My Contagious Robot

[sneezeagainplease]

3 years later...

I added an addition to our robot family, Rose and Tulip.  Rose and Tulip were identical twins. They had tight blond curly hair, dark brown eyes and very white skin.  The twins had wide set noses lined with blond hairs.  Rose and Tulip were on the small side, standing at just 4 feet tall.  Their attributes: got colds easily, allergic to cats and pollen and carefree and happy personalities.

 

Rose and Tulip come into existence on Christmas morning.  They both giggled in unison when I turned them on and checked their systems.  We sat in the living room and opened presents.  This was our little family's Christmas, just me and the bots.  I was very content with my life with my bots.

 

I wanted to stay healthy for the holidays and avoided crowded places, so we wouldn't get sick.  It seemed like Bob was catching a cold, despite my precautions.  Bob sat in between Rose and Tulip on the couch.  He touched their curly hair.  "Welcome!" Bob said as he kissed each sister on the cheek.  "HAAARCHOOO!"  "God bless you Bob." I said.  "COVER!" Irma yelled.  Bob covered the next sneeze in his cupped hands.  "HARCHEESHHHHOOOO!"  "God bless you!" The twins said in unison. They giggled.

Irma made Bob move away from the fresh bots, to the other side of the room. She put a box of tissues on the side of the recliner.  "Blow you nose." She said.  Bob blew his nose.  He then took the remote and changed the channel.  

We sat down to eat breakfast when Irma was done cooking. It smelled great!  Of course, I was the only human there and the only one who could eat.  I dug in.

Bob sat next to me and the twins were across from Bob. Clover and Irma were in the kitchen, cleaning up.  "HAAARCHEEESHOOO!"  Bob sneezed and forgot to cover, spraying us with his cold germs.  "God bless you." I said.  "Oh my. I think I may be catching a cold." Bob excaimed.  "Bob, you certainly have a cold!" Irma remarked. She came over and wiped his hands and face with a sanitizing cloth.  "Goodness gracious. You are going to give us all your cold!" She said.  "Yes. I should be more careful." Bob said.  But he wasn't.  By the time we were done eating, I felt like I needed to sanitize myself and the twins.

 

2 days later...

Rose and Tulip woke up with runny noses and sneezes. They sneezed in unison, cute little sneezes.  They tried to cover with a tissue, but if it wasn't available, they used the back of their hand.  "ahTCHew!" "God bless you both!" I said.  With each sneeze, the girls became more and more congested.  

It was awful timing because I had friends coming over for dinner to exchange gifts.  I did let them all know that 3 of my bots had colds, but they still wanted to come.  These friends had not met my bots yet and were dying to meet them.

Via and Goygi arrived with their hands full of gifts.  Bob opened the door.  He always seemed to get to the door before anyone else could.  And he sneezed all over my friends, misting the gifts.  "HAAARCHEEESHOOO!" Bob sneezed and shook his head.  "Bless you!' Via said.  "Thank you. I seem to be coming down with some kind of cold." Bob said.  He wiped the mucus from under his nose on his sleeve.  "Oh goodness. I'm so sorry!  Did Bob sneeze on you?  He tends to do that to everyone." I said as I motioned for my friends to come in.  "Yep, he sure did." Goygi said.  

The twins were bothered by their runny nose and little sneezes all night.  The cupped their hands over their faces nicely for each sneeze.  But then, they touch the cards as we all played rummy.  "God bless you!" was uttered after each sneeze by all of us.  

But Bob...he was even worse.  He sneezed and coughed on Via and Goygi the whole evening.  "HAAREEEECHOOO!"  Bob sneezed into his hand of cards, spraying Goygi, who sat next to him. I sat across from Bob and I too, felt the moist.  "God bless you!  God Bless you!  Goodness, bless you!"  we all said to Bob.  Bob repeated that scene multiple times during our evening.

It was getting late and Via was yawning. "We should get going." She said.  She thanked me for a fun evening and headed out the door with Goygi.  

