Autumn (comic 82) (Patreon)

Things went on like that over the next month or so. Autumn went to the gym a few times per week, but her job at Oracle was proving to be more taxing than her previous position. She got up early and worked straight through until 5, and when she was done she usually had enough energy to eat dinner and not much else.

By the time March came around however, she seemed to be making progress with her workouts. Her legs were getting stronger, and her nicotine impaired lungs regained some of their capacity to transfer oxygen to her bloodstream, as she had successfully cut back on the cigarettes, smoking less than a pack per day for the first time in over a year. Her weight had stubbornly leveled off in the one hundred and eighty pound range, but she had been able to tone up her arms and waist, at least a little.

Just as she was starting to settle into a healthy and balanced routine of work and exercise, news reports came in that 21 people on a California cruise ship had tested positive for something called the coronavirus, and the entire world changed, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

The first thing to close was Anytime Fitness, as nothing is more of a breeding ground for a virus than a public gym. The second was Mike’s job.

The whole campus where he worked shut down completely. Nobody knew for how long, so Mike was kept on retainer, which basically meant he would continue to be paid his full salary just to stay home. Oracle on the other hand, fortunately or unfortunately, was ahead of the curve. As Autumn already worked remotely, her job went on like it was business as usual.

Mike felt bad that he had unlimited free time, while Autumn still had to wake up early and slave away in front of her laptop, so he did his best to make her days as easy and comfortable as possible.

“Oh wow, this looks amazing,” Autumn said as she sat up in bed.

Mike handed her a huge plate of food and a fork, then set a steaming mug of coffee next to her on the nightstand. “Most important meal of the day right?”

“Right.” She smiled and wiggled her hips beneath the down comforter. It was her all time favorite breakfast.

- Autumn (Chapter 7)