The Quarantine Diary of Adam Garrett [mxm]

Day 14

Hi, Brad.

We did it. We went outside. The world isn't back to normal yet—far from it—but since we aren't symptomatic, we can leave the apartment again. So we went for a walk to the grocery store to buy some vegetables, and took a detour through the park to enjoy the spring breeze and weak sunshine.

The streets were eerily quiet. The cafés and restaurants and shops were all closed, which made my heart break. If the neighbourhood was as vibrant as normal, I would have been on top of the world, but holding your hand made me feel at least fifty percent happy. We gave everyone we passed a wide berth, but they gave us the universal Canadian awkward grimance.

The grocery store was unreal—arrows on the floor telling you where to walk, Karens glaring when you browse in an aisle for more than five seconds, and clear plastic barriers between the customers and the cashier. It's absolutely crazy. So crazy no one was even phased by the two of us holding hands, and I wasn't nervous at all. What is this world we live in? I remember a time when I was terrified to hold hands in public. Now there's something worse to be afraid of.

That's scary, but in a way, it's comforting. We can get through this. We'll beat this virus, sooner or later. And compared to a natural threat, fellow humans seem so much less fearsome. That's kind of nice.

We took a shortcut through the park on our way home and stood in the middle of the grass. The wind buffeted the trees around us, and the wind chimes on the nearest porches. It wasn't a beautiful day: it was gray and chilly, but we didn't care. We stood on the grass in the path of the wind and you grabbed my chin and kissed me. I forced myself to relax and accept it, which was no small task.

I shivered, in a good way.

You brought me home. Despite what's outside our doors, everything inside feels really good.

Can't really ask for more, can we?