Aggedy’s (brigid’s) OC Drabble thread (update 2/19)

[aggedy_ann]

My first attempts at drabbling with some OCs that have been bouncing around in my head for awhile:

 

1.     Sneezed

Alex’s hands gripped the warm coffee cup tightly.  This cold had left a chill through him that wouldn’t go away.   A sudden urge to sneeze surprised him and he didn’t have time to set the cup down.   “Hehhh-CHUHHH, EHH-CHUHHH, Ehh-CHUushh.”   He felt the hot coffee slosh onto his white shirt.    He reached for the Kleenex, not sure whether to blow his nose first or blot at his soaked shirt.   

 

Alyssa came into the kitchen and took a look at him, covered in coffee.  “What happened?”

 

“I sneezed.”

 

2.     Fit

“Hihtschuhh.”

 

Freddie watched her sneeze, sniffle, sigh and go back to her notes, wiping her nose on a tissue.   

 

“Ihhtschuhh.”

 

Repeat.  

 

“Hihhtchiihshuhh.”

 

This time she slipped in a quick nose blow, although he knew that would do nothing to quell the sneezes.   Once Jamie started, she was gonna sneeze until she was done.

 

“Hihhtchoo.”

 

She didn’t even get a chance to pick her pen back up between sneezes that time.  Another nose blow, stronger this time.

 

“Ihhhtschoo.”

 

He crossed over to her end of the couch and took her Kleenex covered book from her, handing her a fresh tissue from the box next to her.

“Hey, take a break and ride the fit out ok.  You’ll get more done when that’s done.”

 

3.      Cat

Tim looked over at Alex as the other man sniffled wetly three times before his jaw went slack and he muffled a powerful “Huhhhchuhh” in the crook of his elbow.  

 

Tim looked down to see Missy rubbing up against Alex’s legs.   He bent down and scooped her up.  

 

“I swear, this one likes to see me sneeze.”   Alex muttered.   

 

“You’re being ridiculous.” Tim told him as Alex geared up to sneeze again.

 

“Uhhh-chuhh.”  Missy perked her head up and stared at Alex.   

 

“Or not.   I’ll stick her in the bedroom.”   

 

“Thangks” Alex sniffled.  Tim got up, deposited Missy in the bedroom and returned with a box of tissues for Alex.  

 

 

4.      Dog

 

Freddie lay on the bed with Jamie sitting next to him.  “How you doing?” She asked.   

 

“Starting to feel better.” He said with a sniffle. “I can’t believe I’m allergic to cats and you’re not.”   

 

“It is pretty unbelievable,” she agreed.   “Why’d you decide to get a cat now anyway?”

 

“Ehh-chushh.”  He blew his nose carefully.  “I wanted a pet, something like you have with Pace.  I figured a cat would be the best for when I’m on the road – not to much work for you.”   

 

She smiled and took his hand.  “You can get a pet, baby.  I don’t mind taking care of it when you travel with Alex.”

 

“So, I could get a dog?  Uhh-chushh.  Ugh, this is getting annoying.”

 

“Preaching to the choir.” She hesitated.   “Pace is a breed bred for people with allergies.  You could get one like him….” She said slowly.

 

“You’re allergic to dogs too.”

 

She nodded.  “Pace is bred to be allergy friendly; he has a different type of coat that I don’t really react to.  I think there’s other breeds we could try.   But if you want a German shepherd or a golden retriever, I can’t do it.” She. Looked at him sadly.   

 

He turned his head away.  “Heh-chushhuh. I understand.   After this week, I kinda get how you feel a lot now.  Pace might be happier with a dog like him too.”  He smiled, pulling out his phone.   “Let’s find a puppy.”

 

5.     Allergic

”Hiitschoo.”  Jamie sneezed and rubbed at her eyes.    “Hihh-tschoo.  Tschoo,  Ihhtschoo.”

She flopped down on a chair and blew her nose before sneezing again.   

 

Freddie heard her from the office and came out to check on her, grabbing Kleenex from the living room.  “Ok?” She heard through another sneeze.  

 

She waved him away.  “Fide.   “Ihhtschoo, hiihhtschoo.  Hiihhh…ihtschoo.”   She blew her nose again and grabbed for fresh tissues before another round hit her.   “Hitschoo, itschoo, tschoo,schoo, hihh…ihshhoo….ihshhoo….hihhh…ihhshooo!”   She leaned against the chair and alternated blowing her nose and catching her breath.

 

“Bless you.” Freddie rubbed her shoulders.   “What set that off?”

 

“I’m allergic to something.” She sniffled into her tissues.   

 

“I got that, but what?”

 

She just looked at him and shrugged.

 

6.     Spring

”Huhchuh.” Alex sneezed himself awake.  

 

“Huh-chuhh.” Sneezed himself through breakfast.  

 

“Huh-chuh, uhchuhh.” Sneezed himself through work

 

“HihhhChuhh.”  Sneezed himself through dinner and the game on TV.  

 

“Huhhihchuhh.”  Sneezed himself to sleep.   

 

Spring had sprung in Alex’s world.  

 

7.     Camping

“How long do you think it will be before his allergies kick in?” Freddie asked Time regarding Alex.   The three of them had decided to go camping.   They had just set up the tent and were getting ready to start a fire to cook dinner.

 

Tim shrugged.  “Another hour.”

 

Freddie nodded.  “$20 says its at least 2.”

 

“You’re on.”

 

They had gotten the fire roaring and dinner on when Alex brought his arm up to his nose and sneezed.  “huh-chuhh, uhhh-chuhh, huhhhchuhh.”  He sniffled, rubbing his nose with his sleeve.

 

“Bless you.” Said Tim to Alex.  “Told you.” He said to Freddie as Freddie slipped him a $20 bill.   

 

Tim slipped away to the car.  He handed Alex tissues and held up a bottle of allergy pills.  “Take these today?”

 

Alex gave a sheepish grin.  “Hehhh-chuhhh.  Hand them over.” 

 

8.      Fall

Freddie was running late for work and rushing through the house.   He was halfway down the stairs when two forceful sneezes burst out of him without warning.  “”HUHCHUSHH, HUHHCHUSHUHH.” 

He lost his footing and slid down the remainder of the staircase.

 

Jamie, hearing the commotion, came out from the kitchen.  “You ok?”

 

“Hehh-CHUHH.  Yeah.  Just sneezed and missed a step.”  He said sheepishly.

 

She extended a hand and helped him up.

 

9.     Hay Fever

They were all hanging out in Alex’s pool, batting a ball around.  It was a warm, sunshiny spring day with a strong breeze.

 

Tim hit the ball over to Alex, but instead of hitting it back, Alex turned and sneezed.

 

“Hihh-chuhh, uhh-chuhh, uhchuhh, chuhh, chuhh, Huhhhchuhh.”

 

“You ok, sweetie?” Alyssa asked.

 

Alex nodded, turning back to the group.  “Yeah.  Just h..ha…aaychoo.  Hay fever.”  He sniffled.    He jumped out of the pool, dried off and ducked into the house in search of tissues.

 

10.   Sick

Her head was throbbing.  Her throat was sore and felt as thought was being stabbed by steak knives.  Her sinus were completely plugged up, and she had a harsh unrelenting cough.  Her body ached from coughing and sneezing.

 

“Ihhschoo! Ihhshoo!  Ihhtschoo!  HihhSCHoo!  SCHOO!  HuhhihhSCHOO! Ihhschoo!”  The sneezes exploded out of her, and she sat up, blowing her nose several times.

 

“Bless you.”  She looked over at Alex, his face etched with concern.

 

“Ared’t you sigk of sayig thad?” She croaked

 

He shook his head.  “Never.”  He paused as she sneezed again. 

 

“”Huhhrihhshoo!”  This was followed by a coughing spell.   

 

He rubbed her back and handed her her water when she finished.  “More rest.”

 

She laid back down.  “I cad’t rebeber the last tibe I was this sigk.”

