As the cab barreled down La Cienega Boulevard, the woman wondered if this was the beginning of the end. They had had a great time on their trip—a short weekend away for his college friend’s wedding. That was the easy part. Socializing, exploring a new city and covertly wiping everything down while he was in the shower. The woman knew how to keep up appearances when she was in public or outside her own place. Now, came the hard part. Re-entering her home following air travel. It would be a fight against time, contamination and the potential shame that came with being observed.
The woman’s boyfriend knew she had OCD. She’d been upfront about it as they’d gotten to know each other over ice cream dates and walks around the park with her emotional support dog. But the woman knew there was a big difference between conceptualizing someone’s mental illness and actually seeing it take hold in front of you. When she initially agreed to the trip, about three months into dating, she’d hoped they would part ways after touching back down in Los Angeles. He would head back to his place while she could conduct her post-airplane rituals in peace.