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googleitlol · 1 year

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My Beloved: Ch. 6

Surprise

Idc if this gif isn’t a lmk one it’s too perfect for the chapter and Toffee is an icon

Mei was practically vibrating as she told her friends of her plan. They stood together on the deck of Sandy's boat, huddled around the dragon descendent as she showed them the image on her phone. All of her companions were there, save for one.

"This is gonna be great, Mei! Lian will be so happy." MK beamed, energized by Mei's enthusiasm.

Pigsy and Tang shared a worried look. While they also agreed that the idea was great, it was the execution that concerned them. Ever since her visit to the Flaming Foundry, Lian had been put on edge. She explained to them what the Demon Bull Family had told her, that they were seemingly allies before she lost her memory.

She had no intention of taking the family's side, though the experience had left her uneasy. Mei's gift would definitely be a nice way to cheer her up, the only issue was the way Mei was presenting it...

"You sure you want this to be a surprise, Mei?" Pigsy crossed his arms. "You know how Lian gets when you try to hide things from her."

The girl crossed her arms. "Lian won't get here for another hour. She won't know if nobody tells her, MK." The Monkie Kid shrunk a bit under her gaze, chuckling nervously to himself.

Sandy frowned, looking between Mei and Pigsy. "Wait, why is it a bad idea to throw a surprise for Lian?"

"You know Lian, Sandy. She doesn't like surprises." Pigsy shook his head, looking down before pointing back at the girl. "And she'll know if you're throwing one so all this planning is just gonna be pointless!"

"How could she know?" Sandy turned to Tang, who was in the midst of cleaning his glasses.

"She always knows." Tang sighed as he put them back on. The group looked between one another, then looked out to the docks and surrounding area. "Why don't we take this talk in the elevator? We know Lian won't go in there with how small it is."

~~~~

Damn it, they're getting smarter.

I knew something was off today. During breakfast earlier this morning, MK was texting Mei when he began fidgeting. His leg started bobbing up and down, a tell that he was getting excited over something. If it wasn't a secret, he would've outright shared whatever the news was with me.

They were hiding something, so I would have to get to the bottom of it. Before he had left, I told MK I had some errands to run and wouldn't be able to hang out much so I could tag him without suspicion. Part of me felt bad for snooping, but I couldn't help it!

It wasn't like I didn't trust MK or anything, I loved the kid. What bothered me was not knowing whatever he and Mei were trying to hide. After all, what if they didn't realize what they were hiding could be a devastating secret that might tear apart our relationship, should it continue to be kept a secret.

Was it a paranoid idea to have? Yes. Would that stop me? No.

I couldn't do nothing, I physically couldn't. If I knew something was up, that awful aching in my chest would grow and burrow itself into my lungs and make each of my breaths shallow. It was like I could keel over from its pain. I had to get to the bottom of this, for peace of mind.

After a little while, the group came back out of the elevator, Mei whistled for her motorbike that zoomed down the docks to meet her at the boat. Waving goodbye to the others, she took off. If I wanted to figure out what was going on with the group, I'd have to go to the source.

Following her on the Find My Friends app MK, Mei and I shared, I noticed she was going to our workshop. It had been a while since I visited the building, what could she be doing there?

I still remembered when I first invited her into the workshop. It was back when her and MK were still in school. I was fixing up the delivery cart and she approached with a bolt I hadn't realized I dropped.

She seemed interested in my work. The girl offered to help me by passing the tools I needed, which then turned into me explaining what I was doing as she became curious on how I was able to fix the old engine of the cart.

That curiosity led to me showing her my workshop where I kept all my more interesting vehicles. The way her eyes lit up was still crystal clear in my mind, that look of wonder told me what I needed to know about her, she'd love mechanics.

So I offered to show her a few things, the basics with some tips and tricks. I even helped her build the bike she used today. The way her face lit up when she revved it's engine that first time, I was glad she found something she could be so passionate about.

It didn't take much longer before I approached the large garage door of the workshop, which was closed. Mei usually worked with it open. Going around to the door proved to be pointless as it was locked. Very suspicious.

My keys for the workshop were at home so I knocked on the door. "Mei, it's Lian. I know you're in there." At the sound of my voice, I heard a yelp followed by several crashes and metal scratching.

The door yanked open, Mei stepping out with a grin before closing the door behind her. "Lian! What're you doing here? I thought you had stuff to do."

"Let's cut to the chase, Mei-Mei." I smiled, her face dropping as I did. "I know you're hiding something."

The girl glanced away. "Dang it, MK." She grumbled, making me stifle a laugh.

"Don't blame the boy, he's not at fault for my powers of deduction." I crossed my arms as I spoke. "But you should know that unless you tell me what's going on, I will get to the bottom of it myself."

Mei furrowed her brows at my words, her stare softening before letting out a sigh. "Fine. I'm planning a surprise for you, okay?"

"Yes?" I leaned forward a bit, waiting for her to continue the sentence.

She laughed as I awaited her continuation. "I'm not telling you what it is! That'd ruin the surprise."

I frowned. "Come on, Mei! You know how I feel about surprises." I groaned, though the girl just rolled her eyes.

"It's a good one, I promise." She put a hand over her heart and rested her other on my shoulder. Despite her assurance, it couldn't stop the twisting of my chest as the ache intensified.

Mei noticed my frown and sighed. "Please, Lian, let me do this for you. Just this once." Her eyes were pleading, and I felt my heart being torn two separate directions. I know Mei, she wouldn't do something like this if it was bad. But the other half of my heart refused to listen to rational thought. There were too many 'what if's.

"... Fine. I'll let it go for now." Mei's grin stretched wide at my words, and she engulfed me in a tight hug. I could barely breathe with how tight the hug was.

She squealed a little as she let go. "Thank you! I promise, you're going to love it. Just sit back and relax, I'll get you once everything's ready."

"Relax... I will bring you once everything's ready."

The ache gripped onto my heart, crushing it under a pressure so intense I had to fight to keep myself standing. I did my best to conceal the sharp intake of breath I took with a crooked smile. I nodded to my friend. "Sounds... sounds good."

"I'll see you in a bit, okay?" The girl wrapped me in a hug before running back into the workshop. I stood there for a moment, unable to move.

This was okay. This was fine. All I have to do is wait. I can wait until whatever Mei is doing... is ready. Super easy. Really easy.

...I need some tea.

Turning on my heel, I began to walk back to my apartment. Sandy let me keep some of his anti-stress tea at home now, there were some times I'd need it at ungodly hours of the night, so to prevent anymore late night withdrawals, he gave me a box of his special brew.

When I got back, MK had taken the cart out to make some deliveries. Pigsy was working back in the kitchen while Tang was scarfing down a bowl of noodles. I quickly nodded to the scholar. "Hi, Tang. Bye, Tang."

The man barely had time to say a word before I headed up to the apartment. Switching on the kettle, I scrambled to find the box and a clean mug. The ache was persistent, beating like a drum that vibrated in my chest and through my entire being.

"This is fine. Yup, all good." I smiled to myself, closing my eyes and taking in deep breaths to stop the pang from growing. Something banged against the door and I jumped with a yelp, unprepared for the noise and dropping the mug.

It shattered on impact with the ground, making my skin prickle at the sound as I cussed under my breath. I tried my best not to scream out in frustration. "Lian?" Tang's voice was on the other side of the door. "Are you okay in there?" I shook my head, as if to release these bundles and tangles of anxiously-charged energies building up in my body.

"Just a second!" I called back, rushing for the broom to sweep up the mess. Once it was clean and I felt ready enough, I opened the door with a smile. "Hey, Tang. Is everything okay?"

The man looked at me with a frown, looking over me with concern. "Are you?" I felt my eye twitch at the question, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"We should sit." Tang sighed, and I let him in right as the kettle began to whistle. The scholar blinked a little as he looked around the apartment. MK and I weren't the most organized people, that was obvious to anyone. However, more recently I may have been letting the apartment get a bit too messy.

Ignoring the mess, Tang moved towards the kettle. "Sit, I'll pour the tea for you." I nodded, not wanting to speak in case my voice decided to fail me. Why was I such a ball of nerves?

My friend set the mug in front of me once I sat at the counter. Blowing on the drink gently, I took a sip. It's warmth entered my stomach and seeped into my skin. With a shudder, I closed my eyes and released a long breath. "Feel better?" I nodded, and Tang took off his glasses to clean them.

"Listen, I get you've been a little worried since that sleepover, but you really don't have to worry about Mei's surprise." He smiled, my eyes wandering over the counter as he spoke. "You always end up stressing yourself out over nothing."

I sighed, looking down at my tea. "I know, it's just hard."

"I can guarantee you'll feel better once you see it." I looked back up to see him smile, and I took a sip of my tea. The ache was slowing, growing faint.

Placing the mug back down, I sighed. "Okay, I'll drop it."

Tang nodded. "Good, now how about a free bowl for my services?"

I quickly helped Tang find the door.

I leaned against the apartment door, my arms crossed and fingers thrumming against my forearm. He was right, they were all right. I've heard it all before. It was just the paranoia, all I needed was to relax.

My eyes glanced to where MK and I kept our keys. My gaze fixed on a specific one. "Nope. I don't need it. I can just sit in here and relax. No need to go anywhere else today."

I chuckled, picking back up my tea mug and drinking some more. It was fading, but the ache was present. "Tang is right... he's right." My eyes fell back onto the set of keys. Tang is right.

I'll feel better once I see it.