 

11.   Cold

”Heyeshoo, ehhshoo.”  Tim buried two sneezes in the crook of his arm and pulled his blankets tighter around himself.  “Hayehhshoo, ehhshoo.”  He sneezed again.

 

Sniffling, he came out of his blanket burrito to blow his nose.  Shivering, he wrapped the blankets tight when he was done.  

 

“Hayahhshoo, ahhshoo.”  Two more sneezes muffled into his pillow.  ‘Ugh, this cold,’ he grumbled to himself.   

 

Shivering again, he extracted himself from his covers in search of another blanket.  He knew warmth would make no impact on his head cold symptoms, but just maybe there was a chance that if he wasn’t freezing, he would stop sneezing.

 

12.  Fever

Alex kicked the blankets off.  Too hot.

 

 5 minutes later, he was shivering and wrapped them around them again.

 

10 minutes later, he was a hybrid of half in the blankets, half out.

 

Then blankets off.

 

Blankets on.  

 

“You’re restless tonight.” Alyssa commented from next to him.

 

“Can’t get comfortable.  Too hot.  “Hey-chuhh. Too cold.”

 

“Do you have a fever?” She slipped out of bed and grabbed the thermometer from the bathroom, handing it to him.   

 

He slipped it under his tongue.  “101.” He read when it beeped.

 

13.  Dream

”Ihhschoo!  Ihhhshoo!  Hiiihhschoo!”

 

Freddie reached over and gently shook Jamie fully awake.

 

“Hiishoo, hiitschoo, ihtschoo…hiihhitshoo!”  She reached for a tissue from the box by the bed and blew her nose.

 

“You were sneezing in your sleep.” He observed.

 

“I was sneezing in my dream. I was dreaming I was in a field of flowers and the only way out was to walk through it.  

 

Freddie chuckled.  “Sounds like a nightmare for you.”

 

14.  Tired

Freddie yawned widely.  He could barely keep his eyes open.  “I didn’t know Benadryl makes you this sleepy.” He mumbled drowsily.  “It doesn’t do that to you.” He said to Jamie.

 

“I’m used to taking it.” She told him.

 

“”Huhchishh.  It helps with the sneezing though.” He observed, yawning again.   

 

“It does do that.”

 

“I am…” he trailed off.  She looked over.   He had fallen asleep mid sentence.

 

15.  Red

Freddie sat down at his desk and sneezed.   “Huhhchishh, ehhchishh, chihhshoo.”   He blew his nose several times.

 

“Bless you,” Alex said from behind him.    

 

Freddie turned around and looked at his friend and, technically, boss, sniffling.  “Hey,” he said thickly.

 

Alex took stock of Freddie’s red nose and eyes.  “Cold no better?”

 

“Huhhhchushhuhh.  Do.”   He blew his nose again.

 

“I’m sending you home.”

 

Freddie blew his nose again.  “I cand work.”

 

“You’ve sneezed 4 times in 3 minutes, and I think you have pinkeye. Go home.”

 

16.   Handkerchief 

“Ihhtshoo.”  Jamie sneezed and reached for a tissue from the box next to the couch.   Noticing it was almost empty, she got up and grabbed the last box from the storage closet.   

 

She headed to the kitchen to put Kleenex on the shopping list.  Freddie saw her write it on there.   “Almost out again?”   She nodded.  “Do you think we’d save money if you used handkerchiefs?”  He asked.

 

“I’m not doing that.”  She told him.  “First, do you know how much more laundry we’d have to do?  Ihhtschuhh. And second, don’t you think it’s kinda gross to keep a cloth full of snot and germs in your pocket?   It’ll contaminate everything you put in your pocket.  Say I have a cold and stick my keys in there…do you want to touch my keys after that?”

 

He made a face.  “Fair point.”

 

17.  Doctor

Alex sat in the waiting room, head throbbing and nose running.   He pulled a tissue from his pocket and blew his nose, then resumed scrolling on his phone.  He’d had this cold for 2 weeks and it wasn’t getting any better.   

 

“Huh…CHUHH.”  If anything, he was getting worse.  At least, the sneezing was.   Harsher and more powerful.   His sinuses were completely plugged up, and he had a constant headache.  

 

“Hehh-CHMMPHH.” He managed to catch that one in the tissue he held in his hand.  He blew his nose again as his name was called.  

 

20 minutes later, he’d seen the doctor, been diagnosed with a sinus infection and had a prescription to help him fight it.  

 

18.   Flowers

”Ihhtschoo!” Jamie sneezed for at least the 20^th time in the last hour, glaring at the plant on her desk.   The board of directors had given it to her to show appreciation for her hard work in her first 6 months.   They might have given her roadkill instead, she mused.   At least then she might be able to get work done.   

 

She wiped her watering, itchy eyes and turned back to her computer.   She had found the place where she left off in her editing when she sneezed again.  “Ihhtschoo!  Ihhschoo!”

 

“Ihhshoo!”

 

“Huhh..ihhtschhoo!”

 

“Ihhschooo!”

 

Punctuated by nose blows, she was sneezing every couple minutes.  A knock on her door startled her, and she motioned her boss in.

 

“You ok?” He asked. 

 

She nodded, sniffling.  “Allergies.”  She gestured to the plant.   He knew about her allergies – the whole building did.  

 

He nodded.  “Why don’t we put that in the conference room?” He suggested.

 

“Ihhtschoo.”  She nodded.  “I like that idea.  Ihhtschuhh.”

 

“And, Jamie, go home.  You’re not going to get any work done like this.”

 

She looked at him gratefully.   “”Probably not.”  She cringed at the congestion in her voice, but if he noticed, he didn’t comment.   “Is there someone who can take you home?  You probably shouldn’t drive like this.”

 

She nodded and looked at her watch.  Freddie didn’t go into rehearsal for at least another hour.  “Yeah, I can get a…aaiitschhoo…a ride.   And thanks.”

 

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

19.   

Alyssa always made her grandmother’s chicken soup when she was sick.   This time she was too sick to make it, so Alex was in the kitchen, making it for her.

 

She was asleep on the couch when it finally cooled enough for her to eat.  He ladled out a bowl and slipped into the living room.  He debated not waking her up, but she’d barely been eating.  Soup was what she needed, he decided.   

 

“Lyss?”  He gently shook her awake.

 

She opened her eyes and coughed.  “Yeah?” She rasped.

 

“I made your grandma’s soup.”

 

“Dot hugry.”  She closed her eyes.

 

“Need to eat.”  He said firmly as she opened her eyes again.   She sat up and he draped the blanket over her shoulders.  He started to hand her the bowl.

 

“Hold od.” She warned him, turning her torso away from him.  “Hahh—ihhshoo!, isshhoo! Shooo!”  

 

He waited while she blew her nose.  “Bless you.  Ready?”

 

At her nod, he handed her the bowl again, and watched her start to eat.  “You did a good job.” She said hoarsely.  

 

20.  Sleep

Alex needed to sleep, Alyssa noted, looking at him.  He was pale and his eyes were droopy.    Between the show and road dates, this month had stretched him thin.

 

He picked at his dinner, denying anything was wrong with it, or him.  “Just tired, is all.” He reassured her.

 

She was not reassured.

 

She was taking her contacts out when she heard him in the bedroom.

 

“Huhh…chuhh.  Uhchuhh.  Uhhhchuhhh.   Huuuhchuhh…chushooo.”    

 

“Bless you.”  She said softly.   “Allergies?”   

 

He shook his head.  “I, uh, think I’m getting a cold.”   

 

She ducked into the bathroom and returned with the NyQuil.   He was going to sleep well tonight.”

 

21.   Phone Call

Freddie answered his cell phone to hear a familiar sounding sneeze.   

“Ihhtschooo.  Sorry.”

 

“What’s up sweetie?”

 

“Cand you combe pick be up at work?”

 

“Umm, I should be able to?  Is something wrong? You sound awful?”

 

“Ihhschooo!  Ihhtschoo.  I’m being sendt hombe sigk.”

 

“You’re sick?”

 

“It’s allergies.  I’ll explaid everything ind the car.   I’mb sndeezing too buch to worgk.  HiiihhhtSCHOO!”

