For those unaware, my Best Beloved is a caterer/personal chef. He lost his commercial kitchen last year, so made the switch to personal chef gigs only. This means he goes shopping for the food, then prepares and serves it in the guests' unit.
Greg had two gigs on Christmas day, both for the same group. They were a last-minute booking from Jacksonville, Florida. That alone made me nervous, as Florida was a major hotspot in Dec 2020. There were four adults and four children.
The wife that booked Greg lied about them all being a single household - ran over his words and blew them off. (I did a little research on the group and discovered that both the wives were minor politicians, one husband was a major GOP donor, and the other husband had an online gambling empire. Pro tip: if you have a fucking Wikipedia page about yourself, most of your life is public knowledge.) She also told Greg she had seen his COVID policies on his website, and that no one in their group was displaying any symptoms.
Greg went and cooked breakfast, and then was scheduled to come back later and cook dinner.
He had a few hours to kill, so he came home after he cooked and served breakfast. As we chatted further, he told me that one of the wives didn't come out of her room all morning, and that there were bottles of Dimetapp, Robitussin, and another cough/cold syrup sitting out.
Cue immediate red flags.
I am high risk due to a history of severe Crohn's disease. I battled it for 10 years - nearly losing several times - before removing my large intestine managed to get it under control. However, it can easily come out of remission, especially if triggered by my immune system reacting to/fighting off illness.
Finally, I told Greg, "Honey, I have to presume all of them are infected." As things sank in a little further, he called one of the guests to investigate. Upon the return phone call, Greg was told that yes, the woman who hadn't come out had been running a fever "for a few days," but that they "didn't think she had COVID."
Not only did they bring Greg in to cook for them, but they all went out on the town - skiing, tubing, going to restaurants, etc. Even with symptoms, coming from a cesspool of disease, they refused to believe that they could possibly be vulnerable. Greg told one husband that I was high risk, and he didn't even react. Just started into questions about the bill.
Greg cancelled the dinner, we masked up immediately, and I promptly moved into the guest room for the next two weeks. We ate dinner across the room from each other, constantly wore masks in the house, and our NYE kiss was with bated breath and on the cheek. I felt helpless and enraged, unable to feel safe even in my own home. Merry fucking Christmas.
Greg had two gigs on Christmas day, both for the same group. They were a last-minute booking from Jacksonville, Florida. That alone made me nervous, as Florida was a major hotspot in Dec 2020. There were four adults and four children.
The wife that booked Greg lied about them all being a single household - ran over his words and blew them off. (I did a little research on the group and discovered that both the wives were minor politicians, one husband was a major GOP donor, and the other husband had an online gambling empire. Pro tip: if you have a fucking Wikipedia page about yourself, most of your life is public knowledge.) She also told Greg she had seen his COVID policies on his website, and that no one in their group was displaying any symptoms.
Greg went and cooked breakfast, and then was scheduled to come back later and cook dinner.
He had a few hours to kill, so he came home after he cooked and served breakfast. As we chatted further, he told me that one of the wives didn't come out of her room all morning, and that there were bottles of Dimetapp, Robitussin, and another cough/cold syrup sitting out.
Cue immediate red flags.
I am high risk due to a history of severe Crohn's disease. I battled it for 10 years - nearly losing several times - before removing my large intestine managed to get it under control. However, it can easily come out of remission, especially if triggered by my immune system reacting to/fighting off illness.
Finally, I told Greg, "Honey, I have to presume all of them are infected." As things sank in a little further, he called one of the guests to investigate. Upon the return phone call, Greg was told that yes, the woman who hadn't come out had been running a fever "for a few days," but that they "didn't think she had COVID."
Not only did they bring Greg in to cook for them, but they all went out on the town - skiing, tubing, going to restaurants, etc. Even with symptoms, coming from a cesspool of disease, they refused to believe that they could possibly be vulnerable. Greg told one husband that I was high risk, and he didn't even react. Just started into questions about the bill.
Greg cancelled the dinner, we masked up immediately, and I promptly moved into the guest room for the next two weeks. We ate dinner across the room from each other, constantly wore masks in the house, and our NYE kiss was with bated breath and on the cheek. I felt helpless and enraged, unable to feel safe even in my own home. Merry fucking Christmas.