~~~~

Mei was gone, the app showed that she was on her way back to Pigsy's so I just had to take a longer route to avoid bumping into her. She wouldn't even know I was there. In and out, easy.

My hands fumbled a bit as I unlocked the door, quickly scanning my surrounding area to make sure nobody could see me. As soon as I peeked at whatever this thing was, my stupid heart can stop trying to die and I'll finally be able to relax.

I made sure the door closed quietly behind me, even though I was the only one here, and quickly turned on the lights. It had really been quite some time since I was here. Mei kept things pretty well-organized. Our two work tables were side-by-side against the far wall, hers had some blueprints for something scribbled on there. The wall adjacent to our desks held some lockers along with cabinets for where we kept some of our tools.

What was different, however, was the motorbike in the centre of the workshop.

It was sleek in design, a lustrous black with white markings that streaked across the bike. I approached it slowly, taking in each of its details. "Wow... did she build this all on her own?"

Between the handlebars, there was an engraved message. "'World's coolest grandma'? What a little..." I chuckled, shaking my head lightly. A warmth filled my chest at the sight of it.

"I can't believe she did this." Pride tugged at the corners of my lips. It felt as though my smile had permanently attached itself to my face. Her work was so impressive! To think that a few years ago, Mei was only just beginning to learn and here she is now, building full-on motorcycles all on her own.

I wanted to ask her how long this took before looking down at myself. Mei hasn't shown me yet, I'll have to ask her after acting surprised to see it. My nose scrunched up at my actions. Why couldn't I have just waited?

"Don't tell me this is yours." I spun around at the sound of a new voice. Red Son approached the motorbike, crouching down to inspect the engine.

I jumped back, surprised by his sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?!"

"I'll admit, it's well-built." He ignored me, more interested in the motorcycle. "Considering you must have had to work with whatever pathetic shoddy materials peasants use." He eyed the workshop in seeming disgust.

With a frown, I crossed my arms. "I didn't build that, my friend did. Now what are you doing here, Red Son?"

Standing back to full height, the prince rested his hands on his sides. "I thought that would be obvious. My family needs your answer, Sword Lady."

I don't even have a sword, why does he keep— Ugh, whatever. "Sorry to disappoint, but I've decided to decline your parents 'generous' offer."

"What?!" He sputtered, not expecting the answer. "This is a joke, right? You're refusing the Demon Bull Family? Do you know how far back your connection to my mother and father go?!" He really looked shocked, though I did my best to keep my composure.

"I don't, and I couldn't care less." My frown hardened. "You ask me to choose between my friends that have shown how much they care for me and supposed allies from a time I can't recall, I will choose my current family every time."

"...You're kidding, right?"

I scoffed at his disbelief. "Just get out of here, junior, before I make you."

"You think you can?!" His hair burst into flames, his eyes igniting in anger. I huffed at his tone, this wouldn't end well.

Red Son sprinted at me and I was quick to go on the defence. The demon was swift, swinging with his left before sending rapid punches at my person. I just dodged them, blocking a few with my arms before he landed one that sent me flying back.

I left a dent in the lockers when I flew into them, my teeth gritting as my False Staff formed in my hands. I jumped into the air, slamming the weapon down onto the boy. Red Son blocked with his arms and I jumped back.

Using the staff as a vault, I propelled myself towards the villain and kicked him in the gut. He fell back but was quick to flip back onto his feet and come at me with a flaming fist. He shouted as I knocked his outstretched arm away with my False Weapon but he was quick to pivot, raising a leg that sent a kick hard into my side.

I fell back with a grunt, crashing into the motorcycle and knocking it over. The sound of scraping metal stabbed my heart, and I looked back to see the bike on its side. Ohhhhh, I am so dead. The damage wasn't too bad but Mei was definitely gonna know I was here now.

Red Son glared at me, his eyes focused on the look on my face. "Touchy about our vehicles, are we?"

I glared at him for the insinuation. "Don't you even think about it." I growled, jumping back into action and attacking once more. It was his turn to be on the defence as I hit him rapidly with hit after hit.