 

“I can hear that.  Let me let Alex know I have to leave and I’ll be on my way.”

 

22.   Dust

Alex liked to visit his storage unit occasionally.   The things that were most important were in his house, of course…but other things he had accumulated over the years were safely tucked away there.   

 

He arrived at the unit and after about 8 attempts, found the right key.

 

He spent a couple hours there, going through boxes, smiling at the memories, picking out a few things he thought he might like around the house.

 

“Ehh-chuhhh.  Ehhh-chuhhh.”   The sneezing had started about an hour in.

 

With boxes and memories, there also came dust.

 

23.  Drive (continuation of phone call)

Freddie went up to Jamie’s office and got her, concerned about the state she’d be in.”  She was sitting at her desk, holding tissues to her nose, trying to type a report with one hand.

 

She smiled when she saw him.  “By dose will not stop rudding.” She informed him in a tight, stuffed up voice.

 

“What happened?” He shook his head.  “Never mind.  Let’s get you home.  You can tell me in the car.”

 

“Ihhhsscchoo.”  She blew her nose.  “Okay.”  They walked down to the car and began the drive home. 

 

He took stock of her red runny nose and red puffy eyes as she leaned against the window.   “What happened?  You were fine this morning.”

 

“I dow.”  She rubbed her forehead.  “Hold on.   Ihhhschooo…ihhhschooo..ihhh….ihhhschooo….ihhhhh…ihhhhhhhschooo.   This is godda be gross.  Sorry.”  She apologized.  She took the tissues and began blowing her nose a dozen times, sneezing four times in the process.    

 

“Bless you.  Do we need to go to urgent care?” He asked, concerned. 

 

She blew her nose one final time.  “Do.  I’mb ok.  Really.” She sniffled.  “It’s allergies.  They gabe me a plandt today at work.”  She started voice still tight, but somewhat less congested.  “I don’t know whad it was, but it had little purple flowers od it.   And I had to take id ad pud id id by office.”  She paused to blow her nose again.   “Andyway, it took about 45 minutes to get to me.   Ihhhtschoo.   Ihhtschooo! I’ve been sdeezing ever sidce.”

 

She blew her nose again.  “Pete suggested putting it in the conference room and sent me hombe.   That’s when I called you.   Except he forgot to take the plant and didn’t…Hiiiyishoo! Didn’t combe back, so I put it there.”

 

He nodded, hearing a slight wheeze in her breathing.  “I think you need your inhaler.” He commented.  She fished it out of her purse.  “Why’d they give you a plant anyway?”

 

“Appreciation for productivity on the last few projects.”

 

“And then they have to send you home because of it.”

 

“Ihhtschhh…….yeah.”

 

24.    Responsibility

”Ehhhchuhh.”  Alex sneezed into his pillow.   He was tired with a headache that wouldn’t quit, made worse by his incessant sneezing.   “Hhehhchahh.”   He rolled onto his back and massaged his temples, wondering if it was time for more ibuprofen.  

 

“Hehhchuhhh…ehhhchuhh, ihhhchuhh…chooo…heptchahh.”  The sneezes shook him and made his stomach churn.   

 

“Bless you, dad.” A soft voice came from the hallway.   He opened his eyes to see his daughter, Kristin standing there.  “I’m hungry.”   

 

He slowly sat up and blew his nose.   Never mind the head cold and migraine, he had responsibilities.  

 

25.   Alone

Tim dumped the can of soup into a bowl and stuck it in the microwave, scrubbing his nose with the back of his hand.   He pulled his hoodie tight around him and coughed.   He was going to have to run to the store for NyQuil and tissues after this.  The downside of being single and halfway across the country from your family- there was no one to take care of you when you were sick. 

 

The microwave beeped, and he reached to pull the soup out.  He stopped suddenly and brought his shoulder to his nose.  “Hehhshoo.  Heyyehhshoo.”   Sniffling he pulled the soup out and sat down at the table.  He had taken a few bites of soup when his phone rang.  Alex.  “Hello.” He sniffed.

 

“Hey, wanna have dinner tonight?”

 

“I just made some soup.”  He sniffled again and rubbed his nose.   “And to be honest, I’m not really up for going out to dinner.”   He coughed.  

 

“You ok?”

 

“Woke up with a cold.”

 

“Sucks.  Need anything?”

 

“Heyehhshoo.  Ehhshooo.   Really?”

 

“Bless.  Really.”

 

“I have nothing.  No cold medicine. Ran out of Kleenex. Just trying to convince myself to go out.”   

 

“Stay put. I’ll bring some over.  Food?”

 

“Orange juice?  I have food.”

 

“I’ll be over in a bit.  Bye.”

 

Tim coughed and blew his nose on a paper towel.   Maybe he wasn’t so alone.  

 

26.   Garden

Tim was back home visiting his mother and taking some time to wander through the garden in the backyard.  He and his brothers had spent so much time weeding in there as kids.  His mom had asked him to pick an assortment to place on the dinner table tonight.  

 

He went through, picking the familiar flowers he had grown up with, that his mom had tended to lovingly, just as she had him and his siblings. 

 

An unfamiliar blue plant caught his attention and he went over to inspect it closer.  It was pretty, so he picked several of the flowers, adding them to the bouquet.   

 

It was at dinner that night that he noticed his nose was running.   And then came the sneezing.   “Heyehhshoo, ehhshoo.  Ehhshoo.  Ehhshoo!  Hehhshoo….hehh-Heyehhshoo!”  He excused himself to blow his nose, noticing the tickle returned once he returned to the table.  “He scrubbed at his nose, trying to forestall a sneeze.   “What are those blue flowers?” He asked his mom, hand pressed against his nose.  “Heyehhshoo, hayahshoo.”

 

“Bless you.  Are you alright?  I’m not sure?  I think the wind blew their seeds in.”

 

“I think they’re making me sneeze.” He sniffled.

 

She whisked the vase away as he went to blow his nose again. 

 

27.   Contagious

Jamie woke up with a headache and a sore throat.  

 

“Ihhtschoo, Ihhhtschoo!”  She sneezed, louder than usual, wincing at the pain in her throat.

 

The sneezing woke Freddie who sat up next to her.  

 

“Hiitschoo,  iihhtshoo,  Huhh…ihhhtschoo.”

 

“Bless you.” He said gently, leaning over to kiss her good morning.

 

She put her hand out to stop him.  “Unlike every other morning where I wake up sneezing,” she said, noticing her voice was croaky, “I have a feeling today, I’m probably contagious.”

 

28.   Heat

”Hehhhh-CHUHHH.”  Another powerful sneeze ripped through Alex.   He groaned and rubbed his neck.   

 

Freddie noticed.  “You ok?”

 

“All this sneezing is really jacking up my neck.”  He admitted, sniffling.   His neck had bothered him for years, and the jerking forward with each sneeze wasn’t doing it any favors.   “I’ll be glad when I’m over this cold.” He sighed.  

 

Freddie shot him a sympathetic look.  “Ibuprofen?”

 

“Not helping.  Huhhhchuhh.  Ughh.”

 

“Ice?”

 

Alex shivered.  “I’m chilled enough, thanks.”

 

“Heat, then?”

 

“That actually sounds good.”

 

Freddie retrieved a hot pack and placed it on Alex’s neck, noticing him relax visibly when he did so.

 

29.  Winter

In Minnesota, Jamie had loved winter.  If anything, it gave her four months where her allergies weren’t bad.  

 

Winter in LA, however, was a different story.   It didn’t snow.  It didn’t freeze.   

 

She still got a reprieve.  But not like at home.   

 

“Ihhhtschoo.” 

 

Freddie watched her scrub at her eyes.    

 

“Ihhtschoo.”  Their lawn had just been mowed.   

 

She blew her nose.   “If I was back home, there would be a foot of snow over that grass.” She grumbled, rubbing her eyes again.   

 

Freddie handed her a bottle of eye drops.  “And you’d be complaining about the cold.”

 

30.  Soft

It was the first time Alex heard her sneeze.    Or more, saw her.

