it was august

It was August. I was sitting in my girlfriend’s grandmother’s cabin on Whidbey Island. Nestled into a comfortable chair I looked around and smiled softly at the three dogs sleeping at my feet, my husband seated across the room scrolling Twitter, and I sighed deeply. It was a beautiful afternoon, and I was grateful there wasn’t anything I needed to do. I could enjoy the view of Saratoga Pass, the soft snoring of the dogs, the breeze, and my book all afternoon. I was at peace.

It was also 2020. This was possibly the first deep breath I had taken all year. There was plenty to be worried about. Covid-19 arrived early in the Seattle area, and my family had been locked down since the first week of March. My husband’s office was closed, and he was working from home at a desk in our bedroom. My office had also closed, but by August, it didn’t really matter that I had been working out of our home office because I was furloughed. Our story wasn’t unique and it wasn’t event particularly sad. I was lucky I still had a job. Covid-19 came for a lot of industries, and mine, event production, had been all but obliterated. In February we were already being impacted by attendance at conferences – international attendees weren’t able to travel. By the beginning of March, corporations were pulling out of conferences – not that it mattered –events were cancelling so quickly you had track them on a website.

We had decided to get away because we needed the change of scenery. We knew that Whidbey Island was the perfect answer, close enough to travel by car, remote enough that we wouldn’t need to interact with anyone, and we could bring our dogs. It would be the perfect break. But this place. This cabin. It is one of our favorite places in the world. We needed it.

What we didn’t know was that it would also be the place where our lives would completely change.

-cqn