Irma washed the twins faced with a soapy washcloth and had them change into clean pajamas.  She instructed Bob to do the same.  Clover had a runny nose all evening and I wondered if she might be getting this cold too.  Hopefully, my friends avoid catching this cold for the holidays.  I was tired and my thoughts faded into a deep sleep.

 

 

 

[NickG1998]

Another wonderful update I can’t wait to read who gets sick first keep up the amazing work 

[sneezeagainplease]

I suspected that Via and Goygi caught themselves some nice colds for the holiday season, after spending time at our house. However, they would never want me to feel bad, so I really didn't know for sure if their immune systems kicked into full gear, warding off the cold, or not.

What I do know, is that it was a holiday miracle that I didn't come down with a cold, after such close exposure to the bot colds.

2 weeks later...

I took all my bots to the mall with me to use up some gift cards I had received that holiday season.  I noticed quite a few observations of both customers and employees that seemed to have colds.  The first one was in the clothing store.  We walked through the store to the coat section and I was browsing at different style winter coats.  A man a few feet away from me, standing next to a woman, who was presumably his girlfriend or wife, was sniffing hard enough for me to hear him.  He was tall with dark hair and dark eyes and probably around 30 years old.  He was sniffing so often, I almost wanted to offer him a tissue out of my purse.  Then, I saw him make the pre-sneeze face. He didn't bother to cover or turn away from the clothing. He just sneezed openly.  "HEHTCHOOOO!"  The man sniffed even harder after he sneezed.  He then said something to the woman, maybe that he needed tissues, and then walked away from her.  The poor man looked like he had a terrible cold.

 

The next observation was at the food court.  I stood in line and ordered my burger and fries with a coke.  The cashier sneezed twice as she rung me up.  She turned around and hurried her face into her long sleeve shirt.  "ahSHoo AHSHOO!"  The second sneeze was more forceful than the first and sounded wetter.  "Bless you." I said.  "Sounds like you are getting a cold?"  I continued.  "Thank you.  I think so?  I've been sneezing all morning like this." The woman said.  She handed me my receipt, sniffing hard and then coughing into her sleeve.  "Feel better!" i said as I took my food.

 

The bots and I sat down at a table and I hungrily began to eat my food.  A woman came up to us, asking questions about my bots. She had blond, curly hair and was probably around 70 years old.  She wore outdated clothing with a scarf around her neck.  He skin under her nose was chapped and her eyes looked glassy.  I was sure she was another victim of a winter cold.  She spoke with Bob as I ate my food.  "HEHSCHOO!  ISHOOO! HEHISHOOO!"  I was in disbelief when she sneezed right in my bot's faces.  She was just a few feet away from Bob and next to Bob was Irma. I was certain they both felt the spray of those sneezes.  "Bless you." I said.  "Thank you." the woman said.  She took out some used tissues from her purse and blew her nose.  "I have a terrible cold.  I think I even have a fever." The woman said.  She then thanked me for letting her meet the bots and walked away, taking her cold with her, hopefully.

 

After eating my lunch, I was ready to head home. We all got on the escalator.  The woman in front of me had the loveliest sneezes ever.  She covered with one cupped hand.  "AyEEEiiishoo!"  Every sneeze was melodic and sprayed a good amount of moisture, I'm sure.  I counted 4 of her sneezes by the time the escalator reached our floor.  The woman sneezed twice more as she walked away, in the opposite direction as us.  

 

I loaded all my bots into the car and headed home.  Time will tell whether we will avoid all germs we came into contact with at the mall today.  Fingers crossed, I settled down for an afternoon nap. The trip had exhausted me.

 

 

[NickG1998]

Another wonderful update update I absolutely love this brilliant and amazing story keep up the great work 

[sneezeagainplease]

Despite the exposure to the mall colds, our little family stayed well for the next several months.  Our little family was just perfect with Rose and Tulip, the youngest bots, Irma, who took care of everyone in the family, Bob, our sneeziest bot and Clover, who was sweet and innocent.  We had our daily routines and everyone had a job to do around the house.  Most days, I worked from home, which meant I could enjoy all my Bots all day long.