 

Her head dipped forward with quiet, breathy “ihhshoo” that he barely heard from across the room.   

 

“Bless you,” he said, hesitantly, not sure if he should call attention to it.

 

“Hold off on that,” she told him.  “I think there’s one more.”  She grabbed a paper towel from above the sink and waited a few seconds.  “Ihhshhh.”  She sneezed softly, crumpling the paper towel and throwing it in the trash.   

 

31.  Powerless

”ihhtschoo.  Ihhhtschoo.  Ihhschoo.”

 

Jamie managed a brief moment between seconds to switch out her tissues.

 

“Ihhhschooo!  Huhhh….huhhihhtschoo,  ihhshoo, schooo, shoo! Tschoo! Ihhtschoo.”

 

A quick noseblow and a tissue swap.

 

“Huhh…uhhh….Ihhtschahhh!   Ihhh…Ihhschoo!  Huhh-uhihschoo!”

 

Freddie sat next to her on the couch, rubbing her back, waiting the fit out, powerless to help her.

 

32.  Dramatic

”Heyehhshoo.”  Tim sneezed loudly, walking into Alex’s office. “Hehh-ehehhshoo.”

 

Alex looked up from the stack of jokes on his desk.  “Bless you.”

 

“I have a cold.”  Tim informed him, coughing.  “It’s the worst cold him the history of ever.”

 

Alex nodded.  “It would seem so.”

 

“Hayyahhshoo!  Aahhshoo!”  I’m going to sneeze to death.” He warned.

 

“Bless you again.” Alex slid the box of Kleenex on his desk over to Tim.  “And somehow, I doubt that.”

 

33.   Fight

Alex wriggled his nose, trying to get the itch to come to fruition.  He’d been trying to sneeze for the last 5 minutes.  Despite a tickle in his nose that made him cough and his eyes water, he couldn’t release it.   

 

“Heehhh….hehhhh…huhhhh.uhhhh…”. And it backed off again.

 

He sighed, thinking of dusty rooms filled with cats and lavender scented air freshener. 

 

“Huhhh….uhhhh…uhhhh…UHHH..”

 

He gave a few strong sniffles, hoping that maybe there was something in the air to send the tickle over the edge.   And waited.

 

He flipped his wrist over to check his watch and the sunlight hit it, the glare making him squint.  

 

“HUHHUHHSHHOOO!!”  The sneeze roared out of him and bent him double.   “HUHH-UHSHooooo, uhshoo, uhshoo, huhshoo,huhuhshoo….uhhhhhhh-shooooo!”  He slowly sat up, dizzy, and sniffled.

 

That took forever, but wow, that felt good to get out.

 

34.  Snore

Jamie didn’t sleep well.  Freddie was coming down with a cold.  He hadn’t said anything about not feeling well, but he had snored all night long.  He only did that if he was sick.   

 

Yawning, she got up to jump in the shower.  15 minutes later, she came back into the bedroom to see Freddie sitting up.  “Hey, how’d you sleep?”

 

“Like the dead.” He commented, and she noticed a bit of congestion in his voice.  

 

“I don’t think you woke up once.” She told him, yawning.

 

“How would you know?” He teased and then sneezed.  “Huhh-Chushhh.  Excuse me.”

 

“You were snoring all night.”

 

He sniffled.  “That explains it.”  At her look, “headache, runny nose, and I sneezed at least half a dozen times while you were in the shower.”

“It is that time of year.” She reminded him.

 

35.   Blush

”Ihhhshoo.” Alyssa sneezed softly, quickly followed by a second “ihhshoo.”  And a third “ihhshoo.” Louder this time.  She brushed at her nose with the back of her hand and reached for her purse, knowing full well there was nothing in there she could blow her nose with.  “Hiitschoo.  Sorry.”  She apologized.  “I don’t know wha…ahh-schoo!”  

 

She took the tissue Jamie handed her and blew her nose.   

 

“Hiitschoo.  Hiiihschoo.  Ihhschooo.”  She blew her nose again as Jamie passed her the pack of Kleenex.  “I never sneeze like this.” She felt her face grow hot.  

 

Jamie nodded.  “Someone has some strong perfume on.  You might be allergic to it.”  She paused as Alyssa sneezed again.  “You wanna go?”

 

“Hiiihtchishh, iihhchishh…hhchihhh.”  Alyssa nodded as Jamie flagged down the waiter for the check and take home boxes.

 

36.  Health

Despite her allergies and asthma, Jamie was actually relatively healthy.  Aside from her frequent sneezing and itchy eyes, everything was controlled with two pills and a rescue inhaler she rarely used.  

 

So when she caught a cold at the beginning of March, it was bad.  And everyone was surprised.    She had spent the entire cold and flu season taking care of them when they got sick and never sniffled – well, not more than usual.

 

But Tuesday morning, she woke up coughing like her lungs were trying to escape and her sneezing intensified.   “Ihhtschoo! Ihhschoo!  Hihh…hihhschoo, Huhh..uhh..huhhihschoo.  Ihhschoo.”  She blew her nose as Freddie came into the bedroom.   

 

“Bless you.”

 

“Thagk you.”  She took the juice he offered and swallowed gingerly.  

 

“Hungry?” She shook her head.  “For anything?”

 

“Baybe ice creab.  Huhhh…huhhtschoo.”  She began coughing again.  

 

“Do you need your inhaler?”

 

She shook her head. “Already used id ad hour ago.”

 

“Can I do anything for you?”

 

She coughed again and blew her nose. “Ub, I deed bore kleedix.  Ad water.  Ad cad you just sid with be for a liddle bit?”

He nodded.  “I’ll be right back.”   He shook his head, leaving the room.  When she got sick, she got sick.  

 

37.   Breeze

They sat on the back patio of the condo. It had rained, bringing down the pollen count to Jamie’s relief.  She liked to be outside, but it was so rare she could do it without sneezing constantly or freezing.     

 

They chatted about their day – well more Freddie’s day which was much more interesting than hers.

 

A strong breeze blew from the west, bringing with it the scent of the neighbor’s flowers…and pollen.   “Hiiihiitschoo.”  Jamie sneezed.  

 

“Do you want to go back in?”

 

She shook her head,  “let’s wait.”  She told him, taking his hand.  

 

38.  Helping Hand (follows responsibility)

Alex set breakfast on the table and looked at his daughter.  “What did you want to do today?” He asked, punctuating it with a sniffle.   

 

“Can we go to the zoo?” She asked.  “I wanna see the monkeys.”

 

The zoo.  He sighed.  He was hoping she’d say watch movies all day.  He wouldn’t even care if she made him watch all of his movies again.   “Sure.”  He managed, turning and stifling a sneeze into his shoulder. “Hihh-chhh.”   

 

“You sneeze a lot, dad.”

 

“Because dad has a cold.” He told her.   He started steeling himself for the zoo.  They only had a week together every couple months, so it was all about what she wanted to do.   He started eating his pancakes, hoping a good breakfast would get him started.

 

His phone rang and he answered for Jamie, ducking out of the room.   

 

“How’s it going?” She asked.

 

“She…” he trailed off.  “Heh-chuhh, Huhh-chuhh. We’re going to the zoo.” He sighed.  

 

“Fun.” Jamie sounded genuinely excited for him.  

 

“With a migraine and a head cold.”

 

“Less fun.”

 

“I wish Lyss was here. “

 

She paused.  “Want a stand in?”

 

“You?”

 

“Sure! I love the zoo, and you could use a hand with the kid.”

 

39.   Rain

He was cold.  Cold and wet.  Cold and wet, and his nose was running.    Cold, wet, his nose was running and he had no tissues.   

 

He still had 4 more blocks to go before he got to the hotel.   

 

Oh, and he had no umbrella.  

 

He swiped at his nose with his sleeve, not that that did any good.  

 

Why did he decide to walk to the studio for the talk show taping?  Oh yeah, it was cool and sunny when he left.  But the New York sky had decided to open up on him.  

 

3 more blocks.  