Red Son jumped back a bit and I ran after him, slamming the demon with the staff and sending him flying into the wall. With a growl, he leapt forward, kicking the staff from my hands. It vanished into a plume of white smoke and as Red Son landed, I made sure to knock out his feet from under him, forcing him to fall back.

The prince just barely rolled away in time before I could land a hit on his fallen figure. Before I could pursue him, I halted to a stop, my eyes widening. Balls of fire formed in his hands, the boy leisurely tossing one into the air with a grin.

It was my turn to run as he began throwing flames at my person. "Come on, staff! Fan? Anything?!" I stressed under my breath as I tried my best to summon any sort of weapon.

The False Fan materialized and I smirked. Nothing like using the enemy's weapon against their son. Damn, that's a weird thing to think.

Turning back to face the demon, I saw another ball of flames hurdling towards me. Swiftly, I swung the fan in its direction, a powerful surge of wind erupting from the weapon and blasting the fire back.

The fire went flying towards the lockers before the gust of wind broke down a section of the wall. I blinked at the destruction, not intending for that to have happened. But before I could think or even gather my thoughts, I was blocking another fireball.

That immediately hit the bike.

My eyes went wide at the sight. "Shoot." The fan dissipated into cloud as I looked down in horror at the sight. The following bout of wind caused by my defence had thrown it against the wall where the desks sat. The impact broke the wall and destroyed the bike.

In my moment of distraction, Red Son managed to hit me with his next attack and I flew into the garage door. Then my heart stopped at the surprised shouts on the other side of the door. I stumbled forward in time for the door to be lifted up, revealing Mei and MK on the other side in the delivery cart.

We stared at each other with wide eyes, Mei in shock as her gaze flickered between me to Red Son to the totalled workshop. My chest twisted at the gasp that left her when she saw the bike. "What... What are you doing here?"

Before I could answer, Red Son cut in. "You don't want any part of the Demon Bull Family? Fine, then, be miserable and pathetic with the rest of these peasants!" He snarked before surrounding himself in flames that quickly vanished along with him.

It quickly grew quiet as he left. MK was quick to put out the flames that remained of the fight, but the damage was done. Mei went to her bike, though it was now melted and charred. The exhaust pipe was bent out of shape and part of the handlebar had broken off somewhere.

Slowly, I approached the girl, my hand outstretched to reach for her shoulder. "Mei, I'm so sorry..."

"Why couldn't you wait?!" She spun around to face me, her anger laced with tears that brimmed at her eyes. "I told you I'd come get you, why did you come back?!"

My hand retracted as I tried to say something, anything, but the words got caught in my throat. I hadn't seen Mei this furious before. "You always have to control everything, why can't you just trust that I was trying to do something nice for you?!"

Her words punctured my chest, like arrows they twisted and made my teeth clench in pain as my throat swelled shut. Glaring at me one last time, the girl ran off. I moved to follow her but MK held me back by my arm.

I frowned, understanding his action and stepping back. I'd make things worse if I tried following her right now. "...How long has she been working on the bike?"

"She's had it at her place for a couple months now, she told me about it this morning." MK looked down, his words another arrow that now hit me in the back, between my shoulder blades and made me tense. Months of work, and I just...

My fist clenched, I glared down at the ground. I really screwed up this time. That was blatantly obvious. I just hoped I could find a way to make it up to her.

~~~~

I hadn't heard much from Mei the next day, not like I expected to. Guilt pumped through my veins as I walked over to her house. Her parents were cool enough to let me in, though I don't think Mei told them what was going on. They did seem to know that their daughter was upset, and told me she was in her room.

Approaching the door, I knocked. "Mei? It's Lian, can I come in?" I waited for a response, but there was none.

With a sigh, I sat against the door. I wasn't really good at this. I could be straightforward, honest, but it was difficult when it came to talking about feelings. I can joke, be snarky about it, not a whole lot of things fazed me anymore so it was easy to not make a big deal out of them. But right now, that's what I needed.

"I don't understand why I did it. I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me, but I just can't leave it alone." I looked down to my hands. "It's like knowing there's not a monster in the dark but still sprinting up the stairs when you turn the basement lights off."

My hand fell over my chest as I looked up to the ceiling. "I just get this ache. And it makes me afraid, but I don't understand why. It makes me feel this fear of what the people I'm closest with can do. I know you would never hurt me, but that doesn't stop the feeling from going away." I hated it so much, I wanted so badly to learn to stop it, but after years upon years of it's presence, I've grown to accept it wouldn't go away.

"But it's no excuse for ruining your surprise." I frowned, turning to glance at the door. "I'm sorry, Mei. I really am." I waited for a little while longer, but there was no answer.

With a sigh, I got to my feet and headed to leave. As I did, I passed the games room. Memories of our sleepover came back to me, and I exhaled. I'm supposed to be the one looking out for her, and I just made her hurt more.

Scanning over the room, my eyes landed on one of her dragon plushies. My brows furrowing, I took the toy into my arms. I had to make this up to her.

~~~~

The workshop was still pretty banged up when I got there. I definitely had my work cut out for me. That didn't matter at the moment, though. The next night, I spent hours hunched over my desk, running to and from the many cabinets and shelves that held our various tools and screws and materials, and occasionally petting the soft dragon plushie of Mei's.

I'm not exactly sure how long it took. Monkey King dropped off a plum or two... I think? MK came over once with some of Sandy's tea, but the next time he came over he brought some energy drinks. I was getting into the zone, my surroundings blurring into obscurity as I worked to complete the—

"Lian? Lian!" I jumped at the voice, startled by how close it was. Looking up, I saw Mei standing over my desk, her hands in her pockets as she looked at me with a frown. "...Why did you take my plushie?"

I blinked a few times, adjusting to what I was seeing. "Oh! Mei, sorry for not telling you. I was leaving your house the other day and saw it. Inspiration kind of hit and I thought..." I fumbled with my hands as I looked around for the little control I made earlier.

"Sorry, I haven't tested it yet." I mumbled, continuing my search until I found it on the floor with some papers I must've dropped at some point.

Mei watched me with a neutral look, albeit with some confusion as well. I grabbed the control off the floor, showing it to the girl the little trinket. It was a little charm of her dragon blade. Taking Mei's hand, I placed the charm in her hold. "Now, what's the opposite of down?"

"Up?" Mei furrowed her brows, her confusion growing until she heard the faint whirring on my desk. Her eyes went wide seeing the little dragon plush hovering in the air.

With a sigh, I leaned back on my chair. "...Y'know, I couldn't really say this before without giving away the whole 'immortal' thing, but you know I helped with the design for some of our first engines?"

Mei remained silent, looking instead at her plush that slowly hovered towards her. "I can tell you about it if you want, maybe we can fix up the bike while I do?"

Mei looked around my workspace, then back to me. "Maybe... you should get some rest, first."