I had planned for a little meet and greet with my Bots to promote my Bot sales.  We were all pretty excited, the Bots especially.  That morning was busy with all of us getting ready for the big day. The convention center was an hour away.  It was hectic, by somehow, I managed to get everyone and everything loaded into the car on time.  

I cruised along, listening to some of my favorite music.  Bob sat in the front seat with me to help me navigate.  His sneeze made me jump.  "HAAAARSHEEEESHOOOO!" Bob style was uncovered and the spray misted me, the dashboard and my coffee cup.  "God bless you Bob."  "Thank you. Goodness, that was a really big sneeze!"  Bob exclaimed, surprised by his own sneeze.  I handed him a tissue from the box and he blew his nose.  Bob's nose ran the rest of the car ride, which made me wonder if he was coming down with something. I hoped not.

 

The bots sat next to me at the convention center in a small room with 20 chairs facing us.  The room was full of interested people who were very impressed with the Bots.

I was showing the slides and talking about the Bots when Bob's sneeze interrupted my sentence.  "HAAAARSHEEEEESHHHHHOOOO!"  I was certain that the row in front felt the spray of Bob's sneeze.  Several people blessed Bob's big sneeze.  The hotel employee handed me a box of tissues for Bob.  His nose dripped and he blew it loudly.

"I'm so sorry. I think he's catching a cold." I said.  The attendees were fascinated and they had a string of following questions for me about Bot colds.  

"CHEESHOOO!  HARSHEEESHOOO!"  Bob sneezed twice more into the crumpled tissues in his hand.  "Bless you Bob!" the crowd said.  

 

The lecture ended and people came up to meet the Bots.  Bob was pleased to shake hands and talk to people, He was also quite good at sneezing on them and spreading his germs.  I was shocked people wanted to come up close to Bob, as germy as he was with this cold that was coming on.  "HARSHEEESHOOO!" "Bless you!" the woman said as she shook Bob's hand.  She wiped the spray off her cheek and brushed back her hair.  Bob's head tilted back for another sneeze.  "HARTCHOOO!"  The woman got the sneeze directly in her face. She smiled big and blessed Bob again.  If I did not know better, I would think she enjoyed Bob's sneezes.  "Oh goodness. I must be catching a cold." Bob exclaimed.  The woman took out a handkerchief and handed it to Bob to wipe his nose, which dripped down onto his chin, dangling snot.  "CHEESHEW!"  Before Bob could wipe his nose, he sneezed, flinging the snot onto the woman's shirt.  Unaware of his actions, Bob shook his face and wiped his nose.  The woman took another handkerchief out and wiped her shirt.  "Goodness, you poor thing.  Bless you again!"  The woman said to Bob.  The woman touched Bob's forehead and stated that it was a bit warm.  "Get some rest and get that cold better." The woman told Bob. She leaned in and gave Bob a big hug.  He sneezed twice on her shoulder, saturating her shirt and hair with his mucus.  "HARSHEEESHOOO!  HAHshhhhhhEEEEEESHHOOOO!"  "God bless you sweetie!" The woman said as she pulled away and wiped her shirt and her hair. "Such a bad cold you are getting!" The woman said.  I was calling for Bob and the Bots to come load the car to make our way home. The woman gave Bob a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye.  I was very certain she was going to purchase a Bot for herself, probably a sneezy one.

 

The next day...

I got a phone call from the woman that adored Bob, the one who met him at the conference.  Her name was Owl.  She went on and on about how much she wanted a Bot and was ready to purchase one. I happened to have one ready to go home with her.  She wanted a male bot just like Bob, which was not a surprise, considering how much she had enjoyed meeting Bob.

