"Mrs. Moretti, what do you think of these venue options?"

Mrs. Moretti. Damn. It had been a while since I got married and I am honestly still dealing with being addressed by my husband's surname.

My husband. Well, I'm even a bit startled by the whole concept of a husband to be honest. My big and awkward wedding and amazing (any maybe steamy) honeymoon phase is over. The excitement has settled and now I'm finally coming in terms to everything. Leo is my husband. I'm still getting used to it.

I snapped out of my thoughts and answered the nervous new intern Emily hired. Lately, we've been expanding. Emily suggested that we hire more people to take the workload off me especially since I was busy planning my wedding. It was the best suggestion ever. And, lucky for us our new intern Sarah is a literal angel. She colour-codes her lists and knows what coloured arrow flags sticky notes are used for! Such a lifesaver she is!

I looked at her image on the tiny screen of my computer. "That's all very nice but what about the pandemic restrictions?" I asked.

Ever since that horrible covid spread across the world, life had changed. The wedding industry had completely toppled upside down. I won't lie we lost more then 20 major clients and it was quiet a loss. But we cannot loose hope, we all have to work really hard especially in such a difficult time.

"That would depend on the number of people attending it. Various countries and local governments have different restrictions imposed on venues depending on the severity of covid cases. Is there any specific one that interests you? I can gather more information about it." Sarah said.

"Sure, I'll talk to the clients. Some of them are still doubtful if they want to wrap the wedding up or wait till the situation gets better and have a grand ceremony." I sighed. God, that was a tiring task, convincing people.

I mean, as much as I want to hate my clients for being so cranky and choosy about something as trivial as a wedding when there is a literal pandemic, I realise that I cannot hate them. They might seem conceited and privileged. But, it is a goddamn wedding, one of the most anticipated event in one's life. It is natural for them to want the best. Of course, the pandemic messed up everything. I cannot hate my clients for wanting their dream wedding. Their wedding is my job but for them it is one of the biggest milestone in their lives. So I'd vowed that I'd make sure I'd give my guests their dream wedding in a pandemic while ensuring everyone stays safe and follows the restrictions and safety guidelines too. Not an easy task.

"Is that all or are we missing anything?"

Sarah gave a quick glance in her planner. "No, it seems we've discussed all the topics from the agenda."

"Very well. We are done for the day. Before we leave, I had to ask, how are you and your family?"

"I'm well." She said. "I was worried about you Mrs. Moretti. How are you? Is your treatment going well?"

"I'm coping up, Sarah." I sighed. "That's all one can do in this difficult time can't they?"

Sara and I talked for health for a bit before left. I left my desk and went back to my bed. I had been staring at these same walls and ceiling so much for the past few days that I think I was going crazy. I tested positive for covid and I had chosen to quarantine at my home, so I had confined myself in a room. Leo had tested negative for the virus and was doing all the chores while taking care of me.

I heard a knock on my door. I grabbed the face mask hanging from the door, wore it and opened the door of my room. Leo was outside, he was carrying a snack basket.

"Really, a mask?"

"It is for your safety dumbo." I took the basket from his hands, carefully trying not to touch him.

I grabbed a chair and placed it a bit farther from the door and sat. 12 feet distance, I remembered. I removed my mask then. "Better?" I asked

"Much better." He chuckled as he leaned on the doorway. "How are you feeling?" He asked. "Did you check your temperature? Andrew asked me to keep him updated. Has your coughing gotten any better? If it hasn't he said he'd send a medicine for it."

"I'm better." I said.

The medicines were working but it made me feel so weak. I was sleeping most of the day. I couldn't do anything not even the most remote work. I mean, I was so tired all the time.

"You don't sound better, you sound sound dull, babe." He said. "I'm here if you want to talk about it."

I didn't want to burden him but then he asked it in such a sweet way and I had been feeling way too lonely in quarantine.

I sighed and said, "I feel so frustrated and weak. I'm so helpless, like I'm unable to do anything to keep things from falling apart. My career I'm worried about it."