 

“Hehh-chuhh.”  He buried a sneeze into his sleeve.  

 

2 more blocks.   He walked faster.  He could see the hotel as he got closer.   His thoughts filled with hot coffee, a hot shower and dry clothes.    

 

1 more block – well, technically, half a block.   “Ehh-chuhh.”  His sleeve was cold and wet and made him shiver.

 

He opened the door to the hotel lobby and slipped onto the elevator.  Soon, he’d be warm and dry.

 

 

 

40.   Turning Point

Freddie had done nothing for the past two days but sleep, so when he made his way downstairs on Monday morning, Jamie was pleasantly surprised.  “Morning.  Coffee?”

 

He shook his head, pulling the orange juice out of the refrigerator.  “Do.”  He sniffled.  “Just this.”

 

He sat down with his glass.  “Huhhchishh, uhhchishh, huhhchisshuhh.”  He sneezed wetly.  

 

She got up and handed him a paper towel.  “Bless you.  Feeling any better?”

 

He nodded.  “It doesd’t hurd by head whed I sdeeze adybore.”  He gave his nose another gurgly blow, and she handed him another paper towel.  “Thagks.”

 

“Hungry?”

 

He shrugged.  “Baybe.  Oatbeal bight be dice.”

 

She could still barely understand him, but he was awake and eating, so maybe he had reached the turning point.  

 

41.   Groceries

Tim set the grocery bags on the counter and began unloading it.  2 gallons of orange juice which he stuck in the fridge.  

 

“Hayehhshoo….ehh-Hehhshoo.”   He wiped his nose on his sleeve.  

 

Can after can of chicken noodle soup.  12 in total.   He shoved them to the back of the counter.   

 

Daytime cold medicine.  Nighttime cold medicine.  Cough drops.   Chapstick. 

 

“Huhhyuhhshoo, uhshoo.”  Sniffling, he continued.  

 

Popsicles to the freezer.   Bananas on the counter.  Tea – counter.   Sprite, also to the counter.  

 

Oatmeal to the cupboard.   Milk in the fridge.  “Hehh…Hehhshoo…iiieehshoo.”

 

Sniffling again, he suddenly realized.  He forgot to buy Kleenex.  

 

42.  Tissues (follows helping hand)

His favorite thing about Jamie, at least today, was that she always had tissues.  And not just a travel pack of Kleenex or two, but a sandwich bag filled with tissues. 

 

They’d been at the zoo 5 minutes when he’d sneezed a wet, messy double and realized he’d forgotten to grab tissues before leaving the house.   Hearing him trying to sniffle back his runny nose, she’d handed him a few tissues from her oversized purse, then handed him more to stock his pockets with.  

 

He looked at the plastic bag she had pulled out.  “That’s a lot of Kleenex.” He sniffled.  

 

“You’ve seen me.   Ihhtschoo.”  It was her turn to sneeze.  “Trust me, I can go through one of those travel packs in 5 minutes.”

 

He believed it.  He’d seen her on a bad day.   “Ehhchuhh.  Huhhchuhh.”  He winced as his head throbbed.  “Just glad one of us is prepared.”

 

43.   Endless Night

”Ihhtshh.”  Jamie tried to sneeze as quietly as possible.   She’d been sneezing at regular intervals for the last hour, and the itch in her nose showed no sign of abating.   

 

She closed her eyes and prayed for sleep.  “Hittschh.”   She sighed and wiped at her nose, looking at the clock.  1:15 am.  The sneezing had started around midnight.  

 

“Ihhhtschoo.”  She heard Freddie stir next to him and hoped she didn’t wake him.   She tried to blow her nose as softly as possible.  

 

“Ihhtschoo.”  The sneezes were getting stronger and more frequent.   Sighing, she slipped out of bed and headed downstairs to the couch.  It was going to be an endless night for her, apparently.  The least she could do was let Freddie sleep.

 

44.  Pills

Alex scrounged through the drawer in his desk, pulling out pens and paper clips.  “ehh-chuhh.”  He paused to sneeze to the side.  “”Heehhtchuhh, ehhchushh.”  Grabbing a tissue from the box on his desk, he blew his nose.

 

He’d overslept that morning and had his allergies kick up.   He’d run straight out the door without grabbing an allergy pill, but he knew he had some in his office somewhere.

 

“Huhh-chuhhh.”   Rehearsal was in an hour and a half.  Taping in 3.   He had to quit sneezing by then.  

 

He succeeded in pulling the drawer completely out and saw the bottle of Claritin in the back.   He swallowed one, then stared at the drawer.  Now to figure out how to get the drawer back in.

 

45.   Cuddle

Alex woke up cold.  Alyssa was curled up in a ball on her side of the bed, blankets wrapped tightly around her. 

 

She woke up, looked at him blearily and sneezed.  “Huhh-ihhshoo.  What are you doing?”

 

“I was missing the covers.”  He explained.

 

She still had them firmly wrapped around her. “I’m cold.  Ahhshoo,  hahh-ahhshoo.”   She extracted her arm from her cocoon to grab a tissue and blow her nose.    

 

He sighed. “Lyss…”

 

“I’m still cold.”

 

He slid over on the bed until he was right next to her, working the blankets free.   “Get comfortable.” He told her, then wrapped his arms around her, blankets over both of them.   “Warmer?”

 

“Getting there.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by aggedy_ann

[aggedy_ann]

1.     Nosebleed 

“Heyehhshoo.  Ehhshooo.   Ehhshoo.  Heeyyahhshoo.”  Tim sniffled thickly, blowing his nose.

 

“Hehhshoo, heyehshoo, Heyehhshoo, ehhhshoo.”   He didn’t usually get fits like this.   

 

He grabbed new tissues and held them to his nose.  “Heyehhshoo, ehhh…Hehhshoo.”   Pulling the tissue away, he noticed it was speckled with blood.   “Great,” he muttered, reaching for a handful of tissues, pinching his nose shut, sneezing done for now.  

 

2.     Fragrant

Alex came into the kitchen to the smell of lavender and burnt meat.   Alyssa has the windows open and was spraying air freshener in the room.    He saw the burnt roast sitting in the sink.

 

She saw him and turned.  “I forgot the timer.” She explained, trying to rid the air of the burned odor with her spray can.

 

“I can see that.”  He said, rubbing his nose; a faint tickle had begun to well up at the base of it.

 

 “I’m sorry.   I was making dinner.   I thought I had the timer set….I fell asleep.”   She kept spraying the room.

 

The itch intensified, and he identified the scent.  “Can you stop that?” He asked, sniffling, grabbing the can from her.   “Hehhh-chuhh.”  He rubbed his nose on his sleeve.  “Ehhhchuhh, uhchuhh.”  He paused, keeping his arm up,  “huhhhh-chuhhh.”

 

“Bless you.  Are you ok?”

 

He nodded, grabbing a paper towel and scrubbing at his nose.  “Lavender air fresheners set me off pretty….uhhh-huhhchoo…pretty good.”   He set the can on the counter, noticing various other air fresheners sitting there.   He shot her a quizzical look before doubling over with another sneeze.

 

“Freddie. He keeps thinking they can use them, but…”

 

“I don’t know why he just doesn’t let Jamie use her essential oils.   They work for her.   The lavender….hehhh-chuhhh….makes me sneeze, most of these give me headaches,” he told her looking  through the bag.   He handed her the two tropical sprays.  “These can go in the bathroom, I guess.  Huh-ihhhchhh.  I’ll give the rest to Tim.”   He blew his nose and crumpled the paper towel into the trash as she followed him out of the room.    “What do you want to order for dinner?”

 

3.     Home alone

 

Tim stretched out on the unfamiliar bed.   He’d come home to visit his mother, who had gone to visit her sister. He would have gone, but a nasty cold kept hem home; sharing is not always caring, his mother had reminded him.  

 

“Heyehhshoo, hehhehshoo, ehshooo, ehhshoo! Heyehhsho! Ehhshoo!”  He sneezed wetly into the crook of his arm, grabbing a tissue from the box next to him.   This fittish sneezing was getting annoying.   He coughed roughly and took a long drink of water.

