Quarantine Fever

Quarantine Fever

This is a short fictional tale about how the 2020 pandemic affected one couple. This was written early in the Covid-19 pandemic and reflects events during that time. Things certainly are evolving rapidly and there are now a frightening number of illnesses and fatalities. My sympathy is with all of those whose lives and loved ones have been impacted by this disease. Hopefully this pandemic will settle down, but in the meantime, please follow the medical guidelines and be safe.

Please be forewarned: There is minimal sexual activity in this story. If you are looking for more, please go on to another submission.

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The incessant chirping of the phone woke Trevor from a fitful sleep. As he reached for the phone his back spasmed and he groaned as he tried to straighten out. His feet hit the end of the couch causing him to groan further. Finally, he grabbed the phone.

"Hullo?"

"Trevor? Sam."

"Hi, Sam. What's up?"

"I got some bad news from Mel just now."

"Mel? Who's Mel?"

"Mel, you know, Mel. Like in Mel's Bar and Diner."

"Oh, that Mel. Why'd he call you?"

"He called to let me know that two of his servers from last night just received word that they were positive for the virus. You, me, Sarah and Allie were all exposed."

"Oh, shit. What does that mean?"

"Well, we have to self-isolate, can't go out at all. I read that it means fourteen days at home."

"Oh, crap. Well, I'd best be heading on back, huh?"

"No way, Trev. You've gotta stay there at Allie and Sarah's place. You can't leave."

"Wait a minute. I have to stay here with Allie and Sarah?"

"No, you stay there with Allie. Sarah will stay here with me. She can't leave, either."

"Look, man, give me a few minutes to wake up and I'll call you back. I didn't sleep worth shit on this couch and I need some coffee. I'll tell Allie when she wakes up and call you back."

Trevor stumbled into the kitchen and looked for some coffee. He was rooting around in the cabinets when he heard a yawn behind him. He turned to see Allie, wearing a sleep shirt, stretching and yawning as she came into the kitchen. Her breasts poked out nicely and she sported two lean but shapely legs underneath.

"Hey, Trevor. Sleep OK?"

"Oh, so-so, I guess. The couch is a bit too short to stretch out on."

"I'm sorry, but that's all we've got."

"At least I didn't have to listen to Sam and Sarah go at it all night long," he chuckled. "Thanks for letting me crash here instead."

"Sure, no prob. Sarah should be coming home by noon. She's got a lot to do for work before tomorrow."

"Allie, I've got bad news. We're on lockdown. She won't be coming back home for at least two weeks."

"WHAT? Are you kidding me? How come?"

"Sam called earlier and said some of the wait staff at Mel's tested positive and we've all been exposed. We have to self-quarantine. Sarah is stuck at Sam's and my place and I'm stuck here with you."

"Are you joking? What are we gonna do?"

"Well, for now I'm gonna get some coffee, you have some, don't you? Then we need to figure things out."

Allie went over, opened the cabinet, pulled down some beans, ground them and set up the pot. As it brewed, she peeled some fruit and poured out some cereal for a small breakfast for the two of them. While she was in the kitchen, Trevor neatened up the couch, folded the blanket and quickly went to the bathroom.

"Honey, breakfast is ready," laughed Allie.

"Be right there, Luv," he joked back.

While sitting at the counter, they reviewed their situation. The night before Sam and Sarah had asked if it would be ok for Trevor to stay at Allie and Sarah's place. They wanted some privacy and since Trevor owed Sam a favor, he agreed. Once in the apartment, he was shown the couch and given a blanket while Allie went to her room.

They understood since they were suddenly in isolation that they would in essence be roommates for the next two weeks. Allie suggested Trevor could take over Sarah's room so he wouldn't have to sleep on the couch the whole time. He however needed some clothes, personal items and his computer so he could continue to work from home.

"I don't think you'll be a bad roomie," Allie said dryly, "Just as long as we respect each other's privacy."

"Well, I'll feel kinda weird sleeping in a girly room, but it sure will be better than the couch," he replied. "I'll let Sam know we'll figure things out."

Trevor called his roommate and let him know he needed clothes, some personal items from the bathroom and his computer. They decided to call a friend of theirs to run the things over and he would then run Sarah's things over to her. Allie stripped Sarah's bed to wash the sheets before they sat down to plan their time together.

