Fiction: Vaccinated Dating
By
Hannah Garson
arttimesjournal December 26, 2021
Mia rummages through her collection of masks. As if she had actually ventured out and worn one! When lockdown came, she bolted the door.
A splash of color Mia thinks for her first time out. She loops a red face covering around her ears, then jams gloves, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes into her purse. With her arsenal of personal protection, she heads to the meeting place: a local bakery café with outdoor tables placed six feet apart.
For several weeks, Mia and Jake have spent long hours on the phone. Vaccinated and restrictions lifted, Mia agreed they meet. She offered the bakery café as a convenient spot.
Jake seemed really nice. And what a coincidence! Just like her, he collected Mr. Peanut memorabilia! He told Mia he would bring her the 75th Birthday Edition of the vintage 1991 blue and red tin of mixed nuts. She is excited for this date.
A late spring day, she walks the avenue, the sun warming her body. After sheltering in, working remotely from home and not seeing a soul, Mia is finally out. The simple freedom of it!
A block from the bakery, Mia suddenly remembers Jake saying he was fully vaccinated. Was he really? People say things all the time. He could be just giving me a line to reel me in. Maybe he was even one of those anti-vaxxers. She should have told him to bring his vaccination card as proof.
Her heart drums. The first time she ventures out socially since the pandemic began, and it’s with a stranger. What was she thinking? What did she know about Jake? Who had he been in contact with? How big was his bubble? Was he dating other women? Maybe they weren’t vaccinated. What a mistake this was. A stone lodges in her throat. Mia gulps air through her mask.
The bakery looms in front of her. Her legs are suddenly heavy. She drags them as if lead has replaced her bones and muscles. She spots a couple at a table. The woman laughs at something the man says. They smile at each other, a tender moment Mia longs for with someone, too. Home alone all these months, there had been time to take stock of her life. She realized she had to shake things up, take more chances, have more fun. You promised yourself you’d do it today. And here you are, out and meeting a new guy. Go for it!
She finds a table at the far end of the patio, a good distance from the other patrons. From her purse, she grabs a disinfecting cloth and wipes down the two chairs, table and the menus the waiter leaves. Can’t be too careful.
Finally settled, she looks up the street. Approaching the bakery is a young man dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, a small leather bag dangling from one hand, a blue and red tin in the other. Liking what she sees, Mia sits up tall.
“Mia?”
“Hi, Jake.”
He hesitates before sitting down.
“I’ve already disinfected the table and chairs,” Mia says. “And the menus, too.”
“Great. Can’t be too careful these days.”
Mia likes him more and more. “Thanks for the tin. I don’t have this one.”
“You’re welcome. Would you mind if I move the table a little more this way? We’ll be further away from everyone.”
Mia scoots her chair along, following the table.
“I have my vaccination card with me,” Jake says. “Do you have yours?”
“No, but I’ve got a picture of it on my cell.”
Jake squints as Mia holds up her phone. “It’s a little blurry,” he says, moving his chair back from the table. “I’ll have to trust that it’s your card.”
Either he’s crazier than I am or I found my soul mate.
The waiter takes their order.
“Should we remove our masks now?” Mia asks.
“Ladies first.”
She likes his attention, his sky blues intently on her, waiting with anticipation. As if she’s doing a strip tease, she slowly unhooks the loops of her mask, then whips it off.
Jake whistles approval.
“You’re next. Don’t be shy.” The sun on her naked face, Mia feels bold and sexy. “Come on. Show me what you got.”
Jake laughs. “First close your eyes,” he says. “Better yet, cover them with your hands. No peeking.”
“What’s going on?”
“Just need a moment.”
Mia hears him riffling through his leather bag. “Well?” she asks.
Suddenly there’s a sound, a “Hiss…s…s” and Mia’s hands and face are wet.
“Can’t be too careful these days,” Jake says as he puts the can back in his bag.
She wipes herself dry with the napkin he hands her.
Mia thinks she’s in love.