Finally, I had put it out there. I had tried so much to remain positive for so long. Yet, I could not quell the worries.

"Then the other day, you baked bread and I couldn't smell it nor taste it. I cried because I could taste nothing okay, nothing at all."

"It wasn't really that good to be honest. It was a bit too salty."

I managed a faint smile. I knew he was saying that to make me feel better.

"And I try to distract myself from it all. I decide to read a book, watch a movie or try one of those productive hobbies. But guess what? I can't do it. I cannot focus. My head hurts. And all those medicines make me so sleepy. I feel so unmotivated, how am I going to motivate my people? How can I expect people to work for me?"

Leo sighed. "You are not supposed to be motivating anyone right now you're supposed to be getting better."

"Well, you motivatedpeople."

While I'm sitting here, sleeping all day and doing nothing Leo is out there making a difference in the world. Since roses are not that needed in a pandemic, Leo used all of Rosabella's greenhouses to grow vegetables and fruits. In Trinity, transport lines were closed as some neighbouring suburbs had emerged as covid hotspots. There is a food shortage in the city. Because of Leo the whole city escaped a major food crisis. The people who were previously a part of his gang volunteered to help him like Remy who volunteered for the task of driving the supplies truck to various parts of the city. It was all possible because of Leo's passion and his leadership skills. I was so inspired and so proud to be this man's wife. Yet, I felt like I was not being worthy of him. I should be out there doing something significant too. But, I am here and I am stuck.

"First of all Meg, I am helping others because I am not sick. If I were, my I'd first focus on getting better and then help others."

"I know but..." I looked at my feet. I didn't know how to explain it to him. I just feel so sick, frustrated and unproductive. I feel so useless that the world is in crisis and I'm sleeping for ten hours a day. It feels guilty.

"Meg, doll... you can change the world. It's just that you need not fight all your battles at once. First fight against covid, heal yourself. Then, when you get better change the world and do your bit, okay?"

"Ok." I mumbled. Compared to his energetic declaration my ok sounded so dull. We were interrupted by an alarm. Leo dug for his phone in his pocket and switched off the alarm.

"Dough alarm." He said.

I never understood people like Leo who coped through a worldwide pandemic by baking bread. Each to his own I guess.

"I must go and finish work." He said. "You take your medicines and have some fruit salad with your lunch. And don't forget your vitamins okay? Take some rest. I'll be back in a bit."

"Yes sir." I answered sarcastically.

He turned to leave but stopped.

"You know Meg, you are my world so by taking care of yourself you are actually saving my world."

I literally rolled my eyes. Too cheesy, Leo. Still, I couldn't help but laugh. He was so cute. This literally made my whole day. Not that I'd ever tell him and encourage his dorky jokes.

After Leo left, I was digging the lunch parcel he handed me. There were my favourite snack, a bottle of water and some lunch he made. I noticed he had some small jars. It had labels on it. I wondered what that was.

I went to the door and called out to him. "Leo, what are these jars for?"

"That is a smell jar." He shouted his answer from across the kitchen. I heard the shuffle of utensils banging as he closed the door of the kitchen cabinet.

I saw him at the kitchen door, his one hand covered with sticky dough. An was he wearing my apron? That's an issue for later though.

"So the jars have blank labels on it. You've to smell it and guess the name of the ingredient, and write it down on the label." He said.

It was a smell test. I'd read it on the internet. People who had lost their sense of smell were advised to keep smelling certain strong smelling stuff to try and recover their sense.

I opened one jar. It looked like a bath salt. I inhaled deeply and had a faint trace of eucalyptus. I took a marker from my desk and wrote it down on the jar. There was another jar. It was filled with dried rose petals. I took a whiff and it was a utter blank. Yup, this one is a fail. Eventually, I went through the tests and out of the five jars I had only successfully smelled eucalyptus bath salt. Even for that I had to literally snort the bath salt.

Ugh, I can't wait for this nonsense to get over.

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