 

His mother had called; because of the weather, she wasn’t coming home from Milwaukee tonight.

 

Tim listened to the pipes groan and creak.   He was used to being home alone, sure, just not in this house.

 

4.      Snowstorm. 

“Hayahshoo.  Ahhshoo!” Tim sneezed, pulling the last tissue from the box.  “Yahhsho! haayahhshoo!”  He blew his nose and went off in search of more.  

 

Finding none, he snagged a roll of toilet paper from the bathroom and went to take the NyQuil.   The last of the NyQuil.  He noticed there was only one packet of DayQuil there too.   

 

Sighing, he looked out the window.  The snow was falling heavily, and the city had put out an order not to drive unless necessary.  Not that that mattered…after all this time in California, he wasn’t sure if he could drive in this weather anymore.  

 

Blowing his nose again on the toilet paper, he curled up on the bed, hoping to sleep through the night.

 

5.      By my Side

Freddie lay snoring on the other side of the bed.    He had been sleeping as far away as possible from her while still remaining in the same room since he’d gotten this cold.   He coughed deeply in his sleep, waking himself.    

 

“Huhhchishh.”  He sneezed, opening bleary eyes and reaching for the tissues.  “Uhhchisshuhh.”

 

“Bless you.” Jamie said softly from the other side of the bed.

 

“Why are you still awake?”

 

“It’s 11 pm.  And you’re snoring.”

 

“Sorry.”  He gestured to his head.  “Stuffed up.”  He explained, needlessly.

 

“I know.  Go back to sleep.”

 

He laid back down, closing his eyes.   She noticed, despite the blanket and 70 degree heat, he was shivering.    She slid over next to him, lying at his side, arms around him.   

 

“Don’t want you to get sick,” he whispered.   

 

“Don’t care.” She whispered back.

 

[aggedy_ann]

1.     Breathing

The smoke from the wildfires really got to Jamie.   Her eyes itched, she sneezed incessantly and her breathing was terrible.  Freddie has dragged her to the doctor and that landed her on steroids.   

 

“Ihhchoo, hihchoo. Ugh…ahhchoo, haatchoo, hatschoo.”  Even her sneezes had changed – louder, harsher, stronger.   

 

She has a nasty cough, but the doctor had reassured Freddie that it would take time for the medication to help with that.  

 

“Huh-ahchoo!  ATCHOO!”  The sneezes forced her from lying to sitting, and she blew her nose loudly.  “Tired of this.” She rasped, laying back down.   

 

Freddie lay beside her, listening, as he had done since the fires started, for any change in her breathing until he fell asleep.  

 

2.      Waiting

Alyssa stood by the front door, holding her coat and purse.  Alex was technically ready, but he’d sneezed coming down the stairs…and continued sneezing, slowly.

 

“Huhchuh.”  He grabbed a tissue.

 

“Uhchuhh.” A minute later.

 

“Huhchuhhh…ehchuhh.”

 

Finally, after another long minute, “Huhh-uhhchuhhh.”  He blew his nose in the tissue and tossed it, tucking a few more in his pocket, heading to Alyssa and out the door.

 

3.     Fake

It was a long staff meeting.  Alex loved to talk sometimes.   Freddie shot a look at Tim, and Tim shrugged back as if to say “what can you do?”

 

He shifted in the uncomfortable chair, desperate to get up and walk around.   He saw Ella stifle a sneeze silently across the table and had an idea.

 

He waited a few minutes before “Huhh-chuhh.”  He faked the sneeze.

 

Waited about 30 seconds.  “Huhh-chuhh.  Huhh-chuhh.”   He could feel Alex’s eyes on him.  “Huh-chuhh.”  He faked a final sneeze and got up from the chair.  “Excuse me.” He mouthed, leaving the room under the guise of needing to blow his nose.  

 

4.     Tender

Alex wiped carefully at his runny nose.  It was red, sore and chapped; even the lotioned tissues irritated his tender nose.   

 

“Huhhh-chuhh.”  He sneezed, sighing and sniffling.  

 

He reached for more tissues and gingerly blew his tender nose.   He’d be glad to be over this cold.  

 

5.     Starlight

Jamie sat on her perch on the bed of Tim’s pickup.  The boys and Alyssa had decided to go camping, and Tim had had the idea that if she stayed on his truck and slept in the car, maybe she could come along too, for once.  

 

So far, it seemed to be working…kind of.  Yes, she was sneezing, but not as crazily as the last time they’d tried.   She leaned back on to the bed of the truck and stared up at the stars; she hadn’t seen stars since she’d moved from small town Minnesota.  

 

“Hiitschoo, itschhoo.”  She rubbed her nose on her hoodie sleeve as Freddie blessed her.

 

She pointed out constellations to him, pulling her hoodie around her as it got colder in the desert.   

 

“Ihhtschooo, huhhiitschhoo, itschoo.”  Freddie shot her a concerned look.  The sneezing was picking up.    

 

“Maybe we better go to the car and go to bed,” he suggested.

 

6.      Need

”Huhhchishh.”  Freddie sneezed into cupped hands.

 

“Huhhchishh, uhhchishh, chishhh, uhhchishoo, uhhhchishh.”  He kept his hands firmly in front of his face.

 

“Huhhcshh, hurrchshh.”

 

“Bless you.  You ok?”  Jamie came in with a box of tissues.

 

“I deed to quit sdeezig.” He sniffed.

 

Jamie hid a smile.  “I think you need a tissue more.”  She said as another sneeze burst out of him.

 

7.     Seasons

Alex and Jamie were in agreement on the seasons.  Winter was the best.  Fall and summer were ok.  Spring was the absolute worst.   

 

Case in point: they sat inside on a sunny May day while everyone else was outside.  They were watching Alyssa best both Tim and Freddie at the basketball hoop.  

 

“Heh-chuhh, uhh-chuhh.” Alex sneezed.  “Would be nice to be out there.” He commented.

 

Jamie snatched up a tissue.  “Ihhtschooo.  You’d be miserable, and you…uhhtschoo…you know it.”  She reminded him, matching him sneeze for sneeze.

 

8.     Friend

It was nice to have a friend who understood, Jamie mused.  Even though Alex’s allergies weren’t a quarter as bad as hers were, he took the same attitude as she did.   They weren’t going to interfere.   The only time she ever saw him get frustrated by them was when they interfered with filming movies or shows.  

 

 But today wasn’t one of those days.  Today he was off and and spending time in the pool with his daughter and friends, laughing, splashing and sneezing. 

 

She heard a muffled “ehh-chuhh” as she headed towards the pool.

 

“Bless you,” she said as she approached and slid in.

 

9.     Swift

She tugged at the box of Christmas decorations on the basement shelf.  She was just too short to grab it, so she was tugging and sliding it.  Finally, she was able to pull it off the shelf, not noticing the smaller box on top of it.   That fell down, bringing a years worth of dust with it.

 

Her reaction was swift.

 

“Hiitschoo, hiitschoo, itschoo, Huhh…itschoo, huhhh…Ihhschoo….Huhh…uhhhihhtschoo, itschoo, itschoo, itschoo, itschoo…Huhh…itschhoo.”

 

Freddie heard her from the top of the stairs and went down.   He made his way over to her, and took her arm.  “Let’s get you upstairs.  Careful, there’s broken glass.”

 

“Ihhhtschoo…Huhh…huhhh…itschoo….Huhh…itschoo”. He guided her upstairs and to the Kleenex box.

 

10.  Elusive

Freddie rubbed at his itchy nose.   He sniffed hard.   He was right on the verge of sneezing, but it wouldn’t come.   He sniffled and tried blowing his nose.

 

The tickle neither abated nor increased.  

 

He sniffled.   Still nothing.   

 

Poked at the tip of his nose.   Nothing.  

 

He craned his neck to look out the window at the sun.   The tickle intensified, but the sneeze eluded him.   

 

“Hiitschoo!” Jamie walked into the kitchen, sneezing effortlessly.  He glared at her as the urge to sneeze dissolved.   