I looked over my space with an amused huff. There was litter everywhere, a small hill of energy drinks stacked over one another on my desk that had started dropping onto the floor. "Yeah, maybe I should." I stretched, an involuntary yawn breaking through as I did.

A frown settled over my features. "I'm really sorry, Mei."

"I know you are." She responded, holding her plush in her arms now. She looked away, her eyes on the ground. "...There was a second part to the gift. It's a—"

"No, don't tell me." I cut her off. "You can surprise me later." I smiled, the girl giving me a surprised look.

Her shock only lasted a few moments before she smiled as well. "Hmph, if you're okay with it."

Standing up, I wrapped the girl in a hug. She reciprocated, her arms wrapping tight around me as she rested her head on my shoulder while I did the same.

"But seriously. You should really talk to someone about what you told me, it was concerning."

"Heh... yeah, I probably should."

Word Count: 4731

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#lego monkie kid #lmk #monkie kid #lmk x oc #the memory of you #tmoy

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simpalert · 3 years

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Boat vacation disaster

It was a sunny day at sandys dock,everyone in mks crew (plus macaque) were there.

“I don’t know pigsy,do you know how to drive a boat?” Sandy asked.“don’t worry” said pigsy with confidence in his voice “I’ve seen you drive it a million times,how hard can it be?” “That sounds like something mk or tang would say.”replied sandy (I mean he’s not wrong).“no it isn’t” said pigsy.every one other than sandy and mei were boarding the boat,then monkie king pulled macaque aside.“what’s up peaches” asked macaque “I agree with sandy,I don’t really think it’s a good idea to go on a boat without out an experienced driver,besides you know how I get with choppy waters sometimes” macaque said “how can I forget,don’t worry it’ll be fine.” “Ok if ya say so” replied monkie king.after every one got on the boat and it left dock, no one would have guessed the chaos that they were in for.at first everthing is fine but then while tang was at wheel he spy’s a big red button in a glass case that says “for emergency’s only”tang was curious and asked “hey pigsy,what do yo think this button is for?” Pigsy went over to steering and looked at the button tang was pointing out.“well it’s what it says it’s for” he explains “for emergencies” tang says “ok” and goes back to steering.after a little bit of calm tang gets all curious about what the button could do,so he looks left and looks right.no one looking,mk macaque and monkie king where playing a board game and pigsy was looking out the window at the sea.he looks at the button with a sly smile,and then presses it.a moment of silence rang through the ship,the boat stoped and everyone looked at tang confused.they were supposed to be moving right?and then ZOOM!!! The ship was moveing so fast and tang couldn’t steer or stop.the ship was moving forward backwards left and right.pigsy tried to take the wheel but then both pigsy and tang were thrown back and knocked out.Mk and the two monkies looked at the scene in shock.“w-what’s going on?!?”asked monkie king “I’ll look at the steering wheel” replied mk.he goes the the steering and sees the emergency button was pushed “uh oh” “what uh oh I don’t like uh oh” exclaimed macaque.Mk replied with a bit of worry in his voice “the emergency button is pushed and only sandy can drive the boat when it’s on” “oh great” angerly said monkie king “I need to breath fresh air,even if it gets me thrown off the boat.” “Umm ok be careful peaches” replied macaque knowing he won’t be able to change the blonde monkies mind.the boat was still going haywire and macaque asked “do you even know how to drive one of these thing” mk looks at him with a nervous smile and shook his head (meaning no he had no clue what he was doing) “oh great that’s helpful” macaque angerly said.he goes up to the steering and pushes mk aside saying “move it kid” and takes the wheel.“do you even know how to drive a boat?” Asked mk,after a bit of awkward silence macaque backs away from the wheel and says “your right,you have more vehicle experience than me,continue” mk to the wheel again and tried steering the best he could the he got a idea “call sandy” “I don’t have my phone” macaque replied “pigsy should have his,it’s usually in his pocket,call sandy” mk said hoping pigsy brought his phone.macaque looks in pigsys pocket and there it was,his phone “got it,I’m calling sandy right now” just then a soaked,agrrivated and sea sick monkie king comes sauntering in “hey peaches” “don’t “peaches” me” monkie replied with a agrivated tone.“how about you lay down on the couch and just look at the ceiling I’m getting help.” said macaque “fine” replied monkie king.

(Meanwhile with mei and sandy at the secret base)

They were playing video games when sandy got a call.“I’ll get it” said mei she went over to were sandys phone was a picked it up and read the contact “it’s pigsy” “I’m coming”said sandy.mei handed sandy the phone and he picked it up “hello pigsy,how are things?” “This isn’t pigsy it’s me macaque” macaque replied “oh what’s going on is everything alright” asked sandy.“nope everything is not alright tang and pigsy are knocked out,peaches is sea sick and I know I will most likely never hear the end of it,and mks trying to steer the boat so yeah that’s how things are.”Macaque explained “how about you?”macaque said in a sarcastic tone “I’m fine but how did this happen?” Asked sandy.“mk said something about a emergency button and that only you can steer while it’s effective and we don’t know how to turn it off” replied macaque “there should be a yellow button on the steering wheel,in the middle” “look for the yellow button on the steering wheel kid” mk follow macaques directions and found the button.“I found it” “did he find it” sandy asked “yup he found it” “ok now press it you will be out of emergency mode” macaque replied “ok” “press the button kid” and mk did exactly that.the boat stoped, and then it was smooth sailing.the two both let out a relieved sigh “ok we got it” macaque said “we’ll meet you back at the dock” “ok see you there” replied sandy.

(When they got to the dock)

“Well” said pigsy “that’s the last time I’m letting you drive for a long time” “oh come on pigsy I was just curious” replied tang “your curiosity got us knocked out” angerly replied pigsy “oh right hehe opps sorry pigsy”.sandy walked over to mk “are you ok?” Asked sandy “yeah I’m good” “glad to hear,anyway you did really good steering the boat,you know when it wasn’t in emergency mode” said sandy.“wow thanks” replied mk “how about I teach you how to drive the boat sometime?” Asked sandy “gasp really?” Mk asked excitedly “yes so what do you say?” Asked sandy.“yes yes yes yes YES!” Excitedly Said mk “well that’s settled then,can’t wait to start the first lesson”.(with monkie king and macaque)“this is partially your fault” “aww come on peaches” Said macaque “don’t you “peaches” me” “I’ll make a shadow cloud” said macaque.they take the shadow cloud back to monkie kings house/cabin/hut?“we’re here” said macaque “finally”monkie king replied with a angered tone “come on peaches,you can’t be mad at me forever” “I know I can’t,but I’m still mad at you”replied monkie king.macaque sets monkie king on the couch and gets him a bucket for “just in case” set the bucket in front of monkie king and sits down next to him.“thanks,I guess” says monkie king “your welcome peaches” replied macaque “don’t call me peaches your making your situation wor..”blegh monkie was interrupted by his own sea sickness after affects.

