Covid Diaries: Love in the time of Covid

Day 11 - Isolation

Tracey's consulting job required her to travel to the US quite often. Being single, she had very little responsibility at home and loved the lifestyle her job allowed her to live. Her clients were often more engaged in person and she found a conversation face to face was much more valuable than over the phone. Her favorite airport was Chicago O'Hare. She loved sitting at the bar during a layover with a glass of Malbec and chatting with the travelers as they were killing time before their flights.

Most people would see the lifestyle as lonely and disconnected. It takes a unique individual to love the solo life of a traveler. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, she was left working from home full time. Her clients remained at a distance and she could no longer have in person conversations with them. Her job had changed overnight.

Her black Labrador, Max had her undivided attention. She looked down at his lap and his soulful eyes looked up at her. "Is it time for a walk yet?", she guessed he was asking. "Alright Max, let's go", grabbing a leash, Tracey put on her shoes. Max ran to the door and patiently waited. Walking outside, she checked her phone, it was 25 degrees Celsius. Smiling, Tracey put on her sunglasses.

She decided to take Max to the park nearby. As she crossed the street to approach the park, she noticed a grey van approaching fast towards her. It didn't show any signs of slowing down. Time slowed to a crawl, she bent down to pick up Max and began to run. Managing to just miss the vehicle, she turned around and yelled to the driver. The young male barely looked in her direction and sped down the street. Tracey grabbed her phone and took note of the license plate. Her heart was racing.

"It's ok Max, we're fine now", she held him tight against her chest, feeling fearful to put him down.

Reaching the park, she let Max off his leash and he started to run towards a large tree. Watching him play, Tracey tried to calm her nerves. She'd never seen the grey van before.

An hour later, Tracey put Max back on his leash and walked home. As she approached the street she'd seen the van she looked around carefully and picked up her pace. Once she reached home, she called a friend of hers to talk about the incident.

Carol answered on the first ring, "hi Tracey!"

"Carol, I almost got run over! I'm a little freaked out by it, it seemed like the van was headed right towards me."

"Oh no! It must have been some idiot not paying attention. I wouldn't think too much about it, grab a glass of wine and try to forget about it."

Something didn't sit right with Tracey but she decided to take her friend's advice and hung up the phone. Pouring a glass of wine, she thought of the drive that she had gotten a glimpse of. Had she seen him before? Settling into the couch, she took a sip of her wine. Max was nestled beside her, his head resting on his lap.

A light flashed past her window and across the ceiling. Tracey froze. Her neighbors were away visiting family.  She was alone. She walked towards the window and pushed the curtain an inch to see her doorway. There was a man standing there. She recognized him as the driver of the van. Her heart beating wildly, she moved back into the living room and called emergency response.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"There's someone at the door, it's the same individual who almost ran me over today", she whispered.

"We're sending someone over now, please stay on the phone."

Then, she heard the knock on the door. Tracey didn't know what to do. She stayed silent and waited. Her car was in the driveway, he must know she was home. What seemed like an hour passed, the police cruiser arrived. She could hear the officer speaking to the man.

"Police, please open the door."

Trace turned the lights on and opened the door.

"Sorry, I scared you, I was just coming over to apologize", the young man explained. "I live close by and didn't see you earlier when I was driving my van.  I saw you enter this house when I drove by."

The officer asked a few questions and left after the individual left. Tracey felt paranoid and silly for wasting the officer's time. She realized the quarantine had caused her to become isolated and fearful being alone. She called her friend, "Carol, can you come over? I know it's against quarantine rules."

"Of course, I'll be right over", Carol replied.