Page 13 of Locked Down In Watch Hill
I sat up in bed. I hadn’t expected her to agree, I had only really thrown that out as a sort of pseudo-joke, a line written in the small hours of the morning as part of online banter. But there she was, saying she wanted to help me.
Me: Really? Are you sure?
Ashley: Yep. I really don’t have much to do right now, since I’m mostly picking up freelance work while I try to figure out my next step and get a company to hire me on full-time. You know, looking for a job in the middle of a pandemic really sucks.
Me: I’ve heard
Ashley: Which is why I am totally okay with helping you do this if you would like me to do so. I have plenty of time and I honestly don’t need another series to binge. And if I do another Zoom happy hour, I’m going to explode.
Me: I hate those. Thank God, I’ve only been to one.
Ashley: One is enough. The most depressing part is when someone you are talking to is on mute and you end up interrupting them to get them to fix it. The whole thing ends up being awkward, like some horrible facsimile of real life, or what used to be real life.
Me: We’ll get back to that soon, I promise.
Leave it to me to be the optimist, even in times like these. It was a persona I adopted when I was a kid. My parents kept moving us around the country every two or three years while my dad searched for better jobs that he never landed. I decided then I’d be resilient and try to see the bright side of things, even though there often wasn’t one.
Me: The vaccine is almost here for all of us. That’s going to get us back to it.
Ashley: I hope so. I really do. In the meantime, though, I’m happy to whittle away the hours left in this blasted quarantine working on social media for the pizzeria. You can give me the Instagram account, if you want, and I’ll start there. Then, if you like it, I’ll add in the other platforms, though I have to say, I’m not as good at those as I am here.
Me: Sounds good. I like it.
I gave her the account log-in information, exchanged phone numbers, and we discussed a few more logistics about the number of posts and the type of vibe I wanted before we ended the conversation. Instead of continuing my endless doom-scrolling, I shut down the apps on my phone and hooked it back up to the charger. I felt lighter, and less weary. Despite the unending chaos around me, the business was thriving.
That was enough. It wasmorethan enough.
SIX
ASHLEY
Two more days.
Just two. I could do this. Two more and the quarantine would be over, I’d be back in the real world, and able to move around freely without any fear of making someone sick. It was fascinating—disheartening—how long it had taken for people to take social distancing and mask-wearing seriously, but it was amazing what a relief it was now that a majority did. It was as if people had finally let go of theyou do youmentality and adopted a more community-centered mindset. I’d even be able to see my parents again.
Two.
