Quarantine Romance: Multicultural Romance During a Pandemic Read online

  “I found this really cool Thai restaurant on the way home. Figured you could use a break from cooking.” He handed me one dish.

  The whole fish, head and tail included, lay covered in sauce. Around it sat tiny fried treats filled with vegetables. The cake stayed in the bag.

  “It looks delicious, thank you. I don’t mind cooking, though. It saves us money.”

  Matt fed me a piece of his fish. “We’ll be fine. This house is cheap. Besides, my Federal unemployment went through today.”

  “I still didn’t get either one and my stimulus check almost ran out. If those masks don’t sell soon, I’m screwed.”

  “They’ll sell. And even if they don’t, it’ll be fine. You got me, right?”

  “I don’t want to mooch off you.”

  “I know.” He put the little fried cup with vegetables to my lips. “If I thought you were a moocher, we wouldn’t be here together.”

  Something a whole lot like love tried to burn its way out of my chest. This was not a good time for any of that.

  “Are you feeding me your food, so you’ll have more space left for that cake?” I asked.

  Matt smirked. “You saw that, huh?”

  “Of course. I haven’t had a cake in ages.”

  Matt put the fish away and pulled out the one container I had been eyeing from the start. He fed me a forkful of moist, sweet cake, then gave me a kiss. His scent mixed with the chocolate. His hands pulled me closer. The world around us shrunk, becoming a tiny bubble for two.

  I pulled away enough to get some air. “Oh, god. I think I love you.”

  Matt’s eyes blazed as he pulled me back to him. His hands did all the talking, gliding gently but firmly over my body as he kissed my neck, shoulder, chest. Needing more, I pulled up his shirt to explore taught muscles.

  In one swoop, Matt took my dress off. “Damn, you’re gorgeous.”

  I trailed kisses from his shoulders down to his pecs. “You too.”

  “No, I’m not. I’m manly. Gorgeous is too girly.”

  I laughed, then shut him up by pressing my lips to his.

  Chapter 20

  Matt

  THE SUMMER BREEZE TICKLED my sweat-covered skin and played in Zamira’s hair. She really was gorgeous, especially now, with her makeup smeared, her lips swollen, and grass framing her face.

  “Look, we have guests.” Zamira pointed at the family of swans. “I don’t understand how anyone could call them ugly.”

  “If you expect a tiny yellow thing, you’re not gonna like a greyish one. Remember that painting we saw that you didn’t like because the woman had a muscular back?”

  “I never said I didn’t like it.” Zamira turned a delicious shade of pink and stared at her hands.

  I hummed in agreement. Those exact words were never used, not that they had to be. “You hated it. The expectation changes how you perceive things.” I gave her a quick kiss. “Glad you didn’t expect me to be creepy.”

  “Only because I like you, remember?”

  “I’m deeply wounded,” I joked. “You said you love me or was it just to get into my pants?”

  She snuggled closer, her bare skin pressed against mine. Our arms and legs intertwined.

  “I don’t know what I feel sometimes. One minute it’s all clear, the next, everything gets numb. Probably should’ve stayed quiet, but you were so sweet that it boiled over.”

  “I’ll take it.” Kinda made my day.

  “It’s just confusing sometimes. I’m not taking it back, though.” Zamira kissed my chest.

  “Renting this house was the best decision I ever made,” I said.

  Zamira burst into peals of laughter. “You must’ve made some really bad decisions if this is the best one.”

  I smiled, watching her face shine with joy. How did I manage to fall for her so fast and so deep?

  My phone rang, pulling me out of my thoughts. Of course, someone had to ruin the perfect moment.

  I checked the number, then answered. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Hi, Matty.” Her voice came out all wrong.

  “What happened? Are you and Dad okay?”

  “Yes. Well, he will be okay. Just a little sick, but I’m sure they’ll fix him up.”

  They? The heavy darkness swirled in my stomach.

  “He’s in the hospital?”

