Dreary and overcast. You wait outside Wynyard Station for Brooklyn, your partner. She comes up the steps and you greet her with a hug and a kiss and you discuss where to go.
'Alot of places are closed,' she says.
'We'll go for a walk then,' you say, 'and see what's still open.' And you stroll along, arms joined, and other pedestrians keep their distance. Everyone keeps their distance from each other except for families and other lovers. You go south, towards Town Hall.
There are open doors and stairs descending. The sign says Mojo Record Bar.
[[Go In]]
[[Wander On]]
'We can stop here for a drink,' you say. You point at the sign.
'Mojo Record Bar?' Brooklyn asks.
'Mojo Record Bar,' you reply. You smile and the both of you go down. It's dark inside. Nice, dim lighting. There's a red hue about. No other customers in. The barman wipes down the bar with a wet and sanitized cloth. He looks up and sees you and nods his head. He says,
'Hello there.' And he waves.
'Hi,' you say. The both of you approach the bar. The barman throws his cloth away. The bar is wet and fresh, you do not touch it. Neither does Brooklyn. He says,
'What can I get you?'
You ask Brooklyn, 'What do you want?'
'Just a gin and tonic I guess.' She bats her deep brown eyes. You turn to the barman:
[['A Gin and Tonic and a Beer please.']]
[['A Gin and Tonic and an Old Fashioned.']]
[['A Gin and Tonic and a Vodka Martini, Stirred.']]
[['A Gin and Tonic and A Vodka Martini. Shaken, not stirred.']]People with face masks. People coughing into their elbow. A man walks by closer than the rest, almost brushing up on you. Brooklyn pushes into you some to avoid him.
There are ibis in the trash. 'Damn bin chickens,' you say. Brooklyn laughs.
She says, 'Have you noticed there are barely any young people about?'
You nod. 'You're right.'
A wind breezes on down the street, through the buildings. A man's coat flaps. At the closest intersection there's King Street. Brooklyn and you look at each other. Share the thought. Where to go next?
[[Down King Street and onto George]]
[[Follow down York Street]]
The Barman fixes your drinks and you find a booth in the corner. As you drink you hold hands and you talk about your week. You sip your drink.
‘How’s your Beer?’
‘Just right.’
You two talk. You make eyes. You play with the scrunchie on her wrist. It’s soft. Satin.
‘Everything is just mad,’ Brooklyn says. You say you know. ‘Just mad. Soon it’s going to be so hard to see each other, what with neither of us driving.’ You say you know. You say it sucks. ‘Maybe,’ Brooklyn scratches her nose, ‘we should stay together.’
‘Self-isolate together?’ You say.
‘That’s right.’
‘Maybe.’
‘You don’t think you could stand me for two weeks straight?’
[['I couldn't stand you for two weeks.']]
[['Ofcourse I could.']] The Barman fixes your drinks and you find a booth in the corner. As you drink you hold hands and you talk about your week. You sip your drink.
‘How’s your Old Fashioned?’
‘Just right.’
You two talk. You make eyes. You play with the scrunchie on her wrist. It’s soft. Satin.
‘Everything is just mad,’ Brooklyn says. You say you know. ‘Just mad. Soon it’s going to be so hard to see each other, what with neither of us driving.’ You say you know. You say it sucks. ‘Maybe,’ Brooklyn scratches her nose, ‘we should stay together.’
‘Self-isolate together?’ You say.
‘That’s right.’
‘Maybe.’
‘You don’t think you could stand me for two weeks straight?’
[['I couldn't stand you for two weeks.']]
[['Ofcourse I could.']]
The Barman fixes your drinks and you find a booth in the corner. As you drink you hold hands and you talk about your week. You sip your drink.
‘How’s your Martini?’
‘Just right.’
You two talk. You make eyes. You play with the scrunchie on her wrist. It’s soft. Satin.
‘Everything is just mad,’ Brooklyn says. You say you know. ‘Just mad. Soon it’s going to be so hard to see each other, what with neither of us driving.’ You say you know. You say it sucks. ‘Maybe,’ Brooklyn scratches her nose, ‘we should stay together.’
‘Self-isolate together?’ You say.
‘That’s right.’
‘Maybe.’
‘You don’t think you could stand me for two weeks straight?’
[['I couldn't stand you for two weeks.']]
[['Ofcourse I could.']] The Barman fixes your drinks and you find a booth in the corner. As you drink you hold hands and you talk about your week. You sip your drink.
‘How’s your Martini, Mister Bond?’
‘Just right.’
You two talk. You make eyes. You play with the scrunchie on her wrist. It’s soft. Satin.
‘Everything is just mad,’ Brooklyn says. You say you know. ‘Just mad. Soon it’s going to be so hard to see each other, what with neither of us driving.’ You say you know. You say it sucks. ‘Maybe,’ Brooklyn scratches her nose, ‘we should stay together.’
‘Self-isolate together?’ You say.
‘That’s right.’
‘Maybe.’
‘You don’t think you could stand me for two weeks straight?’
[['I couldn't stand you for two weeks.']]
[['Ofcourse I could.']] Brooklyn retreats her hand. She frowns. 'What a mean thing to say!'
You say, 'I'm just being truthful.' She pouts, sips her gin and tonic. 'Two weeks is a long time. We could grow awfully sick of each other awfully fast. I don't want to ruin this. I like this, what we have, so far.'
'So far? You think this might fail?'
You shrug. 'I'm not saying that. I'm not saying anything like that.'
'You want to move slower?'
'I'm not saying that at all. C'mon, finish your drink, let's move on.'
Brooklyn finishes her drink. You finish yours. Down in one gulp. You stand and climb that stairs out, waving goodbye to the barman as you go. You're back on the street and people are avoiding you again.
