This Is Ourselves..

pt. one

Though the New York governor shut down the city, well the whole entire state, people still found joy in each other — families reconnected, strangers became neighbors, small businesses grew week by week.
The streets may have been eerily quiet, it didn't stop regulars going to get their daily morning over priced coffee and bagels.

While others went to Starbucks, Julia enjoyed the simplicity in life. She loved the home feeling of Queens Coffee in NYC. She loved it yes because of her love for Queen, but also of the employees who all knew her order before she walked in the door plus their tiny hometown feel in the middle of the city that never slept.

Though Julia loved her weekly morning walks down to Queens Coffee, she for one reason didn't feel right to get out one morning.

A dreary day it was and Julia wasn't herself. She sat in her bay window watching the rain drops race down, trying to snap herself out of this funk.
The hot chocolate wasn't cutting it; nothing was. She grabbed her phone and perceived to open her email, which we rarely did. Julia noticed an unfamiliar, unopened one addressed to her directly.
With her surprise, it was Joe Mazzello, aka John Deacon in Bohemian Rhapsody.
'Why the hell would he email me???'
Julia thought every wrong situation of why this brilliantly talented actor email a random nobody young women in New York.
She then decided to be brave and reply back.

The conversation lasted a while longer than Julia would even imagine.
Julia agreed to meet face to face, cause, they each had nothing to do. Though everyone who wasn't a news anchor or the governor, or even the president suggested not to hang with people — Julia, being the rule breaker she was, walked with an extra pep in step on the way to her beloved coffee shop. She couldn't believe Joe knew where it was.

Julia sat anxiously waiting for what she hoped to be Joe coming down the street there soon. It wasn't like he was stuck in traffic- Julia was worried if she had gotten pranked. Eyes glued to the door, Julia sipped on her coffee as it trembled in her hands. Moments before she would give up, in walked the cutest red head that stopped her mid sip.

"Julia! Hey there!" Joe excitingly announced.

"Wow, Joe... I was just about to walk out.."

"Glad you didn't!" Joe ordered some coffee and the two chatted.

"Can I just start out with how much I love your poetry?!" Joe exclaimed, slowly sipping his coffee.

"Oh yeah.. wait where did you find my work?" Julia, being the chromic over thinker she was thought the worst..

Joe pointed up at the wall behind Julia's head, which hung a framed piece of her earlier works.

"See, there!" Joe sipped more coffee, seeing the relief coming off of Julia's face. "I came in here a few times before and I'd just stare in awe."

"You're too kind. But. . that's an early piece.. I was in a dark place then..."

Julia and Joe bonded over poetry and coffee and films and life. She was happy once again.

Joe reached out for Julia's hand, grabbed it and smiled.

"You're beautifully minded, Julia. You're rare, classic."

Julia blushed, with nothing clever to respond with.

"Would you want to come back to my place?" Julia bravely asked, "I have board games and Netflix and cookies that need to be eaten."

"That sounds lovely." Joe smiled.

The two new friends headed out those three blocks to Julia's apartment in a down pour.
Joe and Julia, both being awkward at small talk, tried to start a conversation about ... anything.

Both would make small eye contact and giggle that they were literally the only ones out in the locked down city as they ran in the middle of the streets with Joe's rain coat covered both their heads the best it could.

As they approached the apartment with the old cobbled stone steps, Joe guides Julia up under the little cover above her door and held her close.

"I don't know what it is, but I.. I really like you, Julia." Joe excitingly expressed, placing a hand on Julia's chin- lifting it slightly.

Julia couldn't believe all that was happening - all of it happening so fast.

"I .. I really like you too, Joe." Julia lended in for her first kiss with Joe.

Julia never moved that fast in a relationship, especially the very early stages. But this one didn't seem uncomfortable or weird.
She felt warm; safe. Like she was in the right arms.

Joe and Julia head on inside to a dryer place.

The two new now love birds project on something brand new. They embraced themselves in countless board games, cookies and small flirtations towards one another as re runs of Friends faded in and out of the background.