Trevor knew Allie casually mainly because their roommates were a couple. They had all been out together several times, just like the night before. He always thought she was pleasant but was, at times, a little bit standoffish. As a result, he had never entertained the idea of asking her out. In addition to that, he was very busy at work and was recovering still from a relationship which had gone sour months before. He thought Allie was attractive, and certainly when she had first come into the kitchen, her sleep shirt hid little. She was on the tall side and was slightly thinner than average but she obviously sported some nice breasts. Her dirty blonde hair was fairly long and when she did rarely smile, her whole face lit up. He was pleased when she made a joke about breakfast. Maybe she was lightening up some.

They quickly agreed on some basic issues with Trevor deferring to Allie on almost everything. Since neither could leave they set up a cooking schedule. To keep it simple they would alternate days for meal prep. Both would try to telecommute so they arranged for quiet "work" hours between nine a.m. and four p.m. Allie would move Sarah's things out of the bathroom so Trevor had room for his razor and toothbrush.

By late morning everything was settled and Allie went in to change, much to Trevor's dismay. He had enjoyed sitting there and watching her discreetly during their talking. However, when she came out she had on a fairly tight T-shirt with no bra and tight jeans. Trevor got to thinking these two weeks could be rather nice, at least if Allie kept dressing like she had.

For most of the afternoon he read an e-book while watching a muted rebroadcast of his college's most recent bowl game. Allie stayed pretty much to herself in her room and appeared to be working on her computer. At dinnertime she cooked up a quick batch of spaghetti and made a small, green salad. They enjoyed chatting about current events, including how the virus appeared to be getting worse.

After dinner Trevor cleaned up while Allie got back into her sleep shirt and they spent a few minutes sharing information about themselves. He told her he worked in the IT department of a large, local medical information house. She was the director of children's services with the city parks and rec department. They then watched a sappy movie on TV. She seemed to enjoy it, so he kept any snarky comments to himself. They sat at opposite ends of the couch but he took a few sideways peeks at her nice thigh showing below the shirt's hem. After getting ready for bed, they wished each other a 'good night' before turning in.

It took Trevor several minutes to fall asleep. He kept wondering how he would tolerate 2 weeks of isolation, particularly when Allie seemed so casually attired. She obviously had nice breasts and he found himself appreciating her legs as well but he sure did wish she'd loosen up a bit. Eventually, he drifted off.

The next morning, he stumbled to the bathroom in a daze. He had slept quite soundly after the poor sleep the night before. Without thinking he walked right into the bathroom only to see Allie standing at the sink in only her panties while brushing her still wet hair.

"Oh my God," shrieked Allie as she turned away from him.

Trevor immediately looked down and away from her as he mumbled his apologies. "I'm sorry, Allie, I just wasn't thinking. It was an honest mistake."

"Just get the hell outta here," she said as he turned back. As it was his day to cook, he went to the kitchen to start up the coffee. Once he saw her go into her bedroom he went and took a leak and washed his hands. Back in the kitchen he looked around and figured he could manage to make some pancakes for breakfast.

"Hey, Allie, pancakes ok?"

"Sure thing, Pervert, anything is fine by me," she called back.

"Hey," he responded, "You didn't even close the door all the way. How do I know you didn't want me to pop into the bathroom?"

"Hey, I'm used to a girl roomie. We don't go spying on each other."

"I wasn't spying! Here, your breakfast is ready." Breakfast was a silent affair with her avoiding his eyes and not talking. He felt bad, but at the same time it was an honest mistake. He tried to initiate conversation a couple of times only to get one-syllable responses.

It was eight thirty by the time they ate and she cleaned up before they both got ready for the day. He e-mailed his boss who told him to stay the hell away from work and to check in by phone every few days. She had to call into her work, explain the situation and eventually received permission to telecommute.

They settled down to work, she chose the kitchen counter and he sat on the floor using the couch for a desk. For the next few hours, they worked silently and once it was noon, both took a break for a bite to eat. During lunch they discussed briefly how they'd get food. Fortunately, money was not an issue for either one of them so they decided to hire a shopping service. Once they put a shopping list together, he ordered everything.

"Trevor, we need to split things fifty-fifty. You can't be paying for it all."

