"Okay, hear me out. We are stuck in the house with nothing to do, we could do something productive while we have time to kill."
"We wrote and released an entire album, Grace. What sounds more productive than that?"
Quarantine is driving them up the...
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"Checkmate."
Taylor looked up from her spot on the sofa, her engagement ring twirling around her finger as she was deep in thought. Grace's vocalization had interrupted that, she was feeling like a song was about to come along but not anymore.
"Sorry," Grace had forgotten that Taylor asked for a moment of silence. She was playing chess against herself again, it was depressing but she was winning.
"It's all good, I'm good," Taylor brushed it off and said, "Who won? You or other you?"
"Other me," Grace began to reset the board she had on the coffee table. She was a stretched out on the floor across from Taylor, waiting for her to be ready to play an actual round together.
"Hey, did you know that I love you?" Taylor asked. She'd been trying to make a point of reminding Grace a little more often, especially since they'd cancelled the wedding a few days prior. Now that May was in the near horizon, she was hoping the warm weather would brighten their spirits.
"Did you know that I love you more?" Grace smiled as she continued to reset the board, "Do you know what I think is interesting?"
"Tell me," Taylor hummed. There was something she found so entertaining about that little smirk on Grace's face when she told her she loved her more. Grace really believed that was the case, it was so funny to Taylor. Taylor obviously loved her more... according to Taylor.
"There is a perfectly good chess game being set up and you're still on that couch instead of playing with me," Grace said but as she did, she could see the lightbulb go off behind Taylor's eyes.
Taylor glanced at the chess board and then at Grace's face, "Do you think I could take a rain check? I got an idea and..."
"Go ahead," Grace chuckled softly and watched as Taylor left the room before she hung her head and sighed. She thought they were supposed to be bored together. While it was great that Taylor could still write while stuck in the house, all of Grace's work had been halted and stood still. There was nothing happening in that world.
Meredith hopped onto the sofa behind her and Grace looked at the cat with affection, pulling her towards her body to cuddle. At least someone still wanted to spend time with her.
Virtual Alcoholics Anonymous didn't have the same vibe to it. Grace used to walk down to the meeting most days, less frequently after she collected her second year chip. Now all she did was log into zoom and click an email link, every day. She needed it every single day again. Her sobriety felt more fragile by the day.
When it was her turn to speak, she upped the volume on her earphones a few clicks with the controls on the cord and said, "Hello, I'm Grace, alcoholic. Today... this week, really, has been hard. My wedding was cancelled because of current events and my fiancée is busy with work at the moment, so I've been feeling alone. I used to drink when I felt alone and was trapped in a house... so it's hard. I'm pushing through it, one day at a time. Thanks for listening."
