the small TV in the bathroom to listen to the news while she showered and dressed for the day. It was more of the same information about the COVID-19 virus. She had heard nothing but this kind of news for the last week and was tired of it already, but she had to keep up in case the situation changed, so she kept one ear open while she prepared for the day.
When she finished showering, brushing her teeth, applying a little makeup, and dressing in some jeans and a shirt, she went to her back door to let Lancelot out for a while to do his business. The trees in back were already budding out and some of her flowers were already in bloom. The back yard was not large but big enough for a small patio, a small flower bed, and some trees towards the back of the yard. While Lancelot was out she went upstairs to her study to turn on her computer and log in to the company network.
Susan had been working from home for the last two weeks and was already feeling somewhat isolated. She was just not used to working from home. She missed her friends and co-workers, her Fridays at the bar/restaurant they all went to, and her occasional dates on Saturday nights. She was trying, with only limited success, to cope with the situation, but it was hard for such a social person.
Her email in-box had 20 entries which she looked over. She needed to handle some items today and most of the others were just messages between her co-workers about the current situation. She replied to one or two of them and then went back downstairs to let Lancelot back in. He was waiting patiently at the door and when the it opened he came in and followed Susan back to her study.
The work never stopped, virus or no virus. So she spent the morning producing two reports and answering a few question from her co-workers via email. Just the usual routine stuff she did every day. But she liked it. She was using her college degree that she had worked so hard for to do her job and that pleased her because she actually liked what she did, and it paid a nice salary which paid for her car and home. Plus she was able to save a little for a rainy day which she might need if this virus situation lasted too long.
At lunch time she went back down to the kitchen to prepare some lunch. But first she stopped at her living room window to take a look out to see if anything was happening. It was a sunny day outside. The street was empty except for some cars parked in driveways. However, she spotted a man coming out of the house directly across the street. This was unusual because the townhouse was unoccupied most of the time. She knew someone owned it but in the three months she had lived here she had never seen anyone. It must be someone now working from home.
She watched as he opened the garage and brought out some manual garden shears and proceeded to start pruning the bushes which were a little overgrown. He was dressed in some shorts and a T-shirt and appeared fit from exercise. She could not see his face but what she could see was attractive from a physical perspective.
She went on to the kitchen and fixed some lunch for herself consisting of a salad and chicken bytes. Again, when she finished she put the dishes in the dishwasher and wiped everything down. All the time Lancelot watched her and followed her around. When she was finished she put him out again and went back up to her study. Only two weeks at home and she was already tired of the routine. She decided to spice it up with some music on the stereo. She put in a memory stick containing some soft rock and turned the volume to a low setting.
After thirty minutes she went to let Lancelot back in. After he came in she decided to check on her neighbor across the street before returning to work. She parted the curtains and saw that now he was trimming the tree in his front yard. He had a trash can out for the limbs which he was cutting into small pieces so they would fit. She could see his face now and it was pleasant to look at. He had a strong jaw with a crop of jet black hair. He was beardless and was working up quite a sweat from the work.
Susan was attracted to him right away. He was just the type man that she liked from a physical perspective. But of course, that is only half the story where people are concerned. But she was attracted enough to find out the total story. In the meantime, she had work to do.
She had more email when she returned and that meant more tasks to perform. At least they were keeping her busy so far.
**********
By five o'clock she was getting tired. She stood up from her chair and stretched. She was going to need a better chair if she kept working every day at home. She decided she had done enough for the day and shut everything down. Lancelot got up from his bed in the room and came over to Susan. She got down on her knees and petted the dog.
"How are you doing Lancelot? Have you been a good dog today? Want to go for a walk?"
The dog stood on his hind legs and barked once.
"Okay, let's go."
She went downstairs and grabbed Lancelot's leash off the hook and they went out the front door. Susan locked it behind her and the they went off down the block together. She noticed right away that the man across the street must be inside at the moment but the garage door was still open. She tried to walk the dog every day if possible just for the exercise. Sitting all day made this a compulsory activity to keep her rear end from becoming larger than a Mac truck, she thought. The afternoon was warm but the neighborhood was mostly shady so the walk was comfortable and Lancelot was the perfect companion. He could keep up with her fast pace and this was one of his favorite activities. He was also silent for the most part.
She saw a number of her neighbors out walking. It seems that a lot of people were walking at this time of day, more than usual. However, they were all keeping their distance to avoid contact with each other. Usually they were very sociable but when keeping a physical distance that was a little harder to do. But they did wave and say "Hi", but that was about it.
Susan and Lancelot followed their usual route which took about 45 minutes. When they rounded the corner onto their block Susan notice that her neighbor across the street was back out front sitting in a lawn chair under his freshly trimmed tree. He had changed clothes and was now wearing jeans and a casual shirt. Susan and Lancelot happened to be on that side of the street so they had to walk right past him.
"Hello, neighbor!" he said.
"Hi. I like your trimming job. Looks nice."
"Thanks. I like your dog. What's his name?"
"Lancelot."
"Your knight in shinning armor?"
"Exactly. And he's also the perfect gentleman."
"Well, that leaves me out of the running. I'm Jack Crawford by the way."
"Susan Thorpe. I haven't seen you around much."
"Yeah. I've been working in Colorado Springs the last four months for the military. But my company sent me home at the end of last week. This virus thing has everybody spooked."
"Tell me about it. I started working from home two weeks ago. I guess its tough on everyone being shut in all the time and having no social life."
"Yeah, it's weird. Its looking more and more like this could be a long term thing. I'm not sure how things are going to work out. Even whether I'll have a job or not in the end. It's very depressing."
"I know. I love my work but I can see where it might not last this way forever. I guess we all have to stick together to get through this. Do you have any friends or family around here?"
"No, they are all in California. I moved here for a job about two years ago, but it didn't last. I went on the road for a new company right after that and have been doing it ever since then. It has actually been pretty great until now."
"Well, I guess Lancelot and I should be getting home. But it was nice to meet you."
