Love Under Lockdown

Chapter 3

David had to confess his disappointment as he peeked out the window near his work desk. There had been no more packages of fresh bread. His neighbor seemed to have changed her mind about the bread baking business. While he would not miss the cars parked outside at o 'dark thirty for the past three days, he was out of bread. He had consumed the last two rolls from the batch she had given him with his one AM dinner. It was now eight in the morning, but he was too tired to make breakfast before heading off to bed. He was hungry. A couple of those rolls would have done the trick.

His internal clock was all screwed up, but it had been that way for the past seven years since he began his own software development business. His working hours were hell on relationships and so he had ended his last on again off again friends-with-benefits deal before moving to Montserrat. Not that he had been looking, but no woman had intrigued him enough before his neighbor, Andrea.

He had given in on his last coffee break and googled her. She ran a virtual travel agency, and he figured the bread baking was a desperate measure to make some money, given that the tourism sector had taken a hit globally. He had been asked to defer bills for three large clients in Australia and two in Vietnam. The pandemic had businesses small and great scrambling for a way to survive. He wondered how she was fearing. What could he do to help her?

He picked up the note she had sent with the bread and read it again. He knew it by heart but that did not stop him from reading it more times than he cared to count. He should say thank you. But how? There was no number on the note. He wasn't supposed to go over there.

He decided to resurrect his Instagram page and send her a message. As he searched for her account, he discovered there were two. He decided to message her business page to keep things more formal. He thanked her for the bread and wondered if there was any way she could still drop off bread every two days, which he was happy to pay for.

David sat there staring at the blank inbox for the ten minutes before a yawn took over. He shook his head at his folly. He needed to go to bed.

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The powers that be had rejected her application for a catering permit. She would need a health certificate and that office would be closed for the foreseeable future. Andrea had been holding out hope that it would come through. Catering and delivering food would have been easier to handle than the only option she was left with; turning on the camera and going live to teach classes.

Ryan was down for his afternoon nap and she figured it was a good time to design flyers and plan out the live cooking class. Her Instagram inbox was flashing with a message. It was from an account that she did not recognize but it had just followed her.

"O M gee!" she said out loud. It was from her neighbor, David.

The message was very formal, and she wondered if he ever smiled or knew how to have fun. He wanted more bread. She could do that without breaking the law she supposed. Drop it off on his doorstep as she had done a few days before. She thanked him for the offer and agreed that he would have a fresh batch of bread in the morning.

The message remained unread. Scrolling his feed, she realized he was a software engineer and wondered if that was why he was usually only up at night. It probably meant he was sleeping even now. Just in case, she peeked out the window but there was no movement on his side.

Moving back to her desk, she focused on designing a few Instagram stories and a newsletter inviting fans to join her class. She considered going live for a few minutes, but she was too nervous.

Do a live video.

The notification of a message from her sister popped up.

She shook her head as if her sister could see her.