{"id":796,"date":"2020-06-10T17:00:12","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T00:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/?p=796"},"modified":"2020-07-09T16:29:31","modified_gmt":"2020-07-09T23:29:31","slug":"sheltering-in-place-at-the-magdalena-arms-episode-iv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/2020\/06\/10\/sheltering-in-place-at-the-magdalena-arms-episode-iv\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheltering in Place at the Magdalena Arms: Episode IV"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Missed the earlier episodes? You can find them all\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love in a Time of Pandemic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Phyllis stepped onto the third floor landing, she automatically glanced down the hallway and the three shut doors that lined it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if on cue, the door to Apartment 401 swung open and Laura stepped out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phyllis caught her breath at the sight of her downstairs neighbor. Had there ever been a more attractive Assistant to the Head of Public Housing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Phyllis, Laura followed a regular routine, dressing each morning with her usual care, eating at her regular times, and had confided to Phyllis that it was her strict rule not to read any news after 9 p.m. In a dozen small ways she projected an air of serenity Phyllis found admirable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And unlike Phyllis, who had years ago abandoned the fight to stay fashionable for a utilitarian uniform in shades of gray and tan, Laura brightened the windowless hallway in a gayly printed tunic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier that morning, Phyllis had attended a zoom meeting along with Laura. Although she\u2019d tried to focus on the charts the  Emergency Operations Committee were sharing, she couldn\u2019t help but be distracted by her comely colleague. Freed from the confines of the computer screen, the flesh and blood Laura was doubly distracting. The oranges and yellows of her tunic were more vivid, the snug black leotards that encased her lithe legs a delicious detail Phyllis had missed in the online environment. The grainy quality of a Zoom video didn\u2019t do justice to Laura\u2019s warm complexion or the gold flecks in her dark eyes; and the square window had cut off the attractive afro that now framed the Housing Assistant’s face. Laura had recently gone natural, and Phyllis secretly thought the current trend was wildly becoming to her neighbor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in all, Laura six feet away was ten times more vibrant than computer Laura. Phyllis wondered if she should recalibrate her laptop\u2019s color settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPhyllis!\u201d Laura\u2019s preoccupied frown turned into a wide smile. \u201cGoing downstairs for lunch?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phyllis had developed the habit of taking her lunch to the unused basement kitchen to eat. It helped her feel less confined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And she often ran into Laura, doing the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phyllis nodded. \u201cYou too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laura sighed. \u201cI need to get out of my room and move my body before the next meeting.\u201d She circled her shoulders and rotated her head. \u201cSitting so long\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could\u2014\u201d Phyllis stopped and blushed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was going to\u2014that is, I wish I could give you a-a neck rub.\u201d The social scientist laughed self-consciously. \u201cBut of course\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wish you could too!\u201d said Laura fervently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two women swayed towards each other, as if magnetized, and then immediately drew back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe in the lounge you could find one of those wooden balls on a stick, you know for rubbing out the kinks.\u201d Phyllis stuttered, \u201cI-I mean, muscle kinks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d said Laura, politely. The two stood in a standoff until Phyllis realized that she was blocking Laura\u2019s path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, sorry!\u201d she scrambled down the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it!\u201d Laura followed, keeping six feet between herself and Phyllis\u2019s dishwater blond head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next: Dolly in Mourning<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The usually upbeat landlady must confront the reality of Mrs. DeWitt’s death as she begins to clean out her beloved predecessor’s empty apartment. Will Dolly’s stiff upper lip wilt before the chaotic collection of memories? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy this bonus “Humpday” episode and tune in every Friday for the latest installment!<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Missed the earlier episodes? You can find them all\u00a0here. Love in a Time of Pandemic As Phyllis stepped onto the third floor landing, she automatically glanced down the hallway and the three shut doors that lined it. As if on … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[210],"tags":[99,215,211,216],"class_list":["post-796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-serial-siping-at-the-magdalena-arms","tag-laura","tag-lesbian-career-girls","tag-magdalena-arms","tag-phyllis"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":882,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796\/revisions\/882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicanolan.com\/pulppep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}