Getrennte Liebe (Separate Love)

“It’s so hot today, it’s just not fair,” I moan, rolling over on the couch. Next to me, Purple, my furry little kitten, brushes up against my side.

“No Purple. I love your fuzz, but not today. It’s way too hot.” In my head, I weigh the pros and cons of going out to the store. If I went, I could stock up on all the groceries I need, plus I could buy some ice cream to cool down. On the other hand, I would have to wear a mask (Blech. More sweat.) and be super careful and have to disinfect everything, not to mention the fact that I would have to leave my house.

“I could get delivery. What do you think, Purple?” She meows from the floor, probably grumpy she wouldn’t get any cuddles. “Maybe I’ll see that delivery boy again.” I smile to myself. Almost every time I had gotten groceries delivered to my house, he had been there. He had long blonde hair that was usually held back with a headband, large glasses, and (in my opinion) the best German accent ever (to be fair, though, it’s the only German accent I’ve ever heard so I really can’t compare).

“I guess it’s settled, huh Purple? I’ll get delivery.” I pick up my phone from the table next to me to order. I already have a running list going, all I need to do is tell the app what I want and… bam! My order is processing. In only a few minutes, the order is picked up by the same familiar icon.

“Yes!” I fall back onto the couch, making Purple jump in surprise. “We have the same person again, Purple. The order should be here in a few minutes.” I get up (reluctantly, yes) and walk into the kitchen for a glass of ice water.

“You know Purple?” I look down at my furry companion as she weaves her way around my legs. “This whole quarantine thing isn’t that bad. I mean, I don’t want all this sickness to be going around, and I wish I could still go out freely and stuff, but I’m so happy working from home, and well, I’ve met people I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise." I pause. "You just want food, don’t you?” Purple looks up, meowing her agreement.

“Okay, give me a sec.” I walk to the cabinet where I store her food, Purple weaving in and out of my legs all the way.

“You make it harder to reach the food, you know?” Purple just gives me a look, somewhere along the lines of, ‘I don’t care just get me the food already’.

“Okay, okay, okay. I got it now, chill out.” I walk to her bowl and fill it up. 

“You’re going to be one fat cat, Purple.” I scold as she sits at her bowl, gorging on her food.

“I’ve already fed you, what, double the amount you need for the day and it’s hardly noon. Stop being so cute all the time and then maybe I won’t have to feed you as much.” Purple sits at her bowl, not even glancing at me, as I walked off to sit in misery and heat to wait for the delivery.

***

Ding dong! I immediately jump up from the couch, forgetting the heat for just the moment.

“Coming!” I call as I rush to my room to make sure I look somewhat presentable. My hair is a mess, and all I have on is a tank top and shorts- the most I can wear in the unbearable heat.

As I go to answer the door, my insides flutter a bit (I immediately tell them to mind their beeswax. I can handle a little bit of social interaction just fine).

I swing open the door to see, just as usual, the tall, blonde, cute German delivery boy (not a boy, really. He’s probably about my age, but what else am I supposed to call him? The delivery man? Boy sounds much cuter.)

“Hi, Leon.” I give a little wave.

“Wie gehts?” He asks me (According to Google Translate it’s “How are you?”)

“I’m doing, you know, as well as I can during quarantine.”

“I can’t believe you remembered! Your German is surely getting better, no?”

“I’m not studying it or anything, but yeah I guess it is.”

“Here’s your delivery, wunderschönen.” (That last word means beautiful, I think. At first, I think he said things like that because I didn’t understand, but now I think he says them just because. I’m not stupid or anything.)

“Thank you.” I grab the bag of groceries from him (carefully, of course) and put them off to the side. “Here’s the tip. I paid through my phone.”

“Thanks.” It’s kind of an awkward conversation. We both liked the other, it’s so painfully obvious for both of us. We know the other knows and so on. I hate this. So awkward. It doesn’t help that we have to stand far apart because of all the regulations of quarantine,

“Umm… Du bist wirklich… uhhh… süß und ich… uhhh… würde gerne Zeit mit dir ver...brigen?” The words come clumsily out of my mouth, and I’m sure I’ve pronounced all of them wrong. Nonetheless, Leon is dumbfounded for a second or two, then goes red, then seems to get completely and overwhelmingly excited. 

“You spoke German! I cannot believe it.” He cups his hands over his mouth.”