At home, Bob was still a sneezy mess with his cold. So far, we all were still feeling well, but I thought that was probably a matter of time.  I worked on programming the new Bot as Bob wandering around the house, infecting everything and everyone with his sneezy germs.  He had a way of standing right next to me and I didn't always know he was even there, that is until he would sneeze on me.  "HARSHEEESHOO!"  "Bless you. Goodness Bob, that was right on me."  "Golly, I still have this cold." Bob said.

He sneezed twice more on the new Bot, who was not activated even yet.  "Bob. I love you, but Im trying to work."  "Oh golly.  "HARSHEEEESHOOO!  CHEESHOOO!  HAHRRRRRSHOOOO!"  Bob sneezed multiples as he wandered out of my office.  Irma held a handkerchief up to Bob's nose.  "Blow. You are a mess." She said.

 

The next morning Owl arrived to pick up her new Bot, who she named Antonio. Antonio had long dark hair and light brown skin.  He had a very large nose, large hands and a deep voice.  I answered the door.  Owl held tissues in her hand and dabbed her runny nose.  Bob gave her his cold. There was no doubt about that.  She sneezed twice and excused herself.  "I've caught Bob's little cold." She said. Her nose was chapped and her eyes watered. I did question whether this was a "little" cold.  "Bless you.  Sorry about that. Bob gives his colds to everyone." I said.  

 

I turned Antonio and he yawned and stretched his arms.  His nose ran and dripped onto the floor.  "Oh goodness, he has a runny nose!"  Owl said with pleasure in her voice.  She blew her congested nose.  Owl hugged Antonio and shook his hand.  Antonio's nose continued to drip onto the floor.  "Irma, bring us some tissues." I shouted.

Irma came into the room and wiped Antonio's nose.  It must have irritated it because he rubbed it with the back of his hand.  His nostrils grew wide, his head flipped back and he sneezed his first sneeze, right on Irma and Owl.  "HAHKKKKTCHOOO!"  "Bless you!" Owl said to Antonio.  "Bob has been sneezing all over and I'm afraid he may have given poor Antonio his first cold." I said.  Antonio sneezed twice more and Owl caught his sneezes with her hankerchief.  "Goodness, bless you! You poor thing!"  Owl said as she cleaned Antonio's face.  Owl's own cold wasn't done. She coughed onto her bent elbow.  "Well, now we both have Bob's cold, huh?" Owl said as she leaned forward to catch Antonio's sneeze.  "Bless you!".  She said.  

 

Owl could not be more pleased with her new Bot.  After I went through all the instructions, she was more than ready to take her sneezing, cold infected bot home with her.  I hugged both Owl and Antonio.  His nose dripped and he sneezed on me.  "Bless you." I said.  Goodness, he was as sneezy as Bob was.  Owl was quick to wipe Antonio's nose with a baby wipe she pulled out of her large purse.  "I'm quite sneezy today. I think that I am catching a cold.  My nose is really itchy." Antonio said as he stuck his fingers up his nostrils in attempt to stop the itch.  But, it just made him sneeze a big, wet one, right on Owl.  "HAAAAAHHHH HAAAAHHHHH HAAAAAHHHHKKKKKSHHHOOOO!"

Now the mucus dripped down his nose and covered his hands.  Owl quickly wiped the poor Bot's hands and cleaned his nose off.  "Bless you!" She said, without flinching.  "Goodness, we all hate that itch in our noses when we catch colds, huh?"  

I waved goodbye as Owl walked Antonio to the car and buckled him in the passenger seat.  The poor thing had caught himself a good cold.  Owl was smiling big and waving at us as she pulled away.

