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Okay, maybe he does have the willpower of a saint, I thought as we continued playing.
Donovan was rusty, and missed more shots than he made, but that was still good enough to beat me. He racked the balls and we played another game, but there wasn’t any more sexy grinding or thinly-veiled pool euphemisms. The moment we had shared was gone.
When we went to make two more drinks, he eyed the key ring for a long time. “What’s up?” I asked.
“I just realized something,” he said slowly. “You know what else these probably unlock?”
“What?”
“The front door.”
15
Donovan
The Day I Went Outside
“Are you sure you feel comfortable doing this?” Molly asked me the next morning while we rode the elevator down. Neither of us acknowledged the fact that we were sharing the cramped space. I felt safe around her, and she felt safe around me.
“We’re running low on food,” I told her. “I didn’t expect to be sharing it with my hotel neighbor.”
She gave me a playful little glare.
“I didn’t say you weren’t worth it,” I clarified. “But unless you want to eat plain pasta noodles, I need to get supplies.”
“I don’t like the idea of you risking yourself out there.”
The elevator opened on the first floor and we walked across the lobby. “I’ll be okay. I’ve got my mask, and a pair of sunglasses to cover my eyes.” I put them both on and turned to her. “How do I look?”
“Like the Unabomber, but sexier,” she said.
“Sexy Unabomber. Now there’s a Halloween costume I’ve never seen before.”
I went into the office behind the concierge desk. There was a panel on the wall for the exterior alarm. The light indicated that it was currently armed. I found the right key on the key ring to open the panel, then pressed the button marked “DISABILITATO.” The light winked out.
“Any last minute requests?” I asked.
“Oranges!” she said. “I’ve been craving orange slices like you wouldn’t believe. If it’s not too much trouble, I mean. Don’t go out of your way just for me.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Wish me luck.” I unlocked the front door.
“Good luck. Watch out for zombies.”
I chuckled, but said, “Not sure how I feel about dark humor right now.”
“If I didn’t laugh about it, I’d probably be crying!” she said cheerfully. Then her tone softened and she said, “Be safe. Seriously. Text me if anything happens.”
I was touched by her concern as I walked out of the hotel. But the feeling quickly dimmed as the reality of the situation sank in. I hadn’t left the hotel since I got supplies at the beginning of the lockdown, a week ago. Things still felt normal back then, with people crowded in the plaza and the sound of markets and tourists and street performers. Now everything was deserted and silent.
And experiencing the silence down in the plaza itself was alotdifferent than experiencing it from my hotel balcony. It was like the difference between watching a shark at the aquarium and being in the fuckingtank.
I turned back to look at the hotel. Molly was watching me from the front door, and she gave a little wave.
It really did feel like I was walking around in a post-apocalyptic movie. Humanity had been wiped out and I was the only person left. It was unsettling. Like swimming too far from the shore and suddenly realizing that there was only empty ocean in all directions.
“Relax, Donovan,” I said out loud. “Everything’s fine. Just a quick trip to the market.”
The market I had used the other day, a quarter mile from the hotel, was closed. The city had sent out a map with the locations of open grocery stores which people were allowed to visit in a four-hour window. Unfortunately, that store was over two miles away.
