You know, it's not the same

 

Vanna felt it was a vicious circle of some kind. Her COVID symptoms lasted for only five days. She only needed some cold meds and then she was better. But then Koda got COVID.

"You can stay at my apartment," Jay told her. This kind of shocked her, what he'd meant. "You two stay at my apartment and I'll stay at yours."

She didn't know why he wanted this. Even now. But she was in Hope's nursery and Koda stayed in Jay's bedroom. 

Jay tidied up the place before he moved to their basement apartment. And even then he went into their place disinfecting the place as if he might have his own business.

"So now I bet you want a two bedroom," Jay called a week later.

"Well, yeah, but..but it's not home," she told him Koda was better. They hadn't stayed in the same room together. They were ready to go back to their place.

"Just stay there the rest of the month," Jay said. He had no need for the two-bedroom. He said Hope was staying at home and he was picking up more shifts at work. "Maybe once the COVID numbers are down I can spend more time with Hope." Occasionally, he saw her at the daycare at work and at Bom's. "She knows who I am."

Still, it felt strange to be at someone else's place. She did wonder how Jay would be if Lindy hadn't gone crazy on him.

"I hope you didn't use that word when you spoke about Lindy to Jay," Koda was in a pout about it while he was cooking. Both couldn't taste or smell anything. He kept cooking spicy foods hoping that would change.

"I didn't say anything about Lindy," Vanna said.

"I know he's depressed," Koda nodded. "Slater told me Jay doesn't know what to do. Lindy is like this shell of a person now. It's like there is nothing inside."

"Wouldn't that be a coma?" Vanna winced.

"I dunno." Koda shrugged. "She just sits there in a wheelchair now. She won't communicate with anyone. Jay said Lindy's dad said her mother got like that."

"I didn't think people could get that way," Vanna hugged herself not wanting to think Jay was suffering like this. "I didn't think he'd be, you know, that crazy about her."

Koda rolled his eyes at her and went to get her some homemade chocolate pudding. He got himself one too. 

"Well, I know it's cold and very refreshing," She said about the pudding. She smiled then. It was sweet. "I think my taste is coming back."

"Now if only mine would." He ate the pudding anyway.