ISOL8ED INCIDENT

FROM MAY 2020 ISSUE OF WEST END PHOENIX

The artist Elicser Elliott is quarantining alone, but here he paints a fever dream of his future – a “vision-board diary.” In it, the virus is still raging and he’s still trapped inside, but at least he’s with his girl, in a house with enough space for loving and fighting. “An old story,” as he puts it, “for new times.”

My girl and I do everything together. Sometimes she stays at my house, sometimes I stay at hers.

We Netflix and chill after we’ve exhausted our extensive library of books. We’ve always lived close to each other and we work from home, so when the Rona hit, I thought this quarantine time would be easy... at first.

She curls up on the couch, smoking her likkle ces, writing her next novel, while I watch a documentary about tigers. This goes on for months.

We play chess to keep our minds from atrophying. I take pictures of her as she tries using a pillow as a dress. Around this time, I start getting anxious. I need to get out of the house. I need to go play sports, see friends and smoke weed!

So one Saturday night, when my lady is on “a girls’ night out” Zoom call, I sneak out for a few minutes to link with the boys. It feels good to knock some dominoes, bun some Bruce Banner, and ol’ talk with de bredren dem for a bit.

THE NEXT MORNING.......

My darling awakes to find my side of the bed hasn’t been slept in. I believe it’s around this point that she gets mad.

But wha had happen’ wuz, when I came home that night I opted to stay in one of our many guest rooms to sleep off the hangover. I didn’t want to bring the smell of my night into our bed.

She is really upset that I would go out and possibly bring home the dreaded “RONA?” But I think she’s more upset that I didn’t invite her to play dominoes.

I spend the entire morning apologizing with flowers, aware now more than ever of what social distancing really means. I couldn’t get close to my love ’cause I’d been outside. Caution wins her over, and my isolation prevails.

She implements self-quarantine and... banishes me to my studio.

She keeps herself occupied by working from home with her phone sewn to her ear. I wonder if she misses me.

I wonder when I will see her again. Summer’s here, and I wonder when I can hold her again.

Is this gonna be forever, or is it just an isolated incident?