A Leap of Faith-a FREE to read COVID-19 love story (15+) COMPLETE

Venturing beyond the four walls

Sunday, 29 March, 2020

Articles in the newspapers and magazines warned us weird dreams were all-too common at the moment, all of us processing catastrophe as best as our beleaguered brains could.

My subconscious had picked up on what was going on around me, setting the dream I'd had early Sunday morning in a hospital. People in masks rushed past, pushing me out of the way. The unfamiliar setting didn't change the essence of the dream—a variation on a theme.

Mum and I shrieking at each other—me convinced my arguments were reasonable, and she was over-reacting, her promising me her reaction was justified, mild in fact compared to how much she wanted to scream at me, and then Tom appearing, dressed in his Post Office uniform and him turning to me, face twisted in disgust.

A full bladder tipped me from semi-consciousness to wakefulness and relief. I stumbled into the ensuite and a hot shower, water pounding against my head.

As I brushed my teeth, I tipped my head to one side to study the reflection in the mirror. Hideous dreams aside, I was what... blissfully, amazingly, head over heels happy? Screw Botox and fillers. The last few days had ironed out the wrinkles on my face and who needed whitening eyedrops when joy made my eyes sparkle of their own accord.

"Sophie?" Tom yelled, downstairs already. "Breakfast's up!"

The smell of bacon and toast floated upwards. Good grief. I'd already seen all those jokes circulating about working from home. What meeting will I go to first as soon as I get out of lockdown—Weight Watchers or AA? Or I'm self-isolating and busy fattening the curve.

Tomorrow, I would get out of bed at 4am when Tom got up and go for an hour-long run. On the other hand, all those self-imposed rules about food seemed so absurd I'd ditched them all. Two weeks of eating mind-blowingly delicious food did that to a girl.

What else did I love about my new life? Those sleepy morning goodbyes. Me jumping up the minute I heard Tom return early afternoon, and almost falling down the stairs as I raced down them to watch that strip tease. The two of us chatting and laughing in the kitchen as he cooked. Playing Minecraft and getting better at it. Cuddling up on the sofa to watch TV.

Our own little world. Safe and sound. No need to spoil it with pesky secrets, right?

Tom had switched on the coffee machine, which percolated in the kitchen. Heroic will power on his part, seeing as he still had two weeks to go until the dictates of the Catholic church permitted him to drink coffee once more. He turned to me and grinned, holding his arms out wide for a hug.

"No make-up," he said. "You look gorgeous!"

Men, eh? The no make-up look takes far longer than slapping the stuff on. Green corrector serum, BB cream and translucent powder, dark brown mascara and a light pink lip gloss. I accepted the hug. "What's for breakfast?"

"The works—bacon, eggs, sausages, fried bread, fried potatoes, baked beans and black pudding."

Two and a half thousand calories? More? I smiled. "Lovely. Did you sleep okay? Did you attend virtual mass?"

He poked the bacon and sausages in the pan, fat oozing out of them. I revised my calorie total upwards. "Yeah. I logged into the early mass first ting. Plenty of us in attendance. Even a few of the oldies. Father Michael was over the moon."

I hadn't heard a thing. Breakfast dished up, me shaking my head to the two of everything Tom suggested and making do with one, I asked him what he wanted to do for the day. Almost everything in the country had slapped closed signs on doors, windows and gates.