Shifting her heavy backpack, Tara knocked on the door of the little house, irritated at having to be here. Her roommate was stuck in California, self-isolating with her parents until the damn pandemic ran its course. But she'd left her boyfriend's laptop in the dorm.
Classes were cancelled and those students who had somewhere to go other than the dorms were urged to temporarily move out.
Tara had no such place. Her family was vacationing in Europe when the pandemic began and were unable to return for some time. Stranded in the nearly empty dorm, Tara had had no excuse for refusing when Andrea asked her to return the laptop.
The door of the tiny house opened to reveal an older woman, wearing a facemask. Andrea's boyfriend had temporarily moved in with his grandparents. "Mrs. Kirby," Tara asked, "Is Branden here? I have to return his laptop. He wants to finish his thesis."
Mrs. Kirk backed up, staying six feet away, and pointed to a closed door off to the right of the living room. Tara reluctantly entered and went to Selwyn's bedroom, knocking on that door while Mrs. Kirk waited impatiently for her to leave, still holding the front door open.
"Hey, Tara," Selwyn said in surprise as he cracked open his door. "What are you doing here?"
She held up the laptop. "Andrea asked me to drop this off."
"She is so technically naïve. I don't need it. All my stuff is on the cloud. I can use my tower and tablet just fine. But thanks anyway. I do appreciate it."
Scowling at the wasted trip, Tara turned to go, just as Mr. Kirk came in through the open front door. "Bad news," he announced. "Two people at work tested positive for this fucking virus. By law, we have to stay in the house for the next two weeks. And who is this young lady?"
"I'm Tara. Don't worry. I was just leaving."
"No," he corrected, shaking his head regretfully. "You're not. I might have brought this virus here today. Or yesterday. Or the day before. You may have already have picked it up. This house, and everybody in it, are now under quarantine."
"I can't stay. I have responsibilities."
"Yes, you do. We all have responsibilities. To our community and our state." Mr. Kirk closed the door and locked it, removing the key from the deadbolt and putting it in his pocket. "In this house, we respect the law."
"It's no use arguing," Selwyn told her.
"I am sorry," Mr. Kirk explained. "This will not be comfortable for any of us. It is a small house, and Lucille and I are in the high-risk group. As best we can, we will have to stay away from the two of you. Though I disapprove of such arrangements in general, you and Selwyn will have to stay in his bedroom while Lucy and I remain in our own. We should consider the living room and kitchen off limits. We will order ready-to-eat meals to be delivered from the grocery store and participating restaurants."
Too stunned to respond, Tara allowed Selwyn to lead her into the bedroom, where things continued to get worse. "The good news," Selwyn said, "is that the grand-folks like the bedroom with the morning sun, which means we have the master bedroom with its own bathroom."
Tara glanced at the restroom and immediately guessed the rest of his speech. Selwyn saw the direction of her eyes and nodded. "The bad news is that the bathroom door was removed five years ago."
Looking around the rest of the bedroom, she said, "So, the two of us are to be trapped in this tiny bedroom with absolutely no privacy. We can't even wash our clothes and I didn't bring any extras."
"What's in your backpack?" Selwyn asked. "Books?"
"Computer stuff," she replied, then went white with horror, remembering her plans for that computer stuff.
"Sit down," Selwyn ordered her, alarmed at her expression. "Are you okay?"
"No. Not at all. This is so humiliating."
"I can turn my back when you're in the bathroom."
"I don't think it matters," Tara said in dismay.
"Are you thinking about the sleeping arrangements?" He looked around at the tiny bedroom. Not a lot of floor space. "We can share the bed without anything happening," he promised.
Tara looked at the bed. It was a small bed in a small room. They'd have to cuddle pretty close together. But there were more pressing problems than where she'd sleep.
Selwyn shrugged. "I'm hungry. Pizza okay?" he asked her. She only nodded, a disgruntled expression on her face. He got on his phone and ordered.
Tara paced the room, exploring its corners, clearly frustrated at being imprisoned here. She checked her own phone for the time. There were almost two hours left, but she would be here for two weeks. If she missed this appointment, she'd give up a lucrative income. People would give up on her if she wasn't dependable.
When the pizza arrived, the Kirks went into their bedroom. Selwyn put on a facemask and hygienic gloves, then went out into the living room to retrieve it. His grandparents would order their own food when they got hungry. Tara knew that she should probably pay for her share of the meals, but that meant she needed money. She had to keep her appointment.
The pizza was good, pepperoni and sausage, but the heavy garlic in the sauce reminded her that she didn't have a toothbrush or mouthwash here. She would need to have some supplies delivered. Which meant, again, that she needed money. She couldn't afford to blow off her schedule.
After three slices, and a can of cola, Tara checked the time. Only thirty minutes left before she destroyed her reputation in the school. There was little chance of keeping her secret after today. If Selwyn was an honorable person, willing to protect her privacy, he would also feel obligated to inform his girlfriend. Andrea would certainly not appreciate the situation. She might just be angry enough to humiliate Tara on Facebook. If Selwyn were not an honorable person, her secrets would be out anyway.
"You're thinking pretty hard about something," Selwyn said. "Anything I can help you with?"
She turned away from him, blushing furiously as she picked up her backpack and unpacked it, removing her own laptop of her own, and a tangle of wires and equipment. "I need to set this stuff up. Can I use that desk?"
"Go for it," Selwyn agreed. "Just push that other junk out of the way. What's up?"
Tara had no choice but to tell him. "I'm a webcam model," she admitted. "I sit in front of my camera and guys pay me to take off my clothes and talk dirty."
"Why do you carry the stuff around in your backpack?"
"Guys love risky voyeur shows," Tara explained. "I go to the campus library or a café. With the lockdown, I thought I could do an outdoor show out by the fountain on the main campus. There's nobody around. It would have been perfect."
"And now you expect to do this here? In my grandparents' house?"
"It isn't my choice to be here!" Tara snapped. "And I don't have any choice in putting on my show either. I made a promise to my fans and I need the money."
"You have fans? You mean sleazy guys in basements waiting to jerk off?"
"Maybe. I don't really know. They can see me, but I don't see them. But I could never afford to go to this university if not for those sleazy guys."
"So, you're just gonna do this in front of me?" Selwyn asked.
"I have no choice. If you don't get in my way, you get a free show. Maybe you shouldn't tell Andrea, though."