 

Bob's own cold cleared up, only for him to catch another one two days after he got better from the first one.  Bob's sneezing was so loud, that it kept me up all night. Every time he sneezed, I startled. He sat in a chair in my bedroom and sneezed one after another.  Then, he sat next to me on the bed.  "I ca CAN' CAHHHHHHHCHEEEESHHHH CAN"T STOAAAAAAHHHH HAHCHOOOOO HARSHEEEESHHHH GONNA SNEEEEEEEHHHHHCHOOOO  HAAAHHHH AHHHHHHRRRRCHOOO!"  Bob sneezed all over me.  The mucus dripped onto his pajama shirt and flung onto my pillow.  His face was covered in snot.  He wiped it with his hand, which was now covered in snot too.  Bob tried to talk again, but every time he breathed or talked, he sneezed something awful. This was by far the worst cold Bob has ever caught.  "Bless you. Goodness, you have caught yourself a really bad cold here, Bob." I said.  Bob continued to sneeze.  "I KNAAAHHCHEEESHOOO!  CAHHHHCHEW!  HARSHEEESHHHOOO!"  " I pulled Bob into the bathroom, where I cleaned him up as best as I could.  I handed him a small towel to catch the sneezes that continued to flow out, like a volcano.  "THAAAAAHHHKKKKCHEESHOOO!"  

Bob's eyes dripped and he shook his head to try and stop the sneezing.  I was a bit worried about this cold Bob was coming down with and wondering how sick a human would be.  I had Bob lie next to me in bed with a towel over his face to try and catch the mucus as it flowed out.  I had to get up repeatedly that night to clean Bob up and give him a dry towel.  

Sometime in the early morning hours, the sneezing must have subsided because I fell asleep.  Bob slept with his head on my pillow.  He startled awake with a big sneeze as I sat up. "Bless you.  Goodness, you poor thing! I exclaimed.  

Bob had steady fits that whole day and went through every tissue we had in the house. I sent Irma to the store to stock up on my tissues. I suspected that Bob would give this cold to the rest of us.

Poor Bob had another horrible night, sneezing and coughing and struggling in the bed, next to me.  

By that next morning, I felt my body coming down with his cold.  I shook with chills that whole day.  Irma was sneezing all morning. The twins had runny noses and Clover was coughing constantly.  The cold cooked in all of us and we sounded terrible that evening.  It was bed rest for the next few days as we recovered from Bob's bad cold.

We all did recover in a week's time, but poor Bob was still pretty sneezy and congested. I wondered if he had caught himself another cold or if the first one never cleared up.  

We all managed to say well for the next month, all except for Bob. Bob seemed to get one cold after another that month, poor thing.  I felt pretty bad when Bob sneezed on the pizza delivery guy, but what could I do?  That was Bob and his colds.  "HAARSHEESHOO!"  The delivery man was stunned that Bob just sneezed on him.  He quickly handed Bob the pizza, but as Bob handed him the cash, he sneezed again.  "HAARSHEESHOO!"  "Bless you." the man said to Bob.  "Thank you. I just keep getting these colds." Bob said.  The pizza man quickly walked to his car before Bob could sneeze on him again.  Bob placed the pizza on the counter.  "HAAARSHEEESHHH!"  He proceeded to sneeze all over the pizza box and the counter.  "Bless you." I said to Bob.  Irma wiped Bob's nose. "For goodness sakes Bob, COVER!  You are going to give us all your cold!"  Bob nodded.  "Yes, I do seem to have a cold. Bob said, missing the whole point.

 

Despite Bob's sneezing, we did not get sick. Maybe Bob had developed some allergies or something?  Or maybe we were just getting used to his cold germs?  Either way, I was grateful that I only had one sneezing Bot to tend to and that I felt well for the next few months.  We could not even count Bob's colds, as he seemed to get one right after another. We just got used to Bob sneezing and coughing. 

 

6 months later..

We ran into Antonio and Owl at the grocery store.  Owl immediately announced that Antonio was coming down with a cold.  He was getting colds every few weeks, she exclaimed. This one was a bad one, she continued to tell us.  She was interrupted by Antonio's sneezes.  Owl held a handkerchief up to Antonio's nose as she sneezed.  "HAHKKKCHEW!"  The hanky did not quite catch the big sneeze's mist.  Antonio sneezed three more times, just as big as the first one.  Owl didn't get the hanky to his face for these sneezes as she was distracted and talking to Bob about his colds.  I got the spray of these sneezes directly on my face. "HAHHHHkkkkTCHOOO! "Bless you." I said to Antonio.  "Thank you. I am catching a cold, I think." He said.  Antonio's nose dripped and he wiped it with his sleeve, which made him sneeze again.  "Owl handed Antonio some tissues and he blew his congested, sneezy nose.  "Goodness, bless you!" I said.  "Well, I better get Antonio home. As you can see, he is getting sick."  Owl wiped his face with a wet wipe and held his hand as they continued to do their shopping.  I could hear Antonio's sneezes several isles away.  Poor thing was coming down with a bad cold.