  “Yes. He had a hard time breathing, but they didn’t even put him on the ventilator, so I’m sure it’ll be alright.”

  “Who did you two come in contact with?” Stupid question. I knew who. “Jake?”

  “Well, yes, but he wasn’t sick. I’m sure it was from going food shopping.”

  Zamira put a comforting hand on my thigh. I squeezed it to thank her.

  “What are the doctors saying?”

  “Not much. We just have to wait and see. He’ll be alright, though, I can feel it.”

  “I hope so,” I mumbled. What else could go wrong? “Keep me updated, okay?”

  “Of course.”

  I hung up and turned to Zamira. “My Dad caught it. His heart is shit.”

  “Don’t bury him before his time,” Zamira answered. “It doesn’t mean he won’t make it.”

  Everyone is such a fucking optimist. “What if he doesn’t, though? They don’t even let people attend funerals. And what if my mom got it too? She didn’t sound right.”

  “What ifs aren’t going to help you or your father. Don’t go there.”

  I got up and put my clothes back on. “I gotta clear my head. Be back soon.”

  With my keys still in my pocket, I headed for the car. Just a drive. Nothing more. No public places, that’s for sure.

  The engine purred to life and took me down the dirt road, then onto the highway. Houses appeared and disappeared. Trees passed by. Farm fields. Animals. Finally, I got to the nearest town.

  Everything looked so… normal. Like the world didn’t turn upside down. A couple of families worked on their house, a few more played in their yard. So idyllic.

  A man sat in front of the house on my right, his hands working on a block of wood. Decorations surrounded him. Some looked stranger than others, but a clown’s legs sticking up and the broom protruding from his ass beat everything else.

  I parked the car, put my mask on, and came to the guy. “Are you selling these?”

  “Yeah. As soon as flea markets open up again. This lockdown left me with no way to sell.”

  “How much is the clown?” I pointed at the sculpture.

  “A hundred.”

  I checked my wallet. No cash. “You wouldn’t have a way to accept credit by chance, would you?”

  “I would.” He got up, holding his knees as if they would fall apart otherwise.

  A Halloween decoration. In the middle of the summer. My brain must’ve turned to mush, but it seemed like the right way to honor my dad.

  The man ducked into his house and returned with the portable card reader. I swiped mine through it, and it spit out the receipt. I took the decoration and returned to the car.

  What was I doing? He wasn’t dead yet. He might pull through. Would it be possible to at least talk to him?

  I looked at my phone. Notifications popped up on my screen. Three messages on Discord, all of them from Tom

  TomJ: Have you heard about the covid party?

  TomJ: A bunch of people from our college got together to celebrate the lockdown.

  TomJ: Your brother was there.

  I shut the phone off. Jake wasn’t even going to college. What the hell was wrong with him? Did he want our parents dead?

  Wasn’t gonna happen. Dad could pull through. Right? Maybe?

  I dialed my dad’s phone and waited. Nothing. Maybe he didn’t take it with him. But why wouldn’t Mom answer it?

  Didn’t mean anything. It was probably lost somewhere in the pile of newspapers. No point in panicking over nothing. I just needed to go home to Zamira.

  Chapter 21

  Zamira

  I STARED AT THE LIVING R
OOM window, waiting for the minutes to crawl by. Matt would be fine. Wouldn’t he?

  Worrying wasn’t helping either of us. I needed to do something to keep my mind busy. Anything. Maybe I could promote the masks, but where?

  My phone stared at me. Matt hadn’t called or texted yet, and it had been more than an hour. Discord kept flashing with new messages.

  I opened the app and found Matt’s announcement in the apocalypse server about my masks. A couple of private messages asked about custom designs and foggy glasses. I replied, then checked my listings. Three masks sold. Thank God.

  Matt was an angel. No idea what I would’ve done without him. Not that this meant that sales would keep coming, but I might at least get a couple of reviews.

  The door swung open, and the best boyfriend in the world walked in. He managed a smile. “Come out here. I wanna show you something.”

