Lock Step - Love Under Lockdown

“It’s all right. I’m scared of this virus, too, if I’m being honest. Real talk now. My grandmother’s in the hospital.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I hope she pulls through. How is she?”

“She’s 88. It might be her time, but we’ll see,” she said blithely. “See why you have to live for every moment? I’ll catch you later, girl.”

“Okay. Be safe. Good luck to your grandma. Bye.”

I was almost back at the house when I spotted a guy in a mask walking his dog.

“Hey!” he objected. “You don’t have your mask on!”

“Oh, sorry,” I said. “I forgot it. I was walking by myself, with no one else around.”

“Cross the street, please,” he said, continuing to jog in place. “I don’t want to have to cross the street with my dog, and you’re the one who isn’t wearing a mask.”

I made an annoyed grunt and complied. Who was this guy? The sidewalk police?

“And you’d better get a mask!” he shouted. “What is wrong with you?”

Giving him an incredulous look, I headed back to the house. Guess I had to have a mask with me at all times. Although that guy didn’t have to be a jerk about it!

“Hey, Tracianne,” Dad greeted me when I got back home. “We need some stuff from the store. It’s your turn to go with Phil and make the run.”

“What? No. I don’t want to right now. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Now, Tracianne,” Dad insisted. “This is what we agreed to.”

Technically, I didn’t agree to anything. Dad would just make pronouncements and if you didn’t object right then you were deemed to have “agreed,” somehow. I thought about whining or crying my way out of it, but no— I had to be strong, like Diamond.

“Fine,” I griped. “But let me go alone. It’ll be faster.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Phil, walking into the room with his mask on. “This won’t take long, c’mon.”

I reached into a basket when I kept masks and got one out. Phil grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me outside. I pulled away.

“Hey! I can get into the car myself,” I objected. “You don’t get to pull me around like a lost child.”

“Sorry, just thought we’d better hurry before work is over. So we can beat the evening rush.”

We got into the car. Phil was driving.

“Work? Who is still working?” I asked, confused at his earlier comment.

“Well, there are a lot of essential business still open, but yeah, I guess you’re right. The majority of people are home. Still, getting there earlier might cut down on the crowd a little.”

We headed to the supermarket. The parking lot was overflowing with cars. There were so many people that there was a line to get in. Since people were social distancing, they would only let a certain amount of shopper into the store at once.

Phil had to park in the plaza next door, and we had to walk over. All the stores in the plaza were close.

“Weird. It’s like the end of the world,” noted Phil. “Almost like we’re in some kind of post-apocalyptic movie.”

“Did Dad give you a list of what we’re supposed to buy or something?”

“Yeah, I think he texted it to you, too.”

I looked at my phone. It was a long list of stuff.

“Jeez, how are we going to carry the groceries all the way back to the car?” I asked.

“Duh! Shopping cart,” said Phil.

“Duh! Phil!” I pointed.

The plaza and supermarket’s parking lot didn’t connect. In between was a berm full of flowers and shrubs.

“Okay-okay,” said Phil. “Here’s what we do. When we come out, we move the cart over there, I’ll move the car and we’ll pass the groceries over the bushes.”

“Let’s just go back. It’s getting really crowded and I don’t think it’s safe.”

“No way! We’re out of peanut butter.”

“Who cares, Phil! There are too many people here. Do you want to get Covid?”

“I’m not going back and I have the keys, so if you want to wait in the car, then do so. Although that will just make this whole thing take way longer.”

“Fine! Let’s just get this over with.”

God! He was insufferable! I didn’t ask for this and didn’t want to have to put up with it just because my dad married his mom. Phil wasn’t related to me. Not really, anyway. Why should I be stuck here with him like this?

We argued over some of the different brands in the store, but eventually I just gave up. I let him pick whatever he wanted, at least when it was available. The store was out of a lot of necessities. I could tell we were going to have to come back soon due to lack of supplies and I was even more motivated to end this trip as quickly as possible.

After waiting in a long, sectioned-off line for a half hour, following the instructions of where to stand and which way to walk so as to ensure sufficient social distancing, I just wanted to go home.