(Macaque ending up sleeping on the couch since the are room mates in this part of my au)

#Lmk fic #Lego monkie kid fics #Lego monkie kid #lmk #lmk mk #lmk macaque #lmk sandy #lmk pigsy #lmk tang #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkie king #Lmk mei #kira rambles for a good few minutes #no one cares Kira

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aseriesofthrills · 3 years

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Suzie Is Back

Suzie is back, and so are long, overly emotional, rambling posts.

I matched with Suzie mid-October 2020. Caileigh and I had broken up earlier that summer after 3.5 years together, and my plan was to take some time off dating to “figure myself out.” Caileigh was the first person I ever dated, so I thought being single and out at the same time - for the first time - was a necessary step in figuring out my identity as an individual. Well, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there’s this big thing called a Global Pandemic going on that’s forcing us all to choose between our physical health and a social life. Put simply, I was lonelier than America’s Dad Tom Hanks on a deserted island before he found Wilson. Or maybe even lonelier than America’s Dad Tom Hanks after he struck up a friendship with Wilson, because after all, Wilson was a volleyball. I wanted to find my Wilson.

And boy did I find a lot of Wilsons. Unfortunately for me, I found a lot of off-brand Wilsons that were the wrong color, didn’t hold air well, or came out of the box with fabric missing. This is not to say these Wilsons are undesirable. I’m sure any of them would provide solid companionship to the next unfortunate soul whose fallen plane renders them a castaway. They were just not for me.

There was Emily, someone who I had strong feelings for and made me realize I’d really like to date someone who’s also Jewish. I was wowed by her philanthropic agenda of making candles and donating half the proceeds, until she did a very gay thing™ and got back with her ex, which was when I began to wish I instead had simply donated that $100 directly to charity and didn’t have to stare at her Tender Flame (more like Tinder Flame, amirite) candles sprinkled around my house. Looking back, we really were not compatible. Emily taught me that just because you have good banter with someone and a shared belief system, it doesn’t mean you wont clink teeth when you make out for the first time. It might even mean she will be extremely silent while you go down on her for what feels like hours, then not reciprocate because she is… probably thinking about getting back with her ex.

Then there was MK, someone who I’d actually met once before at a Hollywood Ladies Drinks Night Before The World Shut Down We Used To Have It So Good Oh My God. I remember wondering that night if she might be queer, but my gaydar couldn’t figure her out and I was in a relationship so it was a moot point anyway. I was hesitant to send her a “like” on Hinge because what if she didn’t feel the same way and then I ran into her at a work thing in 2023 and she KNOWS I liked HER but we BOTH know SHE didn’t like me BACK and -

It took me 3 seconds to get over that existential crisis because I remembered that thousands of people were dying every day and nothing actually mattered. So I liked one of her photos, and she matched with me in literally 4 minutes. I normally like to talk to someone for at least a few weeks - pandemic or not - before meeting in person, but she almost immediately suggested getting together the following weekend. Maybe that’s just her, or maybe she felt confident that I’m most likely not a serial killer since we have mutual friends, but she went for it and I agreed because I hadn’t yet figured out how to assert my own boundaries. But also, why not. It was just a picnic.

It was not just a picnic. It was a picnic conveniently a few blocks from her apartment. It was a picnic and then it was dinner and sex. I enjoyed spending time together at first, but the more we talked and hung out the more my feelings dissipated. In the middle stretch I thought for a second that I had perhaps cracked the mythical Friends With Benefits code, but after a few more dates I realized the code was far more complicated than I’d originally anticipated and what I thought was the treasure map key was actually just meaningless hieroglyphics and OK I will stop this metaphor now. It was time to take the high road and be honest, which for me manifested in telling her I was going to quarantine the next 2 weeks before flying home so this would be the last time I saw her before 2021 and we should check in when we’re back in LA in January - and then I texted her once I got to Florida to say lets just be friends. Not my proudest moment, but we’re learning.

There were a few other short-lived dalliances, but we all have places to go and people to see (from a distance). Just know I somehow managed to make the Pandemic Year my own personal Slut Year. And we’re using the term slut lovingly, simply to describe that 2020 was the year I managed to sleep with more people than any year prior. Tell me I can’t do something, then watch me work.

If you pay attention to detail, as I’m sure my 2 consistent followers do, you’ll remember Suzie and I matched mid-October which was in the midst of my MK chronicles. I am not exaggerating when I say that I was lovestruck by Suzie just from her Hinge profile and pictures. I don’t mean like, “Oh, she’s pretty, I hope she likes me back.” I mean like, something happened to my brain immediately that can only be described as some version of virtual pheromones invading my bloodstream. It felt uncontrollable and biological. And if we learned anything from Dr. Fauci this year, it’s that science knows best. The first real conversation we had - meaning that sweet sweet moment someone on a dating app finally admits that they, too, were looking at the app at the very same moment you messaged them - felt engaging and electric and right. At the end of the conversation I gave her my number and she immediately texted me “Talk to you tomorrow *kissy emoji*,” which probably made me precum.

What ensued was months of talking every day. I’ll drone on for paragraphs if I let myself, so I’m not going to let myself. I’ll just say for a while it felt amazing. I liked her so deeply. It took us a good stretch of time before we broached the subject of seeing each other in person, but then a combination of her horrific time management skills (her words), a potential Covid exposure, and a highly contentious presidential election got in the way and lead us down a windy path ultimately culminating in a Zoom first date… a week and a half before I was supposed to fly home for 2 months. The Zoom date was everything I hoped it would be and more. I’d never felt more sad to click “End Meeting For All” but was too giddy to notice. She asked me about my holiday plans, so I told her about my impending travel, and then she more or less said we should have sex before I go. So we did. And it was the best sex of my life. And then I left the state of California, our mutual residence, for 2 months.

Things were somewhat fine at first - we were still talking every day, with a few more Zooms sprinkled in - but then she went home to New Jersey, and suddenly we weren’t talking every day. It was more like every 3-4 days and rarely in actual conversational form. It was more like me waiting for her to reply, then waiting to respond since she’d waited so long, then we’d do it all over again. I felt anxious and tortured and dejected and had no appetite and my mom asked me on more than one occasion if I was ok. I was not ok. But I told myself to bE cHiLL, something that is often diametrically opposed to my natural state of being. I reminded myself that, despite the fact that we had spoken every day for 2 months - which is practically one step away from engagement in LesbianLand - we had only had one in-person date. I was careful to not make It seem more serious than It was, so instead I workshopped a lot of dramatic WHAT ARE WE? texts that I sent to all of my friends and never to Suzie.

