Like everyone, I’ve had a bit of a tough time during lockdown. Can’t see my family, can’t go to the movies, bought a bunch of defective KN95 masks, the usual. What sets my situation apart is that I live with my wonderful girlfriend, Andrea.
We’d met in college during her Freshman year, my Junior. It was a classic case of opposites attracting: she was a tiny Korean-American chemical engineering major, barely a shade over five feet and a hundred pounds. She was self-conscious, reserved, afraid of seeming out of place or unqualified. I was a burly, brash English Lit major who split his time between drinking, warming the bench for the club rugby team, drinking, mansplaining D.H. Lawrence, and drinking. But when we met each other at a party, we just *clicked*.
Our very first interaction, for some reason I can’t remember, was a 10 minute-long drunken argument over whether *Gladiator* was overrated (who was arguing which side might surprise you). Her little smile when she knew I was bullshitting a point just to keep talking to her made me weak. I eventually brought her a shot as a peace offering.