"Sure, I know. I think it'll be easier for me to shop this time and you the next. OK?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Thanks for doing the first order. Now I must get back to work. I'm worried my boss will think I'm just playing, so I want to prove to her I'm working."

'Wow, she'll talk,' he thought, 'Maybe she won't be Debbie Downer the whole two weeks I'm stuck here.'

"OK," he said to her, "Back to work for both of us."

Their food was delivered, the rest of the day was uneventful, his dinner was a success and by eight or so they were ready to relax.

"TV, read or talk? What do you want to do?" he asked.

She turned to him and frowned, "I'll go to my room and read. See you in the morning." She started walking down the short hallway when he finally lost his patience.

"Dammit Allie, it was an honest mistake. I'll apologize again if it will make you happy. I didn't even really see that much, anyway. Please don't go to bed pissed off at me. We gotta live together for another thirteen days."

"Listen," she responded. "I'm a fairly private person. It is even hard for me to share an apartment with a woman, sometimes. I really didn't appreciate your barging in on me. I felt violated, in a way."

"Violated?" he said with an exasperated voice. "Violated? Violation is being grabbed, touched, assaulted, raped. You weren't violated. You happened to be in a bathroom with a door cracked open and a groggy roommate walked in on you. I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am that it happened. But most of all I'm sorry you feel this way.

"If you prefer," he went on, "We can just pull into our own little shells for the duration. You take care of yourself and I'll do the same. We don't have to share cooking or chores. But I tell you: the next two weeks are going to be bad enough as it is. We don't have to be friends, but please let's be civil with each other. You sleep on it. See you in the morning, Allie." With that, he turned back to the common room and turned on the TV. He heard the bedroom door close perhaps a bit louder than it needed to be, but at least she hadn't slammed it.

Things were quite tense between them the next morning. She went ahead and prepared the coffee and put out cereal and juice. They ate together but in silence. After he picked up and went to his computer to log on he felt her presence in front of him.

"Look," she said. "I need to let you know something. I have been violated in the past. It wasn't rape, but I am certainly a member of the 'Me, Too' movement. It has taken me a long time to get where I am. Please bear with me. And I'll forgive you, but I'll still need a few days to reprocess my feelings about what happened back then. Thank you."

"Hey, what ever happened to you, well, I'm so sorry that it did. But let's be friends at least and I'll be outta your hair soon. OK?"

"Yeah, OK."

"Again, I'm sorry I barged in on you. Now I've gotta get back to it here."

And for the next few days they existed together a little more pleasantly. They continued to share cooking and ordered food every other day. In the evenings they would watch TV or sit quietly reading in the same room. Trevor was feeling a bit better about their personal situation and was pleased when a week was almost over.

The next day around four p.m. Allie received a phone call which Trevor overheard.

"Yes, it's Allie."

"Uh-huh. Yeah."

"I know things are bad but I'm keeping up with the work here at home."

"Uh-huh. I see."

There was a long pause before she spoke again.

"OK, you gotta do what you gotta do. Bye."

She fled sobbing into her bedroom and slammed the door.

Trevor waited a few minutes and crept to her door. He could hear continued weeping so he knocked quietly on the door. There was no response. He knocked a little louder and there was still no answer and the sobbing went on. Finally, he gently opened the door to see her curled up on her side and facing away from the door.

"Allie?" There was only continued crying.

"Allie, what's up? Can I help you?"

When he still didn't get a response, he walked over to her bed, sat on the edge and gently rubbed her shoulder. "Allie, is everything OK?"

"They laid me off! The whole children's program has been cut because of this damn virus. They'll give me two weeks of pay but as of now I'm canned. What am I gonna do, Trevor? I can't stay in this apartment, I've got just a little money saved and will be broke inside of six weeks," she wailed. "And I definitely can't go back home to my parents' place."

"Oh shit, that sucks, Allie," he said in a soothing voice. "How can I help?"

"Oh, Trevor, that's sweet, but unless you can hire me, I'm hosed."

Trevor curled up behind her and wrapped his arm around her and gently patted her. "Shh, shh, we'll figure something out," he whispered. "Look, I know it's your night to cook, but I'll take care of it."

"I don't have an appetite, but thanks. Just make yourself something, I'll get something later, maybe."

As he got up to move into the kitchen she reached back and pulled him back to the bed. "Stay with me a little longer, please. I feel so alone right now."