We had mutually agreed upon “See you in January,” so I told myself I’d just ask her to hang out when we got back. Then she postponed her flight to LA for 2 more weeks because our Covid numbers were at a scary peak, the worst it had been since the beginning of the Pandemi Lovato. Finally she told me she’d rebooked her flight for the 15th, and I optimistically thought to myself, “You simply don’t tell someone the exact day you’re getting back into town if you don’t plan on seeing them! Right?” Wrong. I shot my shot, and she shot me down. She replied with a long series of texts explaining that her mental health wasn’t in a good place, and she couldn’t be accountable for communicating effectively. She sprinkled in some compliments for good measure, making sure to take a pit stop in “I think you are so wonderful so please don’t think this has anything to do with you” Town, which was reassuring but did not override my brain’s instinct to rethink everything I’d done and said the past few months. But I felt connected to her on a human level, and I didn’t want to lose that simply because she didn’t want to bump butts anymore, so I suggested we be friends and she enthusiastically agreed. End of conversation.

Until later that night, when she texted me Greetings after landing at LAX. I was confused, but I assumed that just meant she was taking me at my word, and this friendship started n.o.w. What followed was some of the most perplexing behavior I’ve witnessed as a living person and hands down the most confounding I’ve ever experienced in my dating career. She’d text me about a new vibrator she bought, or send me a song link then simply “heart” my response and be done with the exchange. It felt like she was just reminding me she existed, as if my small brain could forget. Sometimes she’d ask me how I was doing and we’d have semblances of a real friendship, but other times she’d tell me that I’m SO HOT or send me DMs of a sexy Phoebe Bridgers photo or a Normal People instagram post of Connell telling Marianne she’s pretty. Somewhere in the middle of all that my patient friend Caroline finally hit me with some tough love and told me I needed to block Suzie’s number and hide her on social media. For all intents and purposes, Suzie couldn’t exist anymore. Caroline was right, but I couldn’t do it, so I compromised that for the next week I wouldn’t reach out to Suzie first. Caroline told me “Alcoholics have to quit cold turkey, they don’t get to say well I drink on the weekends” but I decided I was simply not able to do anything more drastic than not text this freshly 25 year old girl who was slowly unraveling my emotional stability first for a week.

You will not believe this but I survived the week and actually felt better, so I did it again the next week. And the next. And the next. Until it had been a month and I hadn’t reached out to Suzie first. She was still texting and DMing me, but I felt my feelings finally waning! Gone were the days of finding her high school ex-boyfriend’s blog in the depths of the internet or looking her up on Venmo to see who she’d gotten Chipotle with the night before. I absolutely still liked her - those fucking pheromones are relentless - but it felt less fresh, so I started to formulate a plan. Once I felt FULLY (lol) over her, I’d text her the next time I was horny. Best case scenario she’d come over, worst case scenario she’d be so disgusted or insulted that she’d never want to talk to me again and I’d actually get over her, not pretend-get-over-her-so-I-could-trick-myself-into-safely-bootycalling-her. But then she sent me potentially the most flirtatious message yet, and I took my opening at 12:53p on a Wednesday and simply said “when are you going to fuck me.” She fucked me that Saturday night.

So. Suzie is back, and Saturday night (and Sunday morning, *wink* she slept over) was great. But now it’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad again, to borrow some words from Judith Viorst.

How we left things this time is that she does want to see me again, but it can’t be a talk-everyday-thing because she’s ~bUsY* and moving to NYC this summer anyway for grad school (did I forget to mention that? Oops!) and for whatever other reasons that exist that are preventing her from being obsessed with me. She asked what my boundaries and needs are too, and both her actions and words that night really felt clear that she still liked me. I asked if she thought she’d ever see me again. There are some things you really can only ask while cuddling post-sex, and that’s one of them. She paused and said yes. She explained the context around her poor communication and that she never wanted to stop talking to or seeing me, and the way she was holding me felt like she was feeling just as connected to me as I was to her. You can tell when someone just isn’t there with you, and this was not that. We were both right there.

But we were also right back to there being a power imbalance between us. There’s no escaping the fact that this is really on her terms in its present configuration. Our best plan was to promise to be honest moving forward, which felt like it had a lot of potential at the time, but it turns out being honest is hard. Things sort of reverted back to how they were, except with all of my feelings and expectations that I’d worked hard to push down rushing back to take their place on the frontlines of my brain.

It’s been almost 2 weeks, and we’ve talked a few times every 2-4 days. I’m fighting the urge to memorialize exactly what’s transpired, but there’s simply no use in holding onto the details. What finally made all of these not-at-all latent emotions bubble up to the surface and inspired this Intense Feelings Word Vomit is two pronged. First, because I love to torture myself, sometimes I look at Suzie’s Hinge profile to see if she’s changed anything. For some reason, if it stays the same, I feel safe that she’s not seeking out anyone else but me. Which is somewhat logical but also farcical in this particular situation, and I fully understand that. I guess I was really wanting to invite some pain into my life tonight, because even after she texted me yesterday and then proceeded to stretch a very short conversation into something that still is in limbo, I decided it would be fruitful to check her Hinge profile. I’m here to report that all 3 of her prompt questions & answers were different. And readers, I had previously checked it recently enough to know this was a very fresh edit.

The second thing that pushed my feelings over the top, out of my mouth, and directly onto my keyboard is that when she finally texted me back at like 11:30pm, she seemed to entirely brush over two clear attempts, in my opinion, at relaying that I’d like to see her again. And that feels not good. My instinct is to tell myself that maybe my comments weren’t as overt as I first believed them to be, but I think that’s a thinly veiled excuse and a defense mechanism. If someone wants to see you, they will.

I’m almost certain (I am certain) all of my friends - ALL of them! I have A LOT! - are up to their eyeballs in Suzie-flavored-shit, so before writing this I must admit I did the loneliest thing of all: instead of being honest and sharing my feelings directly with her, I texted them… to myself. Raw, unedited emotions that I hope to never re-read one day but probably will and when I do I sure hope I’m in a healthier place and can laugh about it and think about How Far I’ve Come.

The truth is, I’m sitting here all over again picturing the dates I could take her on (the Carlsbad Flower Fields), what restaurants she should experience before leaving LA (Pace), and what fun at-home activities I could plan for us before the world fully returns to a post-Covid society (the DIY pottery kit I bought for myself, fully aware she loves to make clay art). Dare I admit I even daydream about the cross-country road trip that I’ll offer to accompany her on when she moves back East. I look at the contents in my fridge and think, “Maybe I wont use that ingredient tonight in case I need it to make us dinner next time she comes over.” I was ready to plan trying to get vaccinated this weekend around her availability, which is actually insane. You look up simp in the dictionary, and there I am. I took the crumb she gave me and turned it into a huge fucking Mrs. Fields birthday cookie cake that serves 20. No wonder I feel sick.