  “How’re you doing?” I asked as I walked up to him.

  “Better, now that I have this.”

  First, the giant plushy. Now that thing. I got closer to the Halloween decoration. It groaned, and the broom began to turn. Technically, it was only the clown’s legs, but the broom’s placement…

  “This right here is the real reason you never have money to travel. Why would you get a dead clown?”

  Matt gave me the most innocent of shrugs. “It’s not just a dead clown. It’s a dead clown with a stick up his ass.”

  “You’re crazy. You know that, right?” I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Maybe. My dad loves Halloween. He’d start decorating in the summer if my mom let him.”

  I hugged him, not sure what to say. “Any news?”

  “Just that my brother went to some college party, even though he doesn’t go to college. I don’t get him. The guy has a good job, but he still keeps stealing from our parents. He never grew out of partying, even though he’s pushing thirty. I mean, I do too, but only at art shows and not during a pandemic. And then he still goes to visit my parents.”

  “Maybe he has impulse control issues.”

  “Maybe.” He glanced at the clown, then lifted a bag. “Let’s go in. I ruined our picnic, but I got us something to make up for it.”

  “You didn’t ruin it. It’s not like you wanted your dad to get sick. Besides, you already made my day.” I showed him my eBay account.

  “Good.” He gave me a kiss, then pulled me inside.

  “It’s strange. If I were still in New York, I’d be panicking because I made so little on the first day. Instead, I’m thinking that I made a quarter of this month’s rent.” I took out plates, so we wouldn’t eat out of containers.

  “Yeah, cheap housing is the bomb. I’m just happy to have you here, though.” He made us both tea. “While I was driving back, I was thinking that it’s good not to come to an empty house. The fact that it’s specifically you is a cherry on top.”

  “Flattery will get you nowhere.” I grinned ear to ear. “But keep at it.”

  Matt put the food on the plates. Greek this time. I skipped the Moussaka and went straight for the grilled meat.

  “I gotta introduce you to my parents when this pandemic thing is over,” Matt said. “My dad is gonna love you.”

  “I’d introduce you to my parents too, but I prefer you alive,” I said. “I mean…” Why did I have to go ahead and say that? He wasn’t going to take it the wrong way, right?

  “Yeah.” He sighed. “Come here.”

  I sat on his lap and put my forehead to his. Words jumbled in my mind. “I want to say that everything is going to be alright and that the doctors will help…”

  “But you don’t know if it’s gonna be a lie,” he finished for me. “Thank you. It actually feels better to hear a more realistic view. Not that I don’t want to have hope, but I feel like people brush my concern aside when they say it’s gonna be okay.”

  “Do you want to watch a movie? Maybe a little distraction will help.”

  He opened his mouth, then closed it, frowning. “I can’t think of anything that isn’t horror or sci-fi.”

  He had enough of both in real life. What could we watch then?

  “How do you feel about subtitles?”

  “Usually more accurate than dubbing. Why? What devious plan are you hatching?”

  I pulled him up to his feet and dragged him back to the living room. This house did have one good thing besides the price. A giant TV that we could watch YouTube on. And I happened to have found a great channel with all the best movies.

  “It’s a Rom-com,” I warned.

  “Such an unexpected twist,” he deadpanned.

  “It’s Soviet. An office romance with the best fight scenes. Just hilarious, in general. You’ll love it.”

  He pulled me closer. “I don’t doubt it.”

  He’d better love it. Everyone else does.

  “It’s a classic,” I said just in case.

  He hummed as the first scene began, showing people rushing to work. “When was it made?”

  “I don’t know. Seventies, eighties. Something like that.”

  “Meany? Really? That’s the best nickname they could come up with for their boss?”

  I frowned at the English subtitles. “That’s a mistranslation. They call her Mimra. It’s a mythological undead woman known for being evil and ugly.”

  “I take that back. That’s a fucked up nickname. She’s going to be the girl, right? As she falls in love, she’ll start wearing makeup, nicer clothes, get a normal haircut, the works.”

