Spiral Bound Journal

Dancer in a Daydream

"Dancer in a Daydream" by Ace of Base, originally released 1994



I can't say I've been super thrilled with canceling my trip to Nashville thanks to the pandemic lockdown. It's necessary, though. Yes, I could have gotten on that plane and stayed at the hotel. There wouldn't have been any point, though. Hardly anything would have been open. The weather was crappy, rain dominating the forecast. I couldn't have even taken my hot chicken out for a picnic lunch without getting soaked. So to hell with it. I'll just hang out here and do a shit ton of nothing on my week off.

Well, it's not exactly all nothing all the time. My phone chimes, and I remember what time it is. Mitch has been Facetiming me once or twice a week since the lockdown started. It gives me something to do while lounging around on the couch (as opposed to working on the couch). I grab my phone and unlock it. Since COVID-19 spurred a rash of mens shedding their beards, I've been trying to adjust to a clean shaven Mitch. The lack of beard does make him look younger, and his gray hairs are a tad more difficult to spot.

"Hey, Mitch," I greet him with a grin.

"Hey yourself," he replies. "Enjoying your not-vacation?"

"Well, between the crap weather and still being in Minnesota, I guess? The governor isn't even really letting people go for drives, so it's kind of frustrating. I've been trying to keep myself semi-busy while stuck inside."

Mitch flashes an exaggerated frown. "I wish I could wander down to your neck of the woods for a bit. Not sure how I'd explain things to Samantha, though."

"Yeah, that would be a hard sell. How's she doing, anyway?"

"Workin' just like the rest of us. She has a bit less to do than either of us, though."

I nod. "That's kind of an odd situation, given that we all work for a medical device company."

Mitch giggles a bit. "That's so true. Speaking of odd situations, she's been asking a lot of questions about us."

"Oh, really."

"Yeah. She still seems rather baffled by our still budding relationship."

"How so?"

"It's more to do with me," Mitch says. "I've told her about when you and I worked on the same team and some of my stunts."

"Like with the coffeemaker."

Mitch lowers his head in a vain attempt to conceal his blush. "Yes, like the coffeemaker. She seemed rather surprised by my moves."

"Well," I begin, "she at least had some company. It certainly puzzled me (when I wasn't being amused by it, of course)."

"It even caught me by surprise. Lily called me out on it after the happy hour at the beer hall."

"That doesn't surprise me. She seems to have eyes in a lot of different social groups."

"You are not wrong, but contrary to her outgoing nature she can keep a lid on things. She did it here, and I can't tell if it was helpful or not."

I contemplate this for moment. "That I'm not sure. I have all the social intellect of a fruit fly sometimes."

"I doubt that," Mitch said while shaking his head a bit. "I think you knew what I was doing but didn't want to give anything away in the office. I get it, though. Being shy can have its advantages when trying to fly under the radar."

"Especially with my team. I admit I'm glad to be working from home right now."

"I can imagine. So any plans for the evening?"

"Dinner," I mention, "but after that I don't know. Maybe more tooling around online and binge watching YouTube. I haven't renewed my Netflix subscription in months."

"Now THAT is spoken like a 2020s hipster!"

I cock my head. "You would know a thing or two about hipsters, wouldn't you."

"Guilty as charged."

"Hehheh. So how about you? What's on tap for the rest of your evening?"

"Probably much of the same. Samantha has gotten into The Tiger King, which is truly some hot garbage. Not even a triad can save that waste of digital celluloid."

At that, I cackle. "That's when you know things have gone off the rails! So how are you going to counter it?"

"I hear there are some hockey reruns on ESPN Classic. I might try to catch one of those."

"That's definitely an improvement."

"Indeed, it is. I'm actually going to have to get going soon since dinner is just about ready. Maybe we can chat on Thursday?"

"Sounds good to me. Guess I'll catch ya later."

"Yeah. Hopefully tomorrow will zoom by so we can get to Thursday more quickly."

"Maybe. Good night, Mitch."

"Good night, Christine."

I press the button and watch the screen revert to the main menu. As I stare at my phone, I wonder how long it will be until Mitch and I can even meet in person again. I'm certainly not risking it now. And even if we could meet in person, where would we go? I suppose I could kill some time by finding parks with lots of space. It would at least be a start.