Last Saturday, I got coffee outside with a friend whom I’d barely seen all pandemic. Straight after bumping elbows, he proudly took out his phone to show me his latest medical tests: his bad cholesterol had plummeted because he had stopped eating out. He was happy not socialising. Invited to two -illegal dinner parties the previous night, he had told each host that he couldn’t come because he was going to the other gathering. He then sat at home and watched Netflix. We enjoyed seeing each other, but in less than an hour we were both done, made our excuses and each retreated home to blessed solitude.
上周六，我和一個朋友去外面喝咖啡，我在整個疫情期間幾乎沒有和他見過面。在我們碰了手肘后，他立刻驕傲地拿出他的手機，給我展示他最近的體檢報告：他的壞膽固醇降了不少，因為他不再外出吃飯了。他對不用社交的生活也感到高興。前一天晚上，他收到兩個“非法”晚宴的邀請，但他分別告訴兩個主人他不能赴宴，因為他要去另外那一個聚會。之后他就坐在家里看Netflix節目。我們見到彼此后很開心，但不到一小時，我們都覺得可以結束了，給自己找了個借口，然后各自回家享受孤獨。