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，我和一个朋友去外面喝咖啡，我在整个疫情期间几乎没有和他见过面。在我们碰了手肘后，他立刻骄傲地拿出他的手机，给我展示他最近的体检报告：他的坏胆固醇降了不少，因为他不再外出吃饭了。他对不用社交的生活也感到高兴。前一天晚上，他收到两个“非法”晚宴的邀请，但他分别告诉两个主人他不能赴宴，因为他要去另外那一个聚会。之后他就坐在家里看Netflix节目。我们见到彼此后很开心，但不到一小时，我们都觉得可以结束了，给自己找了个借口，然后各自回家享受孤独。