By: Melissa Lee

Many weeks ago, back when coronavirus was still a punchline, my boyfriend Marcial asked half-jokingly how we would see each other if there was a quarantine. He lives in Boston, and I live in New York City. I scoffed at the idea of such a thing happening. But I am a planner, so I started thinking about the “what if,” anyway.

My job only required a standard computer and internet access, whereas his required additional computer hardware and specialized software. I live with a roommate, and he lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment. Also, if I went to Boston, I could see my family.

On Friday, March 13, my company announced that they were moving to a work-from-home policy. Being a temp, I was furloughed. That same day, Marcial took home all of his computer equipment and began working remotely. That week was also when Broadway theatre, museums, and other entertainment venues in New York began shutting down.

Choosing to leave New York City was an easy decision at that point. Deciding what to pack into limited luggage for an indeterminately long stay was not. After one day spent stressing over whether or not I qualified for unemployment benefits, whether or not I would still have health insurance, and how many pairs of contact lenses to bring, I caught a bus to Boston.

Marcial and I were used to daily video calls and Google Hangouts chats and only seeing each other in-person about two weekends a month. Each of those weekends would be special and precious, like it was date night every time we saw each other.

On that first Sunday, it was wonderful to be able to watch “Westworld” together at night rather than have to say goodbye at the bus stop in the afternoon. We no longer had to dedicate time each day to talk and catch up on each other’s lives. We spent all of our time together, even if I was watching him play video games or he was sitting through one of my TV shows that he doesn’t watch.

We since have settled into a routine that gives each of us more space. The best place to set up Marcial’s work station turned out to be his bedroom; I have gotten scarily used to sleeping through his numerous morning phone calls. Meanwhile, I set up my laptop on the dining table. Since Marcial’s discovery of “Call of Duty: Warzone,” I have more freedom to watch whatever I want on TV.

I remember a friend once told me that when you move in with a significant other, everything becomes a negotiation, right down to what laundry detergent to buy. Now that we’re shopping and cooking together for longer than a weekend, Marcial and I definitely have argued over things like what greens to buy for salad and how to do the laundry.

Living together is bound to become mundane under normal circumstances but even more so when sweats have become acceptable work attire and “going out” means going grocery-shopping. Our anniversary was on Saturday, April 11. We took the opportunity to order takeout from a local restaurant and crack open a bottle of prosecco.

This low-key celebration also marked another low-key accomplishment: after four years almost entirely long-distance, Marcial and I had survived four weeks of “quarantining” together. We still get frustrated with each other sometimes, but we’re making it work. We have no idea what the future holds, for either our relationship or the world in general, but this pandemic has forced us to take each day one at a time and treasure every moment that we make it through together.

Melissa is a writer and editor seeking her next communications role. She writes The Bargainista blog and runs the social media for The Soundshop music community. Learn more about her at melissalee.contently.com.

Thanks, Melissa, for sharing your story! I’ll be sharing guest posts from NYC creatives whose careers are being affected by Coronavirus during this New York “pause”. If you’d like to learn more, read this previous post: COVID-19 in NYC: Everything is weird and scary and I want to help by paying you to write for my blog. Thanks for reading and STAY SAFE, NYC!