"... who would've thought this would come in our way!"

"Come on, Chips," Arun whispered into his phone, doing his best to comfort his lady love. As if falling in love and staying in love weren't hard enough, he now had to help soothe her nerves from far away. "This will be gone before we know. Our love is strong. There is nothing that can keep us apart. Just a blip, dear!"

"The cure is months away, Peppermint," Chitra said even as she looked out at the deserted streets from the balcony on the fifteenth's floor. "I hope the virus doesn't kill us before we get to meet again. And I hope it doesn't kill our..."

"Bite your lips, Chips," Arun interjected even before Chitra could finish her sentence. "As if all this chaos isn't enough, you now have to say something negative. Be positive. Cheer up."

"So, I am now the bad omen?" Chitra retorted, her annoyance clearly showing.

"Come on, sweetheart. You are the only ray of hope in my otherwise dreary life. Look at all those around me. They like me only when I am what they want me to be. But you, you take me as I come. I love you, sweetheart! Never say such things."

"I love you too, Peppermint. Sorry. I am all worked up."

"Our love is too strong for something temporary to break it up. Think of all that we are set to be up against at some point in the future? Do you think this is anymore serious than any of them?" Arun said. "I understand you, Chips. Now, a little knock knock joke to cheer you up."

"Should I go on mute?"

"No, Chips. I want you to keep saying hmmm. Even that mere sound of acknowledgement is music to my ears. Please!"

"Sure, sure, you idiot! I will," Chitra laughed heartily before suddenly going silent. "Oops! I almost gave it away!"

"And you are calling me an idiot. Anyway, listen. Knock Knock."

"Who's there?"

"Chips"

"Chips who?"

"The chips that never go down. Not at least until I am around."

"Ha! Good one. You are the only one who knows how to make me smile. You can make any obstacle seem like a mere speck of dust, a grain of mustard..."

"All but one!"

"All but two, for me and you."

"You and I, no?" The two laughed in unison.

"Oh boy! How I wish we could meet right now so I could sweep you off your feet?"

"In your dreams," Chitra said. "Wait." An uneasy calm came over both ends at once. "Arun, Chips going down now. Talk to you later." Arun stood there, listening to the call going from the pleasant voice of his beloved Chips to the sound of beeps, a pause if not the end. He gazed at the horizon, hoping something would carry him away from where he stood and into the welcoming arms of Chitra.

---

"Darling! " Vivek was holding a shocked Chitra. "Surprised? I am going nowhere for the next two weeks. Work from home it is! Are you not happy? I can read my favourite books, you could cook all my favourite dishes for us, and we could watch all those movies I've been meaning to watch, together! What a godsend break!" Vivek said and walked into the bathroom with least regards for what Chitra had to say. Elsewhere, Arun was seen removing dry clothes off the line and placing them carefully into the bucket after folding them. Rekha would create a racket otherwise, you see.