Summer Love Quarantine Style

Summer Love Quarantine Style

Suzanne Marsh

Summer 2020

'COVID 19 IS RUINING MY LIFE' I thought. I am so bored, my parents rented a house out here in Uncertain, Texas. I doubt even Texans know it exits, but my Mother being my Mother needled my Dad into leaving Dallas. COVID19 had planted it roots in Dallas in early May. Mother thought the country would be safer. She had a point but there was nothing here. I am talking nothing except a few cabins on the shore of Caddo Lake. I am nineteen years old, nerdy with black glasses and mousey brown hair. I know if I put that into a cell phone app no male in their right mind would respond. I develop a scathingly brilliant idea, I am going to superimpose some really hot looking female in my pictorial biography. My mind says it is deceitful but I am going to do this anyway. Hopefully, I will get at least one response. The app says that it is ten dollars for the first ten men. I could hardly believe what I wrote in the section where it calls for what I want in a man:

I am seeking a man who is blond, blue eyed with a fantastic build. He should be between

twenty and twenty five years of age. I am nineteen, willowy blond with long legs. I am

on a journey to find true love during this COVID19 issue.” Sunny Lady

I was really looking forward to a summer love. All those moldy oldies about summer love; went through my head. The romantic idea I had at that moment was to find Mr. Right, sit on a dock and listen to the moldy oldies. He would put his arm around my shoulder and cuddle with me. He would kiss away my frown, as I smile into those big blue eyes. I did not have to wait long before my cell phone notified me that I had a message.

I was really excited, in a teeny bopper way. I opened the message and there was a picture of the first applicant. He was no Adonis, he was more like Pinocchio. He just was not my type then I read his message:

Hello Sunny Lady, I have been waiting for you my entire life. Love does not come easy for

me. I too, am looking for how you say? Summer love. Malcolm of the Middle.

This one was definitely not for me. I simply hit pass and moved on. The next one thought he was a dream boat, someone should have sunk his boat. By the time I got to the tenth one I was ready for a walk on that beach. We were renting a white clap board cabin on stilts, our front yard was roughly five feet from the beach. I could walk the entire circumference of Caddo Lake in an afternoon. Mother, was sitting on the back porch reading “Fifty Shades of Grey” so I simply yelled I was going for a walk, whether she heard me or not well that was her problem not mine.

Caddo Lake is situated close to a swamp; the only way to get to the lake is to either walk or use a boat. We had a speed boat so the solution was simple; I took the boat. My brown hair flying behind me stood straight out. It took me less than ten minutes to cross the lake; thank heaven there were no Cottonmouths that day, they have a tendency to fall in boats striking the occupant. Once I arrived at the other side of Caddo Lake, the beach looked so peaceful. I docked the boat, then jumped out onto the dock. I had my towel to lay on the beach side which was deserted. I had also brought a book to read. It does get boring tanning in the hot Texas sun; aside from the fact that I did not want to tan to much.

I was laying on my stomach when I heard feet approaching. I craned my neck around as far as it would go. All I saw were an enormous pair of feet; I wondered to whom they belonged: BIG FOOT? A deep baritone voice began: “what are you doing here?” It was an an unwelcoming voice just a very deep one. I rolled over and sat up looking up into a nerdy but handsome face. I was not sure what exactly to say other than: “hello” it really sound dumb. He smiled asking if I would mind if he sat down next to me. He told me his family had moved to this side of Caddo Lake from Fort Worth attempting to avoid COVID19. He had a mask on but I could see the twinkle in his azure blue eyes. We talked most of the afternoon; about six feet apart from each other as is recommended. I glanced at my watch, it was almost seven o'clock, I had taken the boat over here at noon. He took my hand for a moment:

“will you be here again tomorrow?”

I thought about that for several moments as he continued:

“I don't have COVID19 I was tested before we left Fort Worth.”

I informed him that my parents had done the same thing. We agreed to meet the following day, same time and place. I could not get Summer Love by Neil Diamond out of my head... not the entire song just the words: 'summer love, they call it summer love'. I hoped this was going to be a summer love. I wanted to experience love for the first time despite being quarantined.

I had left my cell phone when I crossed to the other side of Caddo Lake. I checked my messenger. Nothing there. I was not disappointed, since I had met Jake Johnson this afternoon. He was basically what I was looking for. He was smart, talented, handsome at least the azure blue eyes were beautiful, what the rest of the package looked like was anyone's guess. The rest of the evening was occupied with my Mother telling my Father about how great Fifty Shades of Grey was. Personally I was not that enthralled with it. That was not my type of book I enjoyed things like Sahara by Clive Cussler. Mother told me I needed to broaden my horizons and read sequels to Fifty Shades of Grey. Whoopie!

The following morning I was up early, I had my breakfast, after which I was like a cat on a hot tin roof. Eleven thirty could not get here quick enough, I was going to go a tad bit slower than I did yesterday. My cell phone notified me that I had a message, I opened it:

Sunny Lady, look outside your window to the far side of the lake.

I did, there stood Jake, waving and smiling, his mask off. He was blond haired, blue eyed with a smile that could melt butter. Once again I heard the song: Summer Love. This was my summer love despite the masks. Despite the horrors of 2020 I found my summer love in quarantine!