“Could you understand?” I can feel my cheeks start to redden.

“Well enough.” His smile is so big, it reaches past his ears (not literally, but this is the only way I can describe how big his smile is).

I look down, suddenly very embarrassed. “I uhh… I looked it up on Google Translate. I wanted to surprise you.” I start to fiddle with my thumbs.

“Ich wünschte, ich könnte dich umarmen! I wish I could hug you!” Leon gives a (very cute) laugh.

“Me too-” before I can say anything else, Leon’s phone buzzes in his pocket.

“Probably another delivery. I should go. I will be here tonight.” He walks away, but not before blowing me a kiss. It’s almost like I can feel it landing on my cheek and making it warm. I can’t wait for tonight!

***

Ding dong. The doorbell rings for the second time that day. I take one last look in the mirror to make sure I look okay. I had showered and pulled my hair out of my face, and I had a nicer pair of jeans and a tank top on. It wasn’t fancy or anything, but I looked better than before. I put on a pair of earrings and went to answer the door.

“Guten Abend Hubsche.” Leon smiled. “Darf ich rein kommen? May I come inside?”

“Yes, of course.” I open the door wider as he steps inside.

“You look nice today.” Leon smiles at me.

“So do you.” He’s wearing a nice pair of pants and a button-up shirt.

“I wish I could invite you to sit,” I say as he stands awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“It’s alright. I was hoping we could go for dinner?”

“Most of the restaurants around here are closed.”

“Hmmm. What if we ordered food and ate… On the balcony?” He pointed to the curtains hiding the door outside.

“Are you sure there’s nothing else we could do?” I’m suddenly nervous. The contents on that balcony are highly confidential. What if he doesn’t like any of them? What if he judges me for my stupid hobbies? What if it all goes wrong? URGH!

“We could, ummm, eat somewhere else?” My voice goes high pitched at the end.

“Hey, hey… Es ist in Ordnung. It’s okay. We’ll figure something out.” He puts out his hands to comfort me, the best way he can six feet apart. I take a deep breath.

“No, no, it’s okay. Why don’t you order the food and I’ll get everything ready.” I can do this. He won’t judge me. I know it. Still, I’m nervous.

“Okay. Let me know if you want to change your mind.” He whips out his phone. “I’ll order in the hall and let you set it all up.” He gives me another sweet smile before closing the door behind him.

“Oooh boy.” I open up the curtains and look out onto the balcony. There’s a complete mess of just stuff. Canvases, paint supplies, and an easel take up most of the space half of the space, while the other half is taken up by potted plants.

“What a mess, what a mess, what a mess,” I mutter to myself as I start cleaning up all of the junk. I haven’t really touched much of the paint recently. It’s been covered in dust and dirt from the wind.

“How are you doing out here? The food will be here in- Oh mein gott!” I can feel my face going red.

“I’m sorry, Leon. It’s such a mess.”

“What are these? They’re amazing!” Leon picks up one of the canvases.

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s so beautiful!” He lifts it up to eye level. “May I keep it?”

“Keep it? It’s not even done yet!”

“But I quite like it like this!”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Now let me help you clean up.”

***

“Thank you so much for coming today!”

“Of course. I believe I’ll be seeing you on my next delivery.”

“I’ll make sure to place one soon.” I stop, remembering the phrases I had found online. “Ich liebe es, Zeit mit dir zuverbringen.” The German comes shakily out of my mouth, yet Leon smiles at me nonetheless. I’ll make sure to memorize more in the future.

“Me too. Goodnight. Süße Träume.”

“Süße Träume, Leon.” I give him a small wave, and he blows me a kiss. Slowly, I shut the door, still waving. As soon as it’s shut, I collapse on the floor, my heart beating, and my head too happy to get up.

***

“Today wasn’t so bad, huh Purple?” Purple ignores me, probably mad that I spent time with Leon instead of her.

“I’ll play with you tomorrow Purple.” I reach over next to me and run my fingers through her soft fur. She starts to purr softly.

“I really hope I get to see Leon again soon. Hopefully, when we’re able to go out again I’ll be able to spend more time with him.” I look up at the ceiling in the darkness. 

“Meow.” Purple gets up and moves closer to me. I can feel her purring as she pressed up against my stomach.

“I know Purple. I’m happy too.” With the rhythm of Purple’s purring and the warmth inside me, I fall asleep happy and content.