Quarantine break-ups
THE pandemic has put a halt on all major sporting activity, but the dating game must go on. Relationship try-outs are still happening on social media, warm-up activities are happening with the help of toys via video calls, and yes, many players are still being benched.
It’s a little tricky trying to blow the whistle on a relationship with the current realities, but it is not impossible. These women share how they put their men on time out, or became bench warmers themselves during the quarantine quarter.
Trisha, 30:
I’ve been seeing one of the supervisors at work, and a while back management allowed those who could to work from home. We were to be available for contact during regular work hours and were to attend mandatory online meetings. I knew that once we were working from home I would probably see him less because he has a whole wife and family, but before we went off we agreed to come into office a couple days per week anyway so we could see each other. Well, the first Monday after we started working from home I was invited to a Zoom meeting and immediately joined, thinking that it was the regular staff briefing. But it was just him and me in the meeting, and he insisted that I activate my video. Thinking it was going to be an online hook up, I rushed to fix my hair and activated the ‘touch up my appearance’ feature on my iPhone, since I didn’t have time to do my make-up. When I turned on the video he stared at me for a while and then said, “Hmmm, anyway Trisha, this won’t work out. My wife is pregnant and I don’t feel comfortable dating you anymore“. He then ended the call before I could react. And by the way, I’ve gone to the office several times on the days we had originally planned to meet up, and he is never there.
Meisha, 29:
I have a son with asthma and I know this is not right, but I used him as the excuse to end a relationship that I wanted to end from last year. The guy I was seeing works in the media and he still goes on the road everyday trying to get stories, so I told him that I can’t see him or come over anymore because I don’t want to put my son at risk by bringing home the virus to him.
Nicola, 26:
Well I can’t say it’s really a break-up because we weren’t really together, but it still hurts. He has his wife at home and we just had a mutual understanding that we would hook up when we could find the time, just to blow off steam. The truth is that I was getting very fond of him as a friend, but he has since let me know that it looks too suspicious when he leaves home in the daytime to come see me and he won’t risk coming after curfew time. He said I should just find another guy, and it really hurts. Where am I supposed to find another guy in these times?
Kaydene, 38:
This happened to my close friend whose husband had a thing with a client he met at work. Apparently the affair was going on for a while, and the woman got so comfortable and so desirous of becoming the wife that she first called my friend to brag, then called the husband’s parents to advise them that she was going to be the mother of their new grandchild. I don’t know if she was lying or what, but the parents acted swiftly, told the girl never to call them again even if she was actually pregnant, and sent their son to a mental health facility overseas to seek “treatment”. He is still there and can’t come home because of COVID, and my friend never heard back from the woman.
Kitty, 26:
My boyfriend and I broke up over a month ago but we still live together and sleep in the same bed, all because of COVID. We are renting together and he claims he can’t get anywhere else in these times, and he can’t put together the security deposit for a new place because his salary was reduced. He was still acting like we were together, until I started playing Dexta Daps’ Breaking News every day, so now he either buys food on the road or cooks his own food.
Matea, 34:
Well, I tried to break up with my long-time boyfriend, but staying at home by yourself all day really makes you realise how much you miss somebody. After two weeks of separation I asked if he wanted to come watch a movie with me, and just like that we were back together. I’m still not sure I want to stay with him but I’ll wait until all of this ends before I bring up any of our issues again.
Laurie-Ann, 24:
I live in Spanish Town and my now ex-boyfriend lives in Portmore. The other day during the St Catherine lockdown he called to say that he tried coming to my house, but got detained overnight and was beaten in jail because people weren’t allowed to leave their communities. After he was “released”, he said he was too traumatised to be in a relationship right now, and said we should take a break. He then blocked me from everything — calls, WhatsApp, and social media. I felt guilty because I was the one who had insisted that he come to my house, and I resigned myself to seeing him only after he had dealt with his trauma. Well, would you know that week two into the lockdown my dog got sick, and I called my vet in Portmore to ask how to proceed, and they said to come right in. I asked what I should tell the cops at the checkpoint, and the vet seemed puzzled and said I should just come in. Anyway, armed with my mask and the dog, I drove to Portmore, expecting to meet up on roadblocks, but there were none. There was actually free movement within the parish, and my bastard ex had made up the story about being detained to break up with me.