 

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

 

“You stole my sneeze.” He grumbled.  

 

11.  Animal

Jamie liked to walk in the rain; she loved being outside and her allergies tamed when it rained.   So, this rainy day, she was out walking through the neighborhood when she saw the puppy running towards her and the street.   She dashed after it, the animal lover in her thinking only of its safety and not the allergy attack that would ensue.

 

She grabbed the attached leash before the the puppy reached the street.  “Gotcha!” She said softly, letting the puppy sniff her.   “Do you have a tag?”   

 

She bent down in front of the dog, rubbing her nose.  “Toby.”  She read before a powerful sneeze enveloped her.  “Ihhhtschooo!   Sorry, Toby,” she said as he startled.   “I’m allergic t-to you.   Hiiitschooo.”   She started down the street towards the address listed on the tag, leash in one hand, Kleenex in the other.   2 blocks and 6 sneezes later, she heard a voice yell “Toby!” and saw her a down the block neighbor running towards her.

 

“You found him, Jamie!”  The teenage boy yelled excitedly.   “He saw a squirrel and got away from me,” he admitted.   

 

“Hiitschoo, ihhtschoo!” Was Jamie’s response as she handed over the leash and took a few steps back.   “They do that,” she sniffled, sneezing again.

 

“Bless you.  You ok?” Realization crossed his face, and he stepped back from her with the dog.   “You’re allergic.”

 

She nodded, failing to hold back another sneeze.  “Ehhtschoo.”

 

“Thank you so much for catching him.  Really.   I’ll take him home now.”

 

“Keep a good hold od himb.  Hiiihtschoo, Schooo, ihhhtschoo!”

 

“Bless you.  You ok to walk home?”   

 

She nodded.  “Dode this before.”   She said wiping her nose with her tissues and heading back the way she came.

 

12.  Feathers

It was ski trip time which Tim loved.  Growing up in Wisconsin, he’d learned to ski at a young age, and only the Minnesotan, Jamie, could keep up with him.

 

He bought a new coat for this trip.  He’d tried it on in the store, but hadn’t worn it yet.   It was now, when he put it on as they got close to the cabin that he noticed something funny: it made his nose itch.  

 

“Heyehhshoo.” He sneezed a few minutes later.  “Ehhshoo.”   He shook his head.   That was weird.   Unless he had a cold, he rarely sneezed, he thought as he sneezed again.  “Huhhyuhhshoo…uhhshoo.”  

 

“Bless you” Freddie said from next to him.  “You ok?  You never sneeze.”

 

“I hope you’re not getting a cold.” Alex said from the driver’s seat.

 

“It’s not a cold.  I feel fine.  My nose is just….uhhhtuhhhshoo, huhhhshoo…really itchy all of a sudden.”  He took the tissue Jamie handed him and blew his nose.  “Thanks.” He told her.

 

“Are you allergic to something?” She suggested.

 

He chuckled.  Jamie was the allergy queen, so of course her mind would go there.  “I’m allergic to feathers.” He sniffled.   “I doubt any showed up in the last 10 minutes….huurahshoo, ahhshoo.”

 

“Jacket’s new, right?” She asked.   He nodded.   “Let me see the tag.”

 

He turned so she could see the manufacturer’s tag.  “Your jacket is filled with goose down.” She informed him. “You’re allergic to it.” She stated, matter of factly.  

 

He groaned, slipping it off and throwing it in the back…noticing the irritation in his nose begin to abate.  “I guess I need a new jacket tomorrow.” He sniffed.

 

13.  Blankets

He peeked in on her when he heard her coughing.   She was asleep, still coughing.    Alex gently shook her awake, noticing how entangled she was in the blankets.   He offered her a drink of water from the bottle beside the bed.  She shook her head, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth and nose.

 

“Hiischoo, hiihihhschoo…uhhihhschoo” she sneezed loudly.    He offered her a tissue instead.   She blew her nose, then took a drink of water.  She lay back down, trying to kick the blankets into some semblance of order over her.

 

Alex chuckled.  “Just lay still, Lyss.”  He gently extricated her from the blankets, then tucked her in.

 

14.  Glasses

Alex never wore his glasses.  Except on days like today.   Between the smoke in the air from the wildfires 50 miles away and an insanely high pollen count the past week, his eyes were so swollen and irritated, contacts weren’t happening today.

 

“Huhhchuhh.”  He sneezed his way around the bathroom as he tried to remember where he put his glasses. “Ehhchuhh, Ehhchuhh.”  He grabbed some toilet paper and blew his nose.  

 

He dug through the drawers next to the sink, briefly wondering if they were in his nightstand as his had closed around the glasses case.   “Huhhchuhh.”   He wiped at his nose and slipped them on so the world came into focus…itchy and watery, but focus.

 

15.  Rest

He was supposed to have a date tonight, but as his cold worsened, he had called to cancel.  

The frequent coughing and sneezing during the phone call had certainly convinced her she didn’t want what he had.   She’d told him to call when he was better.

“Call when he was better.”   At least that didn’t mean he’d missed his chance, he mused as a set of sneezes broke his thoughts.  “Heyehhshoo, ehhshoo.”  He grabbed a tissue from the ever present box by his side and scrubbed his nose.

 

What else had she said? He thought, laying on the couch.   Oh, rest…she had gently told him to rest and feel better.

 

16.  Haze

Freddie watched as Jamie sneezed repeatedly into a wad of tissues.   Unsure what had set her off, he placed a hand on her shoulder.  “Jamie?”

 

She looked up at him, a hazy, pre-sneeze expression on her face for a few seconds before her face snapped back into her tissues with a strong “Hiitschoo!”

 

He sighed.  Apparently he’d find out what the cause was when she’d gotten control of her nose.  Until then, he’d just be supplying more tissues, he thought, as he prepared a new set to replace the wad in her hands.

 

[aggedy_ann]

1.     Hotel (follows starlight)

”hiiitschoo.” Jamie sneezed.  

 

Going to the car had not helped.  

 

“Hiitschoo! Ihhtschoo!  Uhhhh…ihhtschoo…Huhh…uhhh…ihhhtschoo!”

 

She blew her nose as Freddie looked on with concern.

 

He put the key in the ignition and turned the car on.  “You’re not gonna get any sleep.   I’m taking you to a hotel.”

 

Her response was another flurry of sneezes.

 

2.     Tea

Freddie made his way into the staff lounge.   Tim was at the coffee maker, making a cup of tea.   He handed the basket of k cups to Freddie.  “Still got your cold?” He mumbled, hoarsely.   

 

Freddie turned before taking the basket.  “Hehh-chishhh.” He muffled into his elbow.   “Yeah.  Sounds like you do too yet.”  He put the cup in the machine and started making his tea.    

 

“At least Alex hasn’t caught it yet.”

 

A familiar “Ehhhchuhh” was heard from behind them, and they turned to see Alex walk in, blowing his nose on a crumpled tissue.

 

“Tea?” Freddie offered.

 

3.     Soup

Alex sat at the kitchen table stirring the bowl of chicken noodle soup Alyssa had gotten for him before she went to go teach her class.   He knew he needed to eat; he simply wasn’t hungry.    An intensification of the constant tickle in his nose forced him to turn from the table, sneezing down at the floor.

 

   “Ehhhchuhhh….uhhhchuhhh, chuhhh, chuhhh….huhhhChuhh.”   

 

Grabbing a napkin, he blew his nose and went back to the soup.   He picked out a piece of carrot and took that as a bite.    He did like carrots.  

 

4.      Unforeseen

“Heyehshoo, ehhshoo.” Tim sneezed as Alex walked into the office he and Freddie shared.  

 

Freddie looked up at him and then at Alex.  “Go away, Alex.  Tim’s allergic to you today.”   

 

Tim had to admit, Freddie may have a point.  Every time Alex got near him today, his nose stuffed up, and he started sneezing.   He blew his nose as Alex rolled his eyes.

 

“You can’t be allergic to a person.” Alex pointed out but going over and standing by Freddie.

