It’s now been over three months since I last saw my boyfriend. When the seriousness of Covid began to become apparent, we had spent one last weekend together. So I last saw him on the 15th March. In term time, when I was at university in Liverpool, he was a 30 minute train ride away. Now I am ‘down South’ and he is ‘up North’ and it is a bit complicated. Due to Boris’s stringent ‘essential travel’ rules, we have decided to not see each other. Of course, taking the train carries risks too.
“The uncertainty is sometimes hard to cope with, for both of us.”
Ben has been my boyfriend for three years and we have always been long distance. I spent a year in France for year abroad in third year. Back then, we went a long period of time not seeing each other too. Still, we knew when we would next be seeing each other. The uncertainty is sometimes hard to cope with, for both of us. Time seems to speed by. This week, we were meant to be on holiday together in Malta, a trip that was my joint birthday and Christmas present from him. It is sad knowing the time we are missing out on together but also we have found ourselves getting closer.
Being unable to see Ben and knowing the sad situation the country is in has made me care even more for him. We still talk every day and generally are very present. At first, I had thought I would find it really hard not seeing him and now we seem to have adjusted. He told me he also feels closer to me too, perhaps because we are really valuing communication, even from a 200 mile distance. Surprisingly, we have been talking much more about our future than usual.
Searching for houses online has become our new hobby. We often speak about moving in together, hopefully in the next year. Really, having a boyfriend in lockdown is much more of a blessing than I thought it would be. Having someone to speak to every day and rant to is a nice thing when the world is a bit scary. More than anything, it is the ultimate proof of commitment. I miss him but I take comfort in knowing we are both safe and thinking of our future, when things are hopefully a bit brighter.
Olivia Devereux-Evans
Image courtesy of Author.
