Slowly, the COVID lockdown eased. Few restaurants allowed outdoor seatings. Squirrel Girl welcomed the change for she was ready to pull all her fur out due to stress from the lockdown. Technically, there were no bars that enclosed her, but she felt like she was in hibernation for too long. It was now summer and she was delighted that she would be able to sit under the stars at cafés to type away on her little computer. It was positively impossible for her little squirrel brain to focus at home when it came to writing. She suffered the Jean-Paul Sartre’s syndrome of writing at cafes. However, it was confusing. Orders were virtual. All manner of merchandise turned virtual. It was as if the whole world was suited in a bubble. It was frustrating, but people appeared so glad to be out-and-about that they complied with the new rules.

To celebrate the phase one of the lockdown openings, Squirrel Girl and her friends—Lucky Ducky, Sly Foxy, and Gary-the-groundhog—met at an outdoor café. The food was good and a bargain. They all had Tuesday Burger, which only cost five dollars. Squirrel Girl asked again to ensure that she was not being tricked. Yes, the burger came with fries and it was still five dollars. Gleeful, Squirrel Girl decided that a bit of fat would be a good change after eating so many nuts. Surely, squirrels could not live on nuts alone? She greedily sank her little teeth into the burger and enjoyed it although Gary-the-groundhog complained that the burger at Charred house was preferable. He may have been correct but a bargain made anything delicious—maybe not all but almost.

After the Tuesday Burgers were eaten, they decided to get some ice cream and went to the nearest town center. It was almost empty, but it was pleasant to be strolling with Lucky Ducky, Sly Foxy, and Gary-the-groundhog. For a brief moment, life seemed almost normal.

Out of turn, Squirrel Girl said to her friends, “You do know that this town center is known as a ‘pickup’ place for singles?”

Laughing, Gary-the-groundhog said, “I don’t think that much ‘pickup’ is happening now.”

They all laughed. Indeed, how can there be any meeting of singles now? Unless they were the masked avengers.

Yet, Sly Fox said, “Well, there is the curbside pickup.”

More laughter ensued. Sly Fox was indeed sly. They had to watch out for her. The quiet ones were always the ones to watch out for. She was always such a “foodie” that no one dared to imagine that she was observant.

Once ice-creams were eaten, they sat and enjoyed the stars. Surely, the stars looked down on the four friends benevolently. Even during the Time of Corona, they managed to support each other and thus proved that life was meant to be lived.