  I glared at him. “This movie was made in the sixties or something. You can’t call it a cliche if the cliche didn’t exist yet.”

  “I didn’t say it.” He turned his attention to the screen for a whole minute. “Oh, wait. I didn’t realize his best friend is a woman. She’s gonna be the one, right? And the boss lady will be the villain.”

  “Just keep watching. I think she’s married.”

  “The boss? The narrator just said she’s the first to come to work and the last to leave, so she is obviously single.”

  “The friend. There’s another subplot with her and the other friend.” I needed to shut up before I gave away the whole story.

  Now that all the characters were introduced, the main plot started. I smiled at the protagonist’s awkwardness, then rudeness, as he attempted and failed to woo the boss. The apology the next day. The first glimpses of romance. The first part flew by before I knew it.

  “She didn’t change her looks, and they didn’t break up,” Matt said as the movie ended. “And his friend needs to remember that she’s married.”

  “There’s part two.” I hit the play button and started it. The movie looked very different now that I got older. The friend really did need a reminder.

  Chapter 22

  Matt

  KEEPING MY MIND OCCUPIED wasn’t easy. Working on the game helped but only a little.

  A small bag of fish food in hand, I went to the pond. The little burgers I had gotten were growing, and the place looked nice now. I sat on the wooden bench, watching the sunlight play on the surface of the water.

  My phone burned a hole in my pocket. Unfortunately, it wasn’t gonna disappear, along with the rest of the world. Might as well get it over with.

  Two rings. Three. Four.

  “Hi, Matty. How are you?” My mom sounded better this time, her voice as clear as always.

  “Good. How are you?”

  “You know, the usual.”

  Bad? Why couldn’t she just say it?

  “How is Dad?”

  “Wonderful. I told you he’d make it. They’re thinking about discharging him tomorrow.”

  Thank God. “Have you heard from Jake?”

  Silence.

  “Mom? What’s wrong?”

  “I guess Jake wanted to get away from things. Self-isolate. He rented a cabin upstate.”

  I shut my eyes, knowing exactly what that meant. “Can you make your mortgage payments?”

  “Yes. Almost. But t
hat’s alright because we have that extension we can use.”

  Numbers danced in my head. My unemployment was more than enough to pay for everything I needed here, but my parents’ mortgage was three grand a month. I couldn’t bail them out this time. Not unless those board games sold like crazy.

  “I don’t know if I can help you this time. I don’t have any paying gigs.” What if I drew some generic things that could be used for multiple games, then spliced them together? I could make a bunch of boards really fast, as long as someone wrote the actual game. Hit the market from multiple angles. Granted, I’d have to do a lot of research to see what sells, so I don’t blow every single one of them.

  “It’s alright. Your dad called the bank and reported it as theft.”

  “Did he call the police?” Why was I even asking?

  “Not yet. He’s considering it. It really upset him this time.”

  This time? “Please, Mom, report it to the police. He’s gonna leave you two homeless with this crap.”

  “We’ll be alright. Now, I need to make a cake for your dad. We’re celebrating his recovery tomorrow.”

  “Alright, Mom. Stay safe.”

  I hung up and took a deep breath of fresh air. At least he made it. If they lose the house, I could find them something small out here. Maybe nothing as cheap as this place but for way under a grand. They would get away from Jake, too. Maybe it would be for the best.

  Right. I needed to stop worrying. Something would come up. Besides, Zamira probably had our lunch ready. I’d better get my ass home before everything is cold.

  Two arms wrapped around me from the back. The smell hit me. The wrong smell. And the strands of hair that whipped into my face were blond.

  “Hey, my sexy little bear. I missed you.”

  Oh shit. That voice.

  Shaking off the momentary shock, I bolted upright, but Lauren held tight.

  “How did you even find me?” I had moved to another state, for God’s sake.

  “Your return address was on the package. Come on, didn’t you miss me?”