"Sure. Allie, I know this is a big shock to you, but tonight you get to cry, be mad, whatever. Maybe in the morning we can try to figure out what you can do about your situation. I'll help in any way I can."

"Thank you, 'preciate it, I really do," came the mumbled response.

Trevor rested there, holding her for over an hour until he realized she had drifted off to sleep. He slipped out of bed without waking her and went in to make a sandwich and grab a beer. He couldn't believe how suddenly things had gotten so bad not only for Allie but for many people who were out of work. After a bit, he decided to call Sam for any advice.

"Hey, Sam, how are things going?"

"Pretty bad, Trev. Sarah was canned yesterday. She's pretty shook up."

"No shit? That's why I'm calling. Allie lost her job just today. If both are out of work how are they gonna be able to stay here in their apartment?"

"Who knows? Hey, is your job safe? I know I'm in pretty good shape."

"Well, I never thought about it. They are getting busy tracking all the health care data and they need us more than ever, so I think I'm OK."

"What are the girls' options? Sarah is still pretty shook up. She's planning on applying for unemployment tomorrow. Allie needs to do the same thing."

"Well right now she's sleeping. She must have cried for two hours and I think she's exhausted. I'll see if I can help her tomorrow."

"Hey, Trevor, I, we thought of something. Sarah and I are getting pretty serious and I was thinking of asking her to move in with me, even before this happened. Maybe I should. Would you and Allie be willing to stay there, just as roommates, until she gets back on her feet?"

"I don't know, Sam. It was kinda rough between us at the beginning though things are smoother now. I'm not too sure she'd be interested in me hanging around here. I'm not too sure I am either."

"Look, I won't mention anything to Sarah until you've had a chance to talk things over with Allie. Try to feel her out, see if she wants to stay in town and stay with you. At least you make enough to pay the rent and she'll get unemployment for a while. If she doesn't, then all of us will need to work out some other arrangement."

"Well, I'll discuss it with her tomorrow after the initial shock has worn off. I'll get back to you. Say 'Hi' to Sarah."

"Will do. Take care."

Trevor sat there for a while thinking about it. Sure, he'd rather go back to his prior arrangement with Sam, but Sam clearly was looking to move in with his girlfriend. Nothing Trevor could do would change that. He decided he would talk it over with Allie in the morning.

With his mind made up he went in the kitchen and cooked up a can of soup, threw some crackers with it and went back to Allie.

"Hey, Allie, I've got some soup for you."

Allie rolled over and looked at him with a most appreciative look on her face. "Thank you. I really do need to eat something. Stay with me, please."

Trevor propped himself up on the bed next to her as she sipped the soup and nibbled on the crackers. After a few minutes she slid a bit over next to him so he reached around her and let his arm drape on her shoulders.

"Thank you. I need a little hug right now." He slipped her tray over to the side, wrapped both arms around her and gave her a squeeze. After a few minutes she murmured, "That helps me feel a tiny bit better. I may need to hire you as a support hugger whenever I feel down. You up for the job?"

"Allie, no need to hire me. I'd volunteer for the honor of helping you in times like these."

"You're so sweet and after I treated you like shit the other day."

"No, you didn't treat me like shit. And anyway, that's water under the bridge. Look, get some sleep and you and I need to look at things in the bright light of day. Night, Allie, sleep tight," he said as he gave her a tiny kiss right on the top of the head.

"Thanks, Trev. Night," she whispered as she slid down into her bed.

He puttered around the apartment, picked up in the common room and kitchen and watched a TV show until he was tired enough to go to bed.

In the morning he was wakened by Allie sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Good morning, Trevor. I've come to return those hugs you gave to me last night," she said as she wrapped her arms around him. "You have no idea how much it meant to me to have you support me like you did. Thanks."

"Sure, glad to help. Let's get some coffee and see what we can do about this whole mess." They ate a quick breakfast before he sat down with her to talk.

"I have some more bad news, unfortunately. Sarah was also let go."

"Oh, no! What are we going to do?"

"Well, Sam and I have come up with a plan, sort of. Did you know that Sarah and him are getting pretty serious? Well, anyway, he's planning on asking her to move in with him. That means I'll either be kicked out or will run out of the apartment screaming if I have to listen to them in their bedroom one more night."