Light is piercing through the window blind when I open my eyes. It could be anywhere between 5am and 12pm. I don’t check my phone but close my eyes again. It is Saturday and my daily routine doesn’t apply. I fall into a waking dream, images blurring into thoughts until my brain gains too much consciousness and I open my eyes. I check my phone. It is nearly 8am. I roll towards the middle of the bed and wrap myself around my partner warm body. She is awake too, probably has been for a while. Our stomachs grumbling, we break apart. My partner goes to make breakfast while I pick up the book I started the day before. Beasts, Men, and Gods by Ferdynand Ossendowski. If I am to go by the concert ticket in it, I purchased it ten years ago. I remember reading the first few chapters and getting bored by the narration. Ten years later, I am fascinated by it. My partner comes up with toast and tea. We eat in bed, each one of us reading our book.
‘Should we stay in bed all day?’
My partner looks up from her book.
‘Sure, why not,’ she replies smiling.
I smile back at her and open my book again. My partner slides the curtains to leave a gap between the fabric fall. The light cascades in long streaks across the duvet. I place my hand in the light. It is warm through the window glass. I put the book down and get closer to my partner, closing my eyes, resting. It is Saturday and based on all of the week-ends during lockdown, I will feel caged. Maybe not today, I tell myself. I have spoken with my partner about this the evening before as we baked peaches in the oven. Week-ends are difficult. My routine is destroyed and I am left shackled inside the house. I have tried to occupy myself but each time it has failed to take my mind away from what I feel. Maybe not today, I repeat to myself.
‘Do you mind if I go play my game,’ I ask.
‘Sure.’ She barely raises her eyes from her book.
I descend the stairs and slouch on the sofa, losing myself into the world of Harry Potter for a good hour.
‘Are you ready for some exercise?’
‘Okay. Let me come and change first.’ I run up the stairs to put on my pair of swimming shorts, a sport bra, and a t-shirt. Back in the living room, my partner has set the yoga mat on the floor and an energetic playlist on the radio. We begin to dance loosely to the rhythm of the music.
‘Okay, up the stairs,’ my partner orders as we get bored of dancing. We run as fast as we can to the landing.
‘Press-ups.’
‘Not already,’ I moan, the muscles in my arms remembering the press-ups from a couple of days ago.
‘Yes, press-ups.’ I run down the stairs, and position myself using the steps to do thirty press-ups. Muscles aching, I run back up for a routine of stretches in the bedroom. I follow my partner into the study and we squat against the sofa-bed, our arms supporting our bodies. We hold for as long as we can before running down to the living room.
My partner guides me through aerobics movements and stretches before we repeat the run up the stairs, press-ups, stretches, sit-ups, and back downstairs. And again. And again. My arms collapsing, I announce that I have had enough. We stretch our aching bodies before stepping into a warm shower.
We eat a light lunch of vegetables with humous while discussing dinner. We have so much cabbage left that I suggest a choucroute. I have no idea how to make a vegan one that doesn’t taste bland but I’ll figure it out. I head to the study and write the diary entry for Friday before researching choucroute. One recipe takes three weeks. I ignore it. I select three others and decide to create my own recipe based on their instructions.
‘Do you want a gin and tonic?’
‘Sure.’
I walk downstairs to sit by the coffee table. A cold gin and tonic is waiting for me by the Scrabble board. We drink and play until there are no letters left to place on the board. My partner tidies the tiles as I disappear into the kitchen. I chop and grate, steam and fry, and leave it to do its thing while I return to the living room. We select a new series to watch, press play, and let time pass by as we lose ourselves into the imaginary world on the screen. Soon the dinner will ready, eaten, and we will back in bed, reading.