Whiskey Dreams

The soft glow of the street lights flooded through the edges of the curtains in the dark hotel room. The TV flickered strobes of color across the room with a faint hum. The room was filled with the rustling of sheets, the clinking of glasses, and the laughter of two good friends who had finally found the right person to spend their free time with in the midst of all of this chaos.

"This one is exquisite," his charming voice chuckled out as he lifted the bottle up for her to read.

She traced her fingertips on the edge of the bottle, glancing over to him and smirking, "Tastes fantastic. You really have turned me onto it without even having to try too hard." Her fingers dragged over his, "You've turned me onto quite a few things." His lips formed a smile and he turned his head quickly to place a soft kiss on her cheek. She sank into his shoulder, letting him shift to kiss her forehead as she rested against him.

Ever since quarantine began, they had both taken on extensive hours at the hospital. Fighting the COVID-19 fight together, they chose to avoid home to limit exposure to their families, as well as be close to the hospital. His teen boys were on their own with his guidance just a FaceTime call away. Her children were in the care of her sisters. They needed company, safe company. They needed someone to vent to, someone to cry on the shoulder of, someone to release all of the pain of the day with.

It began with a couple of casual dates on the couch of his office, sneaking quick pours of whiskey with the blinds drawn shut. Laughs, personal stories, and that one time they both fell asleep piled together on the couch after the most exhausting day they'd had in a while, it was all exactly what the other needed.

They both needed a companion. Someone who could pull them out of the most depressed state, or slip down the slide into crying with shaking fear with the other when the situation warranted such a response.

It transitioned to the hotel where they soon realized their rooms were side by side with a double-sided door splitting the optional suite.

From that point on, the doors remained open during the day. Neither needed to be alone. Having that shared, open space felt like home to her and was a welcome enhancement to the small temporary living space for him.

They became instant best friends. She couldn't explain the feeling of waking up and running to jump onto the edge of his bed, giggling when he'd throw a pillow at her, or pretend that he was still asleep and reach out to grab her and swing her across the bed. She couldn't yet put into words what their rela-... friendship... felt like for her.

Friendship, yes. Friendship. She had to keep reminding herself of that one.

That idea worked for a while, at least.

Well, until the night the storm came through.

The power had gone out and the hotel was working on fixing a downed generator, leaving nothing but the emergency lights on. They promised it'd be up within a few hours, but with restrictions on workers and limited staff, guests understood it may be a while. The quarantining duo lounged on a sofa that night, passing the time with a bottle of whiskey and deep conversation.

"The kids are asleep, thankfully. Amelia says they've slept right through it." She passed the bottle back his way as she put away her phone, dropping it over to the side table and pulling her feet up onto the couch close to her body.

"The boys are playing video games on backup batteries and a hotspot, can you believe it?" His charming chuckle brought a smile to her face as he looked over, repeating her action of placing his own phone to the side and focusing on the then-and-now.