Our first box apartment in Brooklyn holds a lot of memories

I write this instalment surrounded by boxes, cat paraphernalia and the unique accoutrements necessary for New York apartments This week, we are finally leaving The Box and moving into a much nicer apartment, thanks to the fleeing of the rich from NYC during the pandemic. Over the next month, we watched the police arrive and take away the basketball hoop in the park opposite so teens wouldn’t gather to play during one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. When bars allowed takeaway drinks in July, we took cocktails up there and sat on beach chairs, remembering the year before when we’d done the same thing by the sea. I remember looking out into the snow and saying: “We’re living in someone else’s bad dystopian novel.” We tested our relationship in 300 sq ft, and it held. I wouldn’t say I’m fond of The Box – many times throughout this year, I hated it with a passion – but it did get us through these tough times.