Unless I’m entirely miscalculating, which I can safely say I am not, Suzie is not sitting in her home thinking the same about me. I think she does like me - I have to allow myself to believe she does, because she said she does, and if I don’t believe it now I never will - but I also have to admit that 6 months into this game of Suzie Mental Gymnastics, I can recognize that all signs are pointing directly to the fact that I like her far more than she likes me. I don’t say that as a form of self-flagellation; it’s just a fact that I need to finally accept. Not just accept, but also let go of the possibility that it’s going to change. That’s the hardest part. I naively thought we were getting back on the ride again, and I buckled up for what turned out to be just a detour.

It can feel nearly impossible to pull yourself away from someone, especially when it feels like their claws are deeply embedded in your brain and your heart. That sounds wildly dramatic, but it is genuinely how I feel. What’s doubly hard is being able to trust my own instincts. I can get attached very quickly, and then it’s almost indecipherable whether someone is actually mistreating me or if my unrealistic expectations don’t allow the other person a chance to actually meet them. This whole essay could potentially be described as an overreaction, but the more I think about it, the more confident I feel in the validity of my feelings. Even if part of the issue is setting my expectations too high, the bigger issue is how I’m being treated. Suzie and I did agree on a low-pressure situation, but it doesn’t take much more than the bare minimum effort to consider another person’s feelings. And I don’t think my feelings are being considered all too much.

Not that Suzie ever really left my life in a real way, but I’m starting to think she came “back” for me to get a second chance at prioritizing my boundaries, my feelings, myself. I don’t want to overreact and call a party foul too soon, but perhaps I need to readjust my idea of what constitutes too soon. After all, maybe it was a mistake to not have asked for clarity sooner the first time. It would have probably allowed me to enjoy my time at home with family more and saved my brain a heck of a lot of overtime I am still saving up to pay. A not-no doesn’t mean a yes, and waiting does not change the outcome. It’s a natural reaction to hold on tighter to someone while loosening your grip on your own needs when you feel them pulling away, but it’s often something you can’t stop from happening. And that’s a tough pill to swallow. Sometimes you have to assert your needs when they’re not being met and watch things fall apart, not because you have those needs but in spite of them. You start again. I will start again.

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acrossthemar · 4 years

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Corona Diaries

2/14 - Fly to Arizona for Grand Canyon and Arielle Bach Party. People in airport are wearing masks. I make a comment to my mom about it, not understanding why people are wearing masks or wondering if they are sick.

3/2 - Patient Zero tests positive for COVID19 in New Rochelle.

3/8 - Our Boss at Schoology tells us we can work from home if we feel more comfortable. We think she’s just being lazy and wants to work from home herself.

3/6 - Comedy show in NYC. Kristin doesn’t feel well and we worry she should stay home incase she has COVID19. We go to the comedy show. The comedian makes jokes about COVID19, we laugh.

3/8 - Eric’s School closes School for the following week. I make a comment to him that that’s overkill and a “private school privilege”. All other schools will eventually close of course.

3/11 - Mom flies to Madrid.

3/12 - National Pandemic Announced & Trump Announces Travel Ban between US/Europe. Cuomo declares State of Emergency in New York.

3/13 - Mom flies home from Madrid to NY after Mara books back up flight for Mom from Madrid to London. Mom spent $1400 to spend not even a full day in Madrid, goes back to the airport with thousands of panicked Americans, gets off stand by and comes home. Mara comes over to greet mom and give her some food, flowers, and company.

3/14 - Mara works remotely indefinitely, office shuts down until at least April 7th. Mara and Eric do the NYT crossword, hike the Masters trails with Winnie, and Mara and Eric go to Japanese Restaurant with Susan, Jeff, and Matt. Restaurants will soon close. Earlier in the day Mara goes to Larchmont to check in on mom, goes for a walk with mom and Winnie, and meets up with Kristin, Kevin, and Zoey at Central School.

3/15 - Mara goes to Larchmont and goes to Manor park with Shanni, Maddy, Liana, and Nicole and Nicole’s dog Remy.

3/16 - Mara works from home. Luckily Peloton bike was delivered last week just before the store closures began. At this point all Spin Studios and Gyms shut down. Mara and Eric cook butternut squash risotto and parmesan asparagus. De Blasio announces that NYC Public Schools are closed. Meals will be served at food centers.

3/17 - Eric and Mara are watching Sex Education. Mara Eric and Susan go on trail hike with Winnie.

3/18 - Mara Hallie Eric Winnie trail walk with Winnie. Mara Zoom date with high school friends.

3/19 - Zoom date with MK, Jana, Jason.

3/20 - Mom comes over for trail walk with Winnie and we cook the Shrimp Pasta dish with brussel sprouts.

3/21 - Peloton bike, talked to Elise on the phone, walked to tennis courts to play tennis with Eric’s family. The Masters courts are shut down due to Corona. Dinner at Eric’s family’s house. We sat at the dining room table to spread out. Mara played Ping Pong with Matt.

3/22 - Mara ran 3 miles, used Peloton, went to Larchmont to work on Obama NYT puzzle with mom.

3/23 - Monday, Peloton, worked from home, played SET with Eric, cooked a big salad.

3/24 - Run, work, tennis with Jodi, visited mom, Video session with Aubrey, Elise, Kelly

3/25 - Peloton, work from home, went on walk to store, no one was there and everyone in masks. Order in sushi. Video date with MHS friends. We started a CS team fitness challenge today since no one is moving since only home!

3/26 - Didn’t sleep because reading too much news and it’s so sad. US now has more cases than any other country (82k), NY has 37k cases, and the news is really grim. Had my virtual performance review and got a 3% raise, went on a 7 mile run but tripped on a rock and got hurt, played tennis with Jodi, then went to my mom’s and cooked dinner. I feel scared every time I go to my mom’s house in fear that I’m bringing the virus into her home. A lot of my mom’s coworkers have tested positive for COVID-19. Deccico’s is doing a great job with their grocery store (limiting number of people in store, making people wait outside 6 feet apart, mandated gloves, sanitizing shopping carts, glass wall at check out. Stop and shop is not doing much and so people haven’t been going. Trader Joes NYC closed because too many employees tested positive. Everyone is panicked and at this point it is hard to imagine life going back to normal. Even if legally it goes back to normal, everyone is absolutely terrified of other humans. Everything about this is unprecedented and unimaginable. Trump is a moron. It hurts to think about how much better handled this might have been with Obama. The 2020 Presidential Election is essentially at a standstill, no one going to primary elections, very curious what will happen, will we even be able to vote in November? Bernie and Biden left, Biden in the lead, but Biden is hardly speaking up about Covid-19. It’s been fulfilling to work at Schoology during this time as we are making a real difference in virtual learning and our school districts are eternally grateful. Side note––Amazon is hardly even running! They’ve cut down on their hours and employees, and the average wait on PRIME is 30 days!!! I am going to sleep at my mom’s tonight.

