Seating for Singles

Birds chirped as Duncan set his beer down on his table. His balcony was small, but there was enough room for a small patio table for two, which he had just brought out of storage two weeks ago. He had bought the set right after his first and only break up and had felt awkward buying a set with two chairs knowing that there wasn’t someone to sit in the other. The salesman wouldn’t sell him just one chair because the set came with two and Duncan had argued that it would be more cost-efficient for the store to sell single chairs. The salesman had tried to be friendly but firm by telling Duncan he would probably want at least one extra chair in case a friend came over. Duncan had sighed and stopped fighting. He had walked out of the store muttering under his breath about how the world seemed to be built solely for couples.

He sat down in one of the chairs and took a swig of his beer. He glanced down at the car-lined streets below. Trees filled with white blossoms lined the medians between lanes. A U-Haul sat in front of the house next to him and what looked like a young girl was moving boxes along with two burly movers. Gotta love Boston, he thought to himself, even when we’re supposed to be social distancing there’s still five hundred cars in the road.

He set his beer back down on the table and glanced at the balconies on either side of him. He wondered what type of person wanted to move during a pandemic. He began making up a story for her in his mind. Maybe some psycho hired her to home school their kids right now, he thought. Yeah, I could see her being a teacher.

A light breeze rustled his brown hair that seemed to be getting longer by the minute. He didn’t like that his hair was beginning to fall in face but he was also scared of what he would look like if he tried to cut it himself. His stubble had grown into a beard, but at least he could shave that if he wanted to. For now, he liked the idea of going rogue. It made him feel like an outdoorsman even though he spent most of his time inside, moving numbers around on his laptop.

As he looked out into the vast expanse of the quiet city, he found his thoughts wandering from his new neighbor to his one and only girlfriend, Hannah. They had dated for two tumultuous years and ended when she had told him that she had met someone else. While they had broken up three years ago, he found himself yearning for her warmth whenever he lied down in his cold bed at night. He wondered if they would have survived quarantine together in his tiny apartment. He took another sip of his beer, mulled the idea over, and shook his head. He knew that they fought too much on a regular basis to even live together, much less to spend every waking moment together.

He hadn’t dated since they had broken up. Sure, he went to bars occasionally, wondering if maybe he would meet the right girl in the right moment, but he didn’t tag a whole lot of weight on these encounters. They had given him momentary satisfaction, but the girls never seemed to be anything out of the ordinary. He watched the girl moving in, carrying her boxes proudly. Her thick auburn hair was tied back into a ponytail and she was wearing a red and black flannel with ripped jeans. She was probably a good five years younger than him and was definitely in better shape than he was. Overall, he was slim and built, but lately was looking a little pudgier from all his stress snacking.

I wonder if she’s just like the rest of them, Duncan thought. He was used to the girls at the bar who flirted for with him for free drinks. He knew this was their ploy, yet he played along, hoping that maybe he could charm them into spending a night with him. He usually could. When he was shaved and wearing his business attire, girls flocked towards him.

He found himself watching her as she moved the last of her boxes inside and paid the movers. The U-Haul pulled away and she disappeared into the apartment masquerading in the guise of a house. Most of the apartments around him (including his) looked like almost identical houses on the outside and had exactly three levels, each with a small balcony. He wondered what level she was living on and if she would be too cheap to pay for the dryer and would instead air dry her bras and panties on her balcony.

He took another swig of his beer, hoping she would pop out onto her balcony to say hello to her neighbors. He stared at the balconies next door for about ten minutes before talking himself down from his new obsession.

She probably moved here for grad school and has a boyfriend in a different state, he thought, inventing a second story for her. And even if she didn’t have a boyfriend, why would she want to date me? I look like a freaking mountain man right now.

He stood up and went inside to get another beer. He slowly made his way back to his balcony, the sun beckoning him to enjoy the unseasonably warm day. He sat down again and took another sip of his beer. He glanced from side to side to see if any of his neighbors were joining him but he was still the only one. He closed his eyes and began to fall asleep. He was quickly startled awake by a slamming door and a loud voice.

“No Mom, I just got here. So no, I don’t have food in my fridge.” She was silent as her mom spoke. “I don’t know Mom, I’ll get take out. I’m sure there’s plenty of places around here.” The girl began pacing as her mom spoke. “Yes, I’ll wear my mask and gloves.” she noticed Duncan and smiled at him. She mouthed “sorry” and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’ll be careful. I love you, talk to you later.”

Duncan watched her pace as she listened to the end of her mom’s spiel. He decided that her gait was quietly confident and that he liked that her ponytail was a little loose and lopsided from moving things around. He also liked that she wasn’t wearing any make up. The last time he had seen a girl without full make up on had been when he was dating Hannah and he had liked that look better. He used to love waking up before for and watching her eyes flicker open as she slowly awoke. It was as if she was in her purest form in the morning, which had made him want to have a romp in the sheets before the day started. He found himself getting aroused by the thought and stared at his beer, trying to think of something else.

“Sorry about my mom. She can just really aggravate me sometimes. Have you lived here long?” she asked Duncan. She was leaning against the railing of her balcony.

“About three years now,” he said, taking a sip of his beer.

“Oh, so you must like it.”

“Yeah, it’s only like a twenty-minute commute for me, so it’s not bad. And it’s a fairly quiet neighborhood.”