[[Wander On]] 'Aww,' Brooklyn says. She plays with your hand too, the hairs standing. 'You're sweet.' She sips her drink and you sip yours. 'And what,' she says then, 'do you think we'll get up to?'
'I imagine lots of television. Lots of writing. Lots of reading. Lots of exercise as well.' You wink and she blushes.
'At least we'll be healthy,' she says.
'At least we'll be together. Shall we move on?'
'I like this place though.'
'I do too,' you say, 'but the day is shorter than you think and I don't want to waste it underground.'
'Fair.' You finish your drink and she finishes hers. You leave and climb the stairs back onto the street, waving to the barman as you leave.
[[Wander On]] The first store on the right is the apple store. Tall, three levels, enclosed in a square glass cube. It is void of customers. The employees stand around, most with nothing to do. They smile to the passing foot traffic. They smile to Brooklyn, they smile to you. You smile back.
Brooklyn says, 'Sad. They're gonna start cutting jobs soon. The casuals are going first.'
You say, 'I know. My hours have been slashed in half aswell as the other casuals. Even the part-timers.'
'It's bad isn't it?'
'It's real bad.'
The Hilton is tall against the grey sky. The security guard, standing perfectly rigid in his suit, waits at the steps into the marble bar. He does not smile, he does not frown. His face is static, unmoving, devoid of emotion. You carry on.
[[To Town Hall]] You go on down the street, sticking to the west side. You pass Abbey's Bookstore. Brooklyn tugs your arm and leads the both of you in. You go in. There are few customers around. An old man with a walker, sitting on the walker's seat, flipping through the pages. You cringe as he licks his finger to unstick the pages.
The old man will be dead within the month.
The shelves are perfectly stocked. Two or three workers are wandering about slowly, filling their time. Empty faces. Unbusied.
Brooklyn says, 'Sad. They're gonna start cutting jobs soon. The casuals are going first.'
You say, 'I know. My hours have been slashed in half aswell as the other casuals. Even the part-timers.'
'It's bad isn't it?'
'It's real bad.'
Your eyes run over the books on the recommended shelf. There's a thick one. It reads: Ulysses.
[[Take out Ulysses]]
[[Leave Ulysses Be]] It is so much deader than usual. The woolworths is relatively busy. A few people come out with 4-packs of toilet paper. A few people come in and out of the station. There is a girl on the woolworths corner with her guitar and microphone. She is almost always there and there is almost always a crowd around her. Today there isn't. She sings to no one and she knows it but she keeps going.
Brooklyn says, 'Let's go that way.'
'Alright.'
[[Go Up Park Street]]
You hold Ulysses in your hands. It's heavy. Brooklyn scoffs.
'Don't even bother,' she says.
'Why?'
'It's impossible. I couldn't understand a word.'
'Maybe you should've tried harder,' you say. Brooklyn laughs and playfully hits you. You playfully mimic pain. Then you flip through the pages: the chapters run long, the paragraphs without periods or commas, the words without context. You scoff and return the book back to the shelf.
Brooklyn says, 'there's nothing really here.'
You say 'I know, let's go.'
[[Go Back out on the Street]] You wander through the store. There are two levels. Both you and Brooklyn scan the books and nothing stands out. The employees watch you eagerly. They wait for either of you to buy something. You don't.
Eventually Brooklyn says, 'There's nothing here.'
You say, 'I know, let's go.'
[[Go Back out on the Street]] Across the road is the QVB Bus stop. Pedestrians are forced closer together. It's busy. People wait for their buses. Students mostly; unenthused students, some scrolling on their phones, others focus on maintaining distance.
An old, homeless man with a flowing grey beard is set up by the wall. He has a dog with him, cuddling into him, the two of them keeping each other warm.
You go:
[[To Town Hall]] More of the same. Face masks. People keeping to themselves and away from others.
Brooklyn says, 'This woman came into work the other day. She said she has a friend in france and apparently everything is locked down. They're only allowed out to go to the supermarket for food and medicine and that's it. THey can't even go for a run.'
'Really?'
'Yeah. No working or anything. So basically they're ahead of us. THat'll be us tomorrow.'
'It will won't it. I don't know how I'm going to make rent. It's fucking tough.'
'In Europe they've suspended rent payments. That's what I've heard anyway.'
'That'd be good,' you say. You silently curse ScoMo and you continue on.
[[To Hyde Park]] You walk through the splitway of Hyde Park. To the left are trees shadowing over a wide path. TO the left a more open park and the tall anzac memorial. Even from a distance you see it's closed now. There are only two people you see that way: some teenagers picnicking.
'What now?' Brooklyn asks.
[[To Anzac Memorial]]
[[Cross to the Shadowed Path]]
You cut across the grass to the shallow pool. You sit down the Brooklyn and you chat. The fountain jets water high. The wind carries a mist of spray into the air.
'It's so peaceful,' Brooklyn says. 'You wouldn't think it's the end of the world.'
'It's not,' you say.
'It is for some.'
'But not us.'
'No, hopefully not us.'
You take her hand. 'Not us,' you say. 'Not us.' She has deep brown eyes. 'Not yet.' You cross the road and under the shade of the trees are vacant seats. Most are lined in bird shit. Brooklyn pulls at your arm off the path, onto a beaten track. 'I know a nice spot!' So you follow her and you come to a fountain, water jets into the air. Aroudn the fountain are small gardens. You smell mint and rosemary. You sit in the shade with Brooklyn. Her hand slips into yours.
At another seat across the small way is a young woman reading a book.
'It's so peaceful,' Brooklyn says. 'You wouldn't think it's the end of the world.'
'It's not,' you say.
'It is for some.'
'But not us.'
'No, hopefully not us.'
You take her hand. 'Not us,' you say. 'Not us.' She has deep brown eyes. 'Not yet.'