3/27 - Ended up sleeping at my mom’s on Thursday night. Took a work meeting from my mom’s then went back home. First dropped off my right AirPod at a FedEx drop off but you had to touch the box. Tried to do a Peloton class at home but Winnie got into my medicine bag and we found her with an empty laxative and ambien pill container. We took her to emergency vet and had them induce vomiting. We were terrified we killed her. Turns out she didn’t eat any pills and we ended up finding all of the pills when we got back from vet. Poor Winnie. Silly $300 at vet. Pet insurance is dumb because it has such a high deductible. I then went on a walk with Winnie because it was 64 degrees out. Eric and I cooked a fancy meatloaf for dinner and finished Sex Education. I made a lovely cocktail.

3/28 - Weekends don’t feel all that different from weekdays. Trump is discussing a mandatory quarantine on all New York residents since there are now 45,000 confirmed cases (many more unconfirmed). Reading the news is scary and I have been trying to limit it at night because it gives me insomnia and anxiety. Most of my friends aren’t seeing their parents at all. It’s gross out today. I did a few Peloton classes and started Little Fires Everywhere. It was a book turned into a movie but because movies are closed they released it as a TV series on Hulu. Just stepped out of the house for the first time today to take Winnie on a short walk. My team at Schoology is doing a fitness challenge to get some steps in because it’s HARD to find reasons to move! We were going to go to the Shear’s for dinner tonight but Susan had a headache this morning so to be safe we aren’t going. This is the crazy world we are currently living in. I’ve been mostly only wearing sports bras not real bras. We have not been able to locate lysol wipes in weeks. Note to self, I’d like to add some photos here because this really is all so unprecedented and it’s hard to put into words the craziness.

3/29 - Working out every day but gaining weight. Watched Little Fires Everywhere - LOVE it. Gross day out. Peloton inside. Zoom Call with Kristin, Oliver, Parker, Mom. Went on a walk around the apartment. Weekends are worse than week days because no work to do.

3/30 - Work is crazy because Schoology crashed since too many people on the platform. Did lots of Peloton Spin. Amanda moved her wedding to 2021. We are very worried about ours. I haven’t been sleeping. Went to visit mom with Winnie in afternoon for a walk. Passed neighbor Kelly but we couldn’t let her pet Winnie because not supposed to have other people pet your dog. We had a meeting with the Rabbi for our wedding. She is hopeful for July because she can’t stand the thought of not being able to send her kids to sleep-away camp haha. Started this dumb show Tiger King, everyone is watching it. About a man who keeps tigers in his house.

3/31 - Schoology crashed again. Too many users. Work has been busy but fulfilling though because we are so important right now, been nice to connect with my clients. It’s been hard working full days though I take breaks to work out and to do chores so I’m a bit all over the place. Went to the post office today to return a dress for my mom because I won’t let her go, all stood 6 feet apart and I feel scared to breathe in public now. It’s so bad in NY and the Daily Podcast is scaring me.

4/1 - Work has been stressful because of the Schoology outages because everyone is doing school on Schoology now. Went to Deccico’s at lunch to do a big grocery shopping (we are trying to limit grocery store to once max twice per week since it’s unsafe to go). I wore a t-shirt as a bandana to cover my mouth, tried to keep sunglasses on, and wore a glove on my right hand (left hand was for my phone to see the shopping list). The line was wrapped around the entire corner and I ended up waiting 45 minutes. You have to be really careful to stand at least 6 feet behind the person in front of you. It was a bit overwhelming because we had such a long shopping list (also doing groceries for my mom), and they were out of a lot. I couldn’t find bread, orange juice, turkey, etc. Also have not seen lysol wipes in weeks. Unfortunately. I ended up being gone for an hour and a half and couldn’t even finish the shopping. Went to Stop & Shop after to finish the list. No one is going to Stop & Shop because they aren’t doing as good of a job with cleanliness protocol so it’s far less crowded. Under isolation I am 1) becoming a chef with Eric, we are cooking so much! 2) working out a lot and incorporating more floor workouts and strength training 3) drinking almost daily… 4) eating A LOT!!!!! Getting fit + gaining weight at the same time. Today was Greg Lesser’s birthday, so we had socially distant drinks on our lawn, I have a funny picture of all of us sitting that I’ll post above. During the happy hour, Caitlin Casey wanted to use our bathroom so she stepped inside, we deliberated if it was okay. I was too close to the door when she opened it and she alarmingly stepped back, no one gets that close anymore. Winnie turned 9 months today. A few other notes: our Election Primary has been moved to end of June. I will have to likely cancel my bachelorette party. Schoology already closed our office through April 30, with optional WFH through May 31st. I interviewed Hong Kong American School tonight, as they’ve been remote for months. They almost went back to school but when folks came back to China they brought COVID19 with them so now they are back to isolation.

4/6 - We decided to stop going over to Eric’s family’s house because it’s making us anxious and there are four of them and Eric’s mom is still going to the hospital. I got an actual mask and have started wearing it to the store and I feel a lot more safe. It was a beautiful day today, 62 and sunny. I went to my mom’s house and worked from her patio. Then I went on a distanced walk with Winnie and Shanni and then Winnie and Caroline. I’m getting used to working fully remote, I can’t even imagine commuting in at this point.

4/7 - Here are a few things I’m grateful for during this time. Eric, a supportive and loving partner. We get along so well and find a great balance between hanging out together and being independent, so we haven’t been sick of each other at all. Our spacious apartment and easy access to green space and outdoors and running paths. Winnie, truly the love of our life, she is just a saint and we can’t imagine life without her. And the fact that we have a “home gym” ie Peloton, exercise mat, and weights. These four things make this experience far more manageable. And of course the fact that we are both still employed and that our families are still healthy.

4/11 - Went on a walk with friends in LeatherStocking Trail in Larchmont. Was a bit crowded and narrow which wasn’t good. We ran into a random boy from our high school who immediately picked up Winnie. (We aren’t letting people pet Winnie due to Corona but I didn’t act quick enough to stop it). Anyway, turns out his brother who he LIVES with has Corona. Which means he probably has it too. And he was out on a walk not social distancing and PET MY DOG!!! I was absolutely livid.

4/15 - Cuomo requires all people wear masks in public in NYC. Cuomo says likely that there will be no large gatherings through the summer. Very sad about the wedding. Colleges are making online learning plans for the fall just incase.

4/28 - Silver lining of quarantine: I get to hear Eric’s work, not just his teaching but his deanship how eloquently and professionally he handles parent conversations, managing faculty that’s older than he is, and student situations. He is currently leading a parent forum book discussion on the book White Fragility on race and whiteness

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