A short little iso-drabble - mild insp: my life.

xxx

Caroline skipped about her house, happy as a clam, because she had food on the way.

It was such a rare treat she ordered takeout.

Under normal circumstances it wasn't really in her budget - she allotted that splurge-type money to things like social work drinks, or the occasional lunch with friends.

But these were not normal circumstances.

Not yet anyway, since a bunch of justs had happened in her life.

She had just moved into her very own apartment. No roommates clogging up the sink with their gross hair, no partner complaining about how you drank the last of the milk (even though you're really the only one who uses the milk, except on the very very odd occasion they want a dash of milk to make scrambled eggs, because 'duh Caroline it's egg day?').

She had just started a new job, which gave her the option to work fully from home. And, as a writer with the option of always working from home, as you would imagine, Caroline was working from home.

She had just moved to a new city. She felt like a change from the semi-boring nature of life in Richmond, Virginia, and decided Chicago would be a nice change. If she was working from home, why not have home in a different place?

And finally, she had just been hit with her first Chicago snow storm. For the better part of a week now, Caroline was snowed in – the advice from the authorities being stay home, only go out if absolutely necessary, and if you do go out, for the love of god, no driving.

Needless to stay, between freshly living alone, working from home, in a new city, and the snow, Caroline hadn't seen anyone but the clerk at the supermarket down the street in nearly four weeks, and it was driving her barmy.

Thus, on the fateful Sunday night, just as the roads were getting mildly safer, Caroline decided to treat herself takeout delivered straight to her door, from her favourite eatery in all of Chicago.

How, you may wonder, can one have a favourite food place if they are so new to a city?

Now, that question, had Caroline asked herself, would have changed to course of the evening entirely.

But alas, or perhaps a-luck as the case may be, Caroline did not ask herself that question, opting instead to beam at her reflection, because social interaction was also on the menu that evening.

Yoga pants took place of ratty pyjama bottoms, her hair restored to its shining glory. Even the somewhat-stained, oversized sweatshirt, she couldn't quite remember when she first started wearing, was replaced by a squeaky-clean, oversized sweatshirt.

She couldn't help but feel more alive than she had in days and days.

Caroline certainly took this furore about seeing one person for the fleeting moment of delivery as a signal to actually get stuck into her social life in Chicago, lest she lose her sense of self completely.

She whizzed round her house, scooping up every little bit of solitude-sadness mess that had accumulated, and whisked them back to their homes. She was having visitors after all!

Just as the vacuum made an appearance, the doorbell rang, and like a bullet, Caroline shot to the door.

With her widest smile stretching her face, Caroline swung open the door to reveal…

"Hello, love."

Oh my.

"Fancy seeing you here on this fine night."

See, this was the first time Caroline properly considered her history with the eatery she so eagerly ordered from.

"Klaus!"

"Yes, well spotted."

See, Caroline had briefly resided in Chicago once before. One winter, about three years earlier, she was bored and freelancing, so decided to live on the couch of her high school best friend for a few months.

Stefan worked at the eatery then, working himself through law school.

Caroline, who would otherwise have found a hipster looking bar to freelance from, made herself a comfortable regular at the café, and promptly became one of the favourites of a bartender.

Klaus.

Oh, Klaus.

Caroline had lost a lot of sleep over Klaus. She had lost a lot of sleep while with Klaus too, for that matter.

He was wildly irritating, and incredibly infuriating. But was also whip smart, hilarious, and charming.

Caroline was pretty sure those short months found her falling in love with him.

But, even though they shared so much, so intensely, they were never more than a thing.

Not a fling, not a relationship – just a thing. A thing that held only memories. A thing that made no pledges or promises to the future, nor even any resolutions of contact.

Maybe he was the one that got away. Or maybe the one she let get away.

"Klaus," she said again, the meaning layered beneath the word not lost on either of them. "You look good."

He smiled. It wasn't a calculating quirk of the lip, nor an infuriating smirk. It was just a warm, genuine smile.

"Since when do you do delivery?" Caroline asked, pivoting away from the mood that had become just too much.

"Lots can change in three years, love," Klaus replied. "But how could I resist this delivery? Cheesy mushroom fries, add bacon; the comfort pasta with no chicken, add extra bacon; and a slice of sticky date pudding? Such an intriguing order..."

"Hey!" Caroline said, indignantly swatting at him. "Don't judge my order!"

"No judgement," he said, with just a hint of insecurity. "Perhaps intriguing isn't the right word. Perhaps it is familiar I'm looking for."

"You remembered my order?"

"How could I not, love? You ate it in front of me three or more times a week for months!"

"Aww, you remembered my order."

On the threshold of opportunity, the former lovers stood, just waiting for the other to reach out a hand to jump with.

"Would you like to join me?" Caroline whispered, the invitation laced with promise.

"I would love to."

xxx

Mild insp: I ordered dinner to be delivered to my house last night, and realised about 15 minutes later that an ex of mine works at the place I ordered from. Haven't seen them in years, and it's not like it was a bad break up (and they're not the kind of person I am pining for). But given the lack of human connection lately, I imagined a number of scenarios where they showed up on my doorstep, with my literal nuggets and chips. I wouldn't have invited them in given that I AM BEING A GOOD SELF-ISO LADY, but I wondered what our two faves would do in a similar sitch. Although, Caroline was not trapped inside because of this blasted virus - I would never do that to our sweet angel. I also challenged myself to keep it under 1000 words, which I did. Which was nice. Give me your iso-prompts and I will write them. I have lost my job, so I have lots of time, and want lots more distraction.