I sure hoped Bob and I would not get this cold.  It was a bad one.

[SneezeLucario]

Great chapter. I wonder if there is something with Bob with him catching colds so often lately. 

Edited December 31, 2023 by SneezeLucario

[funbusej]

I love all the bots, for sure, but Bob and Antonio are definitely my favorites!  They are just so susceptible to getting sick, or maybe it's something more?!  I love how no one can even get mad at them, because they are just such lovable, helpless guys!

[sneezeagainplease]

"AYEEEESHOOO!" Athena awoke with a sneeze. She was the new Bot in my family.  Athena was large framed with curly light brown hair. She had a wide face with wide nostrils.  Much like Bob and Roberto, her programing meant she would caught colds frequently.  

Clover, Rose and Tulip went to live with my sister and Irma was working for a local family as a live in caregiver.  I was feeling a bit lonely, after having such a full house of Bots.  Thus, Athena joined our now little family.

I bent over Athena, who was lying on the exam table, to check all her settings.  "AYEEESHOOO!"  Openly, she sneezed on me.  "Bless you honey." I said.  Poor thing was already coming down with a cold.  
 

Bob came on the room.  Athena sat up on the table and Bob extended his hand.  "Nice to meet you Athena. I'm Bob." He said with a firm shake.  Athena needed to sneeze. She sniffed hard, which just made her nose worse.  Her wide nostrils flared and her nose exposed, wetting Bob.  "AHHHHYEEESHOOOO!"  She didn't cover.  "Bless you.  Goodness, that was a big sneeze!" Bob remarked.  "Nice to meet you too." Athena said as she geared up for another sneeze.  "Yes, she has a cold." Bob said as Athena sneezed on him again.  He did not bother to move out of the way and she didn't know to cover up her germs.

Athena tended to sneeze once or twice in a row, but her sneezes were long and wet.  

8 hours later...

Athena had given Bob enough of her germs to infect him and he started sounded stuffy.  I was exhausted from a long days work, so we all called it a night by 10:00 p.m.  Athena slept next to me and Bob slept in the bedroom next door.  

Athena slipped right into rest mode and I must have fallen fast asleep.  

The next morning was Saturday.  When I finally opened my eyes and looked at the clock, it was 11:00 a.m.  I must have been exhausted.  The house was quiet and Athena was peaceful and in rest mode lying next to me.  

I sat and and touched her as I checked her settings, a little worried that she was so still.  Everything looked good.  She finally aroused and sat up in bed next to me.

"Good morning honey," I said.  "Good morning."  Athena said, with a gruff voice. Her voice was normally programmed to be low, but this morning, the cold made it raspy.  She coughed on me.  Her nose dripped onto the bed.  Her face told me she was going to sneeze and I braced myself.  "AYYYYYEEEEEESHHHHHHOOOO!"  As she sneezed, her body flung forward and the spray misted me.  "Bless you." I said.  I grabbed some tissues and handed them to her.  Poor thing.  "Golly, I don't know why I am so sneezy!"  She said.  

Just then Bob walked in.  "Dear, you have a cold.  That could be why." he said.  "HAAAHHARRRSHOOO!" See, I do too!" Bob said with a sneeze.  Oh, fantastic, two sneezing Bots, I thought to myself.  My head throbbed and my throat felt raw.  I wondered if I too, was catching something.  

As the day passed, this cold took over my body.  By evening, I was dressed in two layers, under blankets and still was shivering.  I had a fever and a wicked cough, but the sneezing did not start until that next morning, when I woke up with a congested nose.  

