Best friends, lovers, soul mates... twins. Ella and her brother Evan have been pursuing their hidden relationship for over half a year now, and in most ways it is going wonderfully. But in the summer of 2020 COVID-19 has thrown the world into confusion, and with University done for the summer - and their protective parents wanting them to be as safe as possible - the twins have been home for weeks now. With their lives on hold, and an uncertain future, freezing them in place can the young lovers handle the new constraints to their love?
* * * * *
-Rebecca-
"Are the kids up?" Scott asked me as he gathered his things in the kitchen before heading out to the car, and work.
I snorted loudly; the only answer necessary to his question. Naturally, he knew the odds of either of them being awake before 8:00 in the morning was almost zero since school was done and neither had jobs this summer. Well, assuming they didn't stay up all night partying I suppose.
Scott chuckled to himself, gathering up his keys and the travel mug of coffee I had made him. I was scrolling through the news on my tablet at the kitchen, reading about the state of the world. Not a lot of good news anywhere, from what I could see. Certainly not in late June of 2020, a truly cursed year - and it was only half over!
"So, no plans except work today?" I asked, casually. He wasn't fooled one bit. We'd been married almost 21 years by that summer, and he knew what I was really asking.
He smiled warmly and paused to face me, "Just straight to work, where I will respect social distancing with the small handful of people we still have on site. And after work I will come straight home, well other than my appointment to go hug strangers at the park for an hour." We've been much better at talking honestly with each other since Valentine's Day, but Scott's innate sarcastic streak hasn't diminished now that we are getting along so well again. Sadly.
With the long-suffering sigh of wives everywhere (even ones with shall we say less than conventional marriages), I gave a fake chuckle and said, "Very funny. If you get exposed to Covid-19 I'll buy a dog house for the back yard just for you to sleep in. You won't even get the garage."
Taking a sip of his coffee, Scott nodded, "Becky I know you're justifiably worried about this. And you're right to be, I am too. But BC has been trending in a positive direction since the middle of May, and now it's almost July."
I couldn't help but frown, "Yes, and the complacency is bothering me. I saw so many people without masks last time I went shopping. And the parks are just crammed with idiots as soon as the sun is out. I haven't been able to see my Mother in months, and they're all out there in big groups chatting like nothing has changed and complaining that the bars aren't open yet!"
Scott came over and hugged me, "I know honey. But most people are doing things to help limit the spread, and we are too. But I got to go now, but I promise I'm very careful when I'm at work. You know I have a big office to myself and I'm in there by myself, and I wear my mask when I'm in public."
He looked down and saw my tablet, then tapped the screen and said, "Maybe if you didn't spend so much time reading the worst news from places that aren't as lucky or careful as we've been here in Vancouver it'll help?"
I hated to admit it, but he had a point. When the novel coronavirus first was detected in Canada it was our hometown of Vancouver that got the first bad outbreak in February and March. It had been a frankly terrifying few weeks, and even when the city, province and country more or less got things back under control I still worried. My parents are older now, and my sister suffered from asthma growing up and I haven't been able to visit any of them for months and between them and my children I can't help but check the Covid news daily. Or several times a day. Yes, I know it's not good for my mood or my anxiety levels.
Closing the news app, I pulled up the book app to the sappy romance novel I was reading and leaned into Scott's embrace. "Ok ok, you win. I know you're careful and I know as a family we are very fortunate. You can control your work environment, I can work from home entirely, and the kids are back home for the summer."
"Exactly. Bye, Becky."
"Have a good day Scott," I replied and he left for work downtown.
I spent a bit of time tidying up before going to work, which for the past few months for me has simply meant I went to the home office we have in the basement. The room is cozy enough, but I do wish the room was on the second floor. The office has too much of a dungeon feel for me, I prefer having more natural light in the room when I'm working. Still, it's a nice enough room, and I have the space to have my work laptop setup in a semi-permanent fashion on the large desk with a large monitor and mouse and keyboard that Evan was kind enough to help me with.
Logging onto the laptop, then the VPN to work, I started in on the day, checking emails and having a short meeting over videoconference. I work for the municipality of West Vancouver, so I won't bore you with the details of my day-to-day work life. It's a typical office job for the government, and one I enjoy doing honestly. And having a job in these times that I can do remotely is, as I've said, a truly fortunate thing.
A few hours later I went back upstairs to have an early lunch and while in the kitchen heard what sounded like a large boar or maybe a wounded elk falling down the stairs. I smiled to myself as Evan, in shorts and a tshirt, his eyes half closed with sleep and hair tussled adorably, stumbled into the room and headed for the cabinet to grab a mug. For such an athletic young man he sure clomps down the steps like a marching band even when he's not half asleep.
"Hi Mom," he said, giving me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. I beamed, as I do every time, in sheer joy at his thoughtfulness. Evan is maybe an inch over 6 feet tall, with thick brown hair and the sort of warm brown eyes that melted hearts since he was a baby. His small waist and broad shoulders hint at his love of sports growing up, and his kind disposition makes me so proud as his mother that I could burst. Now he's almost 20 years old, and every time I look at him I see the quiet, shy boy he used to be and the wonderful man he's becoming. And, very handsome. And no that's not just me talking as his mother!
"And good morning to you to, and here we are before noon!" I was happy to see him, and thrilled he and his sister were home for the summer, but that doesn't mean I can't make little digs about their indulgent lifestyles.
"I was up a little late last night, playing videogames with my buddies," he said. "Then we moved from Discord to Zoom to catch up and I lost track of time."
Honestly, I'm not sure what he meant but I know that Zoom is the videochatting app so I assume he had a call with his friends. "Sounds fun honey, I'm glad you're keeping in touch with your friends... remotely."
Much like his father, Evan was not fooled. "I know Mom, I'm not sneaking out to go party with dozens of people in some tiny enclosed space. We both keep our outside interactions limited to the outdoors and we're as safe as possible."