Prologue

Restaurants?  Closed.  Parks?  Empty.  Streets?  Deserted.  The world just suddenly stopped.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) began in Wuhan, China, showing up in late December 2019.  It quickly spread throughout the globe, causing death, financial disaster, job loss, and family upheaval.  There isn’t a part of our lives that hasn’t been affected by COVID-19.  As of today, February 24, 2022, there have been over 431 million worldwide deaths with new cases occurring every day.  For many, we have lost loved ones.  Some were stranded in other countries with no way to get home for weeks or months.  Most of us were unable to see family or friends who lived out of our immediate bubble for nearly a year.

The effect of quarantine on our mental health, learning, work, and relationships cannot be undersold.  It brought Tiger King, sourdough bread making, so much Zoom, mass pet adoptions, and TikTok dance challenges.  Working from home took on a new meaning while you tried to juggle children logging into school, staff meetings, and that 1:00 nap time (for you or your child). 

But what if quarantine brought you together rather than ripping you apart from those you love?  What if the one that you quarantined with ended up being the person you were meant to be with forever?  Four groups of people stuck together during quarantine.  What will happen to them as the weeks, months, years go on?