I needed to go to the store, at least to get some food and cold supplies.  I brought Athena and Bob with me to help me carry things to the car.  

I thought their cold's were better and that their sneezing was minimal. However, Athena sneezed on the man in line behind us, while we waited to check out.  At least when I sneezed, I covered my face with tissues.  I had sneezed several times in line and the man politely blessed me.  I did not see Athena getting ready to sneeze.  It just came. "AYYYEEESHOOO!"  And she sneezed right in the man's face.  "I'm sorry!" I said.  As Athena's nose prepared for a second sneeze, I took my tissues and covered her face, just in time.  "AYYYSHHHHHHHXXX!"  The man politely blessed her after the second sneeze.  "I'm so sorry." I apologized again.   The man nodded and smiled, almost as if he enjoyed her sneezing.  

I realized we were at the front of the line and that Bob was unloading the groceries.  "How long have you had your Bots?" the man asked.  We chatted as the Bots checked out and bagged the items.  "AYYYEEESHOOO!"  "Bless you!" we both said to Athena.  "She sounds like she has a cold, huh?"  the man remarked.  "Yeah, I thought she was better, but maybe she is catching another one." I said, wiping my runny nose.  I gave him my business card as Bob pushed the cart towards the door.  

Athena handed the employee our receipt to be checked.  "AYEEEESHOOO!"  and she sneezed on her.  "Goodness, bless you!" the woman said, handing Athena the receipt back.  "Thank you. I must be catching another cold." Athena said.  I took her hand and pulled her towards the door, to avoid her sneezing on anyone else today.

"AyeeeeSHEW!"  "Bless you." I said, catching Athena's sneeze with my open hand.  "She has a cold." Bob said.  "She's been sneezing a lot today." He continued, as if we did not already know that.  "Yes, poor thing." I said, heading to the car.  Thank goodness, at least Bob didn't sneeze all over everyone this time.

We made it to the car and Bob loaded the groceries into the trunk.  Athena sat up front with me.  I gave her the box of tissues to wipe her now runny nose.  My phone rang and I answered it on speaker phone.  It was my mom.  "AYEEESHHOOO!" Athena sneezed loudly.  "Bless you!" My mom said.  "That is Athena. I think she is coming down with another cold, I said."  "You don't sound good yourself." my mom remarked.  "Yeah, I have a cold too. I'm feeling awful." I said.  "Well, I must come bring you some soup!" My mom insisted.  Exhausted, I didn't argue with her. She said she would come the next morning, with a fresh pot of chicken soup.  

The next morning, as promised, my mom came over to take care of us.  She put the soup on the stove to warm it up.  I felt a little better, but I was looking forward to some TLC.  Athena was still congested and Bob had started catching her cold, sometime in the middle of the night.  His sneezing woke me up.

Bob stood right next to my mom and chatted with her.  "HARSHOOOO!"  And he sneezed on her.  I wondered how long it would take before Bob shared his germs with my mom.  "Bless you." My mom said.  She took his hand and insisted he go sit down.  "Oh, but I'm fine." Bob said as he sneezed twice more.  "Bless you." my mom said. "It's just a little cold!" Bob insisted as he sneezed twice more.  "Bless you."  My mom said again as she covered him with the blanket. "Now rest!" She insisted.  "Well, maybe I am tired." Bob said.  

Bob fell asleep and Athena was still in rest mode in our bed upstairs. I had some soup and then my mom insisted I go back to bed. She said I looked exhausted.  

I crawled into bed and cuddled with Athena.  "AYYYEEEESHOOO!"  Athena sneezed and my mom blessed her, felt her forehead and wiped her runny nose.  "You rest too." My mom said.

While we slept, my mom tided the house and prepared several ready to warm up meals.  By the time we all woke up, we felt much better.  I hugged my mom goodbye and walked her to the door.  I hoped that we didn't get her sick with all those germs.  But, she insisted she had a very strong immune system.  We'll see.