bus observation (fem, allergies?)

[littleOthree]

A Chinese woman in her 30s sits next to me on the bus. She arranges a bag and a refillable water bottle on her lap and she sniffles. It’s finally getting warm again and trees are in bloom and the people on my commute have been noticeably hayfevery and coldy.

We both stare at our phones and she sniffles and snuffles intermittently and drinks water from the bottle. There’s maybe 5 minutes of this before she turns away slightly, her mouth open wide, and she sneezes a very loud, uncovered ‘aaaachoo!’ down into the aisle.

It’s such a big sneeze that I say ‘bless you’ reflexively but I immediately feel stupid, thinking it’s not even a cultural thing for many chinese americans. But she says thank you like she really appreciates it. She sounds very congested. 

She goes back to sniffling and drinking water. The morning air in our neighborhood is damp and hazy with tree pollen. I wonder how long she waited outside for the bus to show up.

A minute or two go by, then she rears up and blows a huge sneeze into the aisle again, ‘AHHsheww!!’

It's harsher and more insistent than the first. I resist blessing her again because it sounds like she might be having a longer fit. She keeps sniffing while we stare at our phones. I wonder if she’s suffering with bad allergies or a blossoming cold. In my peripheral vision, I see her sit up straighter and turn her face toward the aisle.

She might be trying to coax another sneeze out by staring at the sunlit windows on the opposite side of the bus, or maybe she’s just decided another sneeze is inevitable and wants to be ready to spray it away from me. We’re both anticipating it when it comes forth with a pitiful ‘AASSSHeww!’ helpless and wet sounding.

‘Sorry,’ she offers immediately.

‘Bless you.’ I insist.

‘Thank you’ she sniffles and begins going through her coat pocket for tissues. She has plenty. She pulls one out and blows her nose in a series of low, short honks. I’m impressed that she opted to sneeze onto the floor next to us instead of trying to contain them in the tissues she had. She is adorable.

[etechie]

Very nice, I wish I observed more that I found in my age range and attractive.

[Luisa39]

Ooh, it sounds like she was miserable.  Very thoughtful of you to bless her twice.  Btw, I know what you mean about feeling self-conscious, or afraid that someone might not know what to make of your blessing.  You were probably relieved when she thanked you.  (I think it's so nice when sneezers say "thank you" with a lot of feeling, like they really do appreciate your blessing.)

Edited June 27, 2019 by Luisa39

[Joal 555]

5 hours ago, Luisa39 said:

Very thoughtful of you to bless her twice.  Btw, I know what you mean about feeling self-conscious, or afraid that someone might not know what to make of your blessing.  You were probably relieved when she thanked you.  (I think it's so nice when sneezers say "thank you" with a lot of feeling, like they really do appreciate your blessing.)

^ all this!

Blessing strangers can be very rewarding.

[Psyneezy]

you wrote this so nicely, I love little interactions like this

[ScorpionPrincess]

These are the obs that I like reading, but would hate to have been there since I'm kind of a germaphobe.  Thanks for sharing.

[Saimou]

Wow! I would have loved to have been there. Congrats on your lucky obs.