“Oh, where do you work?”

“Over on State Street.”

“Oh really? Are you in finance?” She looked at him warily.

“Believe it or not,” he said, taking another sip of his beer. “I know it’s hard to believe with the beard and the sweat pants, but I’m a financial analyst.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“What brings you here? Running away from home?” he smiled.

She laughed. “Unofficially. I actually just got a job as a nurse at the children’s hospital but I think I’m treating COVID patients for the time being.”

“Oh geez, good luck!”

“Thanks, I’ll need it. My graduation was fast-tracked and the hospital hired me almost immediately so this is my first time being a nurse.”

“Hey, if you can survive nursing during this crisis, think about how amazing you’ll be when things return to normal.”

“Yeah. If they ever return to normal.”

“I’ll think we might be able to get close. Our economy probably won’t ever be the same, but we’ll always need nurses and doctors. So at least your job isn’t at risk.”

“Not in that sense, but it’s full of risk,” she added. “I’m just scared, you know? What if I get it and get sick?” She paused for a minute and attempted to straighten her ponytail. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this because I just met you and you know where I live, but I live alone. If I ever got to the point of being so sick that I’m not able to move, I don’t know what I would do.”

“I would take care of you,” Duncan said without hesitation.

“But then you’d get sick,” she said.

“No, I wouldn’t. I’ve already had it,” he lied. I’d be okay with getting sick from you, he thought. Even if it killed me.

“Really? What was it like? Did you have to go to the hospital?”

“Nope,” he said, “it was pretty mild. I just lost my sense of smell and taste and had a cough that lingered for about two weeks.” Thank you, WebMD, he thought.

“Wow. I mean, it’s good to hear that there are mild cases and that people are recovering. I feel like the news just focuses on death, you know. It’s like they want us to live in fear.”

“Oh I know. The market is going nuts with the constant news updates. My phone is ringing off the hook everyday with clients asking what they should do. It’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen because the whole thing is so unprecedented.”

“Right?” she said. “But at the same time, it isn’t. We’ve had plagues all throughout time. And there also used to be so many childhood diseases, like smallpox, polio, measles, and mumps. The only difference is that now we have vaccines. We’re not used to facing our own mortality anymore.”

“Wow, I never thought about it like that before, but you’re right. I wonder if hospitals were overflowing like this during the Spanish flu.”

“I don’t know. But I bet they were and the media just didn’t cover it.”

“You blame the media for everything, huh?”

She chuckled. “Yes! If it wasn’t for them talking about supply shortages and telling people they might run out of toilet paper, my mom wouldn’t have put a 12-pack in my car.”

“It’s sad that a twelve-pack is now used to refer to toilet paper more often than it’s used to refer to beer,” he said, glancing down at the bottle in his hand and taking a swig.

She laughed again. “Yeah, although I did pack some beer that I had sitting in my parents’ garage. I should crack one open.”

“You should,” he echoed.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, leaving her phone on the railing.

Duncan wondered what secrets were hiding in her phone. She seemed to be subtly flirting with him and he wanted to know if she flirted with everyone or if he was special. The phone was too far out of his reach though and even if he risked trying to climb onto her balcony to get it, there was a good chance that either he or her phone would hit the ground. Before he could think of an elaborate acrobatic move that could safely get him from his balcony to hers, she came back out with a beer.

“What are you drinking?” he asked.

“Southern Tier,” she said, glancing at the label. “This is their Samoa flavor.”

“Like the girl scout cookie?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh, I’ve never heard of them or that flavor, but it sounds good.”

“It is. If you wanna ever hang out like this again, I’ll let you try one.” She smiled at him and he wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be friendly or flirty.

“I’d like that,” he said. “I could share some beer with you too. I don’t think I have any craft stuff floating around my house though.”

“That’s okay, beggars can’t be choosers right now.”

“True, it’s slim pickings.”

“Yeah,” she said pausing. “We should call our hang-outs up here ‘Bitch and Beer’ sessions.”

Duncan let a small laugh escape. “Yeah,” he said, “I feel like I should know your name before we decide on an official title though, you know? Like what if we have some other fun alliteration going on?”

“Okay, I’m Sam,” she said, pretending to shake his hand with her free hand.

He smiled and mirrored her handshake. “Hi Sam,” he said, “I’m Duncan.”

“Nice to officially meet you, Duncan. You’re definitely more equipped for drinking beer on your balcony than I am though. I need to go to the store to get some patio furniture.”

Duncan glanced at the empty chair across from him.

“Why don’t you take my extra? I’m not going to be having people over anytime soon.”

“No, I’d feel bad.”

“No, I insist,” he said, standing up and assessing the distance between his balcony and hers. It was about four and a half feet away. He picked up the chair and maneuvered it so he was holding its legs. He began to lean over his railing with the chair in hand. She stretched her body to catch the top of the chair in her hands.

“You got it?” he asked.

“I think so,” she said.

Duncan let go and Sam hoisted the chair over her railing and onto her balcony. It made a thud as it hit the wood.

“Well, I’m a klutz,” she said, bending down to examine the wood.

“Don’t worry about it,” Duncan said. “These boards get weathered all year round.”

She positioned the chair so that it faced Duncan and sat down.

“Why are you smiling at me like that?” she asked.

“Because when I bought this patio set two years ago, I really didn’t want to buy that extra chair.”