 

“Something new in your hair? New body wash…aftershave?”

 

“Cologne.”  

 

Freddie nodded.  “It’s nice,” he said as Tim sneezed again and glared at him.   “But I think it’s setting Tim off.  Tim, Alex is gonna get really close to you; have your Kleenex ready.”

 

Tim nodded as Alex went and sat next to him.  30 seconds later, Tim moved his chair away, turning away from Alex.  “Hehhshoo, Heyehhshoo, ehhchoo, huhhehchoo, huhhuhhchoo, ahhchoo, huuhrahhshoo, haayahshoo, uhhhshoo, huhhhahhshoo.” He blew his nose and caught his breath.

 

“Bless you.” Alex and Freddie said in unison, Alex moving as far away as he could get.

 

“I did not see that coming.” Tim said.   “I’ve never been allergic to any of that before.”

 

5.     Boxes

Alex was digging through his basement, digging through boxes trying to figure out where he put his Christmas decorations.   

 

“Ehchuh.” He sneezed.  The basement was full of dust and cobwebs.   And boxes.

 

Each box raised a layer of dust into the air.   He had been on the road for Christmas last year, but this year, he had his daughter, so he wanted to put on the bells and whistles.  

 

“Ehhhchuhh, hehhhchuhh, huhhh….uhhchuhhh.  Ugh.”  He wiped his nose on his sleeve and kept looking.

 

 

Finally, in the back corner of the basement, 2 boxes of Christmas things.   Trying not to drop the boxes as he sneezed, he carried the dusty boxes upstairs.

 

6.     Agony 

Agony was the right word to describe it.   High pollen counts plus smoke from the wildfires plus a head cold.  Or as Alex put it, the perfect storm of misery.   Jamie was in agony.   

 

She sat on the couch, making an attempt at reading a book, but mostly sneezing.   

 

“Hiiitschoo, ihtschoo! Iithschoo!”  She blew her nose and tried to focus on the page through watery eyes.   

 

Freddie came in carrying a cup of tea.  “It sounds like your throat is starting to get sore.” He commented.   

 

She nodded, but didn’t take the cup from him.   He looked at her questioningly.   “Gonna sneeze agai…aiitschoo, itschoo, ihhtschoo, hiitschoo, tschhoo, schoo, hayyetschoo, ehhtschoo!  Ugh.”  She blew her nose, then took the cup.  

 

“Bless you, baby.  Think you can try to sleep?  I know you didn’t get much last night.”

 

“Probably not, but I can try.  Closing my eyes might feel nice.”

 

He took her book and covered her up on the couch.

 

7.     Fireworks

They’d been together for a year now.   He loved everything about her.  Her reddish-blonde hair, her clear green eyes.  Her fiery determination.  Even her temper.   

 

She was his firework.

 

He bent down to kiss her.  Even though she pulled away a few brief seconds later to sneeze he grinned.

 

She still made him see fireworks.

 

8.     Touch

”Huhh-chush.”  Freddie let out a stuffy sneeze, tried to blow his nose and sighed.   He could not get the congestion to move.   Nor could he even breath through his nose.  He flopped back against the pillows and waited for Jamie to come home from work.

 

He must have dozed off because she was home before he knew it.   “Hey Jabie.” He sniffle, giving his nose another useless, honking blow.   

 

“Hey sweety.   You’re really stuffed.” She commented.

 

“I cad’t breadth through by doze at all.  By sdot doesd’t ebed bove whed I blow id.”

She gave him a sympathetic look before stepping into the bathroom.   She returned with the vapor rub.

 

“I hade thad stuff.”

 

“It’ll get your nose running again.”  She unbuttoned his shirt.  “Gonna let me?”

 

He nodded, and she began massaging the menthol ointment onto his chest.

 

9.     Lullaby

Alex sat in Kristin’s room with her.  He knew she was 11, but he had just spent the evening in urgent care where she had been diagnosed with strep and a double ear infection.   Which made his head cold seem pretty insignificant.   

 

“Can you sing to me, dad?” She asked.

 

He coughed.  “Oh, um, kiddo, my voice isn’t that great right now.”

 

“Please, like when I was little?”   She looked over at him with big blue eyes.   

 

He smiled.  Anything for her.  “Northern lights in our skies, plants that grow a-and opend…ehhchuh…your mind, things that swim wi- ihhchuhh..with a neon glow, how we all got here, nobody knows.   These are real things.  These are…ehhchuhh…real thigs.”  He pause and sniffled.   “Oh, what a world, don’t wanda leave, all kind of magic around us, ih..it’s..itschuhh…hard to believe.  Oh what a world, and thend there is you.  Oh, and thend there is you.”    He stopped to cough.

 

She handed him a tissue.   “Blow your nose, dad.”   

 

10.  Hands

”Ehhhchuhh.”  Alex sneezed, cupping his hands over his face.   “Huhchuh, uhchuhh, hehhchuhh.”   He paused, knowing more were coming.  “Hehhchahhh, ehhhtchuhh, heyyehchuhh.”

 

He got up, grabbed a paper towel, blew his nose, then washed his hands in the kitchen sink.

 

He turned to see his daughter giving him a stern look.   “Dad,” she admonished him, “you’re supposed to sneeze into your sleeve.”

 

11.  Caring

She had called Tim prior to coming over to see what he needed, and Alex had given her the spare key, just in case Tim was asleep when she got there, but Alyssa was unprepared for how sick he was.

 

He was asleep on the couch when she let herself in, snoring loudly through congested sinuses, pale, with a glean of sweat across his forehead.   Crumpled tissues overflowed a grocery bag and littered the floor around him.     She set her bags in the kitchen and went to wake him.   

 

He awake slowly, turning away from her and coughing harshly.  He sat up and reached for his water before noticing the glass was empty.    

 

“I’ll get some more.” She picked up his glass.   “Need cold medicine?”   

 

He nodded, pressing his hand to the back of his nose.    She ducked into the kitchen, hearing his muffled sneezes from the living room, returning with orange juice, water, cold medicine and a thermometer.   “I want to get your temperature first.  You feel really warm.”  She handed over the thermometer.  “100.6.” She reported, handing him the cold medicine and juice.   “This should help with everything.”

 

He took the pills, and wrapped the blanket around him.  “Thangks Alyssa…ehhhshuhh, heyyehhshuhh.”  He blew his nose again.    

 

“Bless you.  You get some rest and let the medicine kick in.  I’ll make you some soup while you do.”

 

12.  Awkward

Dates made her nervous.   She was shy around new people, and she hated having to explain all the restrictions of her allergies before really getting to know someone.   At least, Alex had set this up, so hopefully Freddie would be prepared.   

 

She met him at the restaurant, noting with dismay, it was an out door café.  She checked her purse, making sure her stash of tissues was in there, then approached the man resembling the picture Alex had shown her.   “Freddie?”  She asked, rubbing her nose.

 

He nodded.  “Yes.  Jamie?”

 

She opened her mouth to respond but instead ended up turning away from him to sneeze.  “Ihhhtschoo, ihhtschoo.” She turned back to him.  “Yes.  Sorry.  Excuse me.”  She could feel herself blushing.  

 

He smiled.  “Bless you.  I thought this place would be fun.  The patio is nice, and the seafood is fantastic.”

 

“Oh, um…” she tried to hide her disappointment. Alex hadn’t told him much, apparently.   “I’m allergic to fish and shellfish.  I mean, I’m sure there’s something on the menu I can eat.   But, um, I don’t know what Alex told you, but um, sitting outside and me aren’t really compatible.   It looks great, but I, uh, have bad allergies…this is the time of year they’re the worst…” she trailed off.  “Hiitschoo!” She punctuated her explanation with a sneeze and turned away from Freddie to blow her nose.

 

“Bless you.  I don’t think there’s anything but salad on the menu for you.  Alex said you had allergies so no flowers and no cologne; I guess I didn’t carry that over to sitting outside.   If you feel like walking a bit, there’s another place about 4 blocks away…indoors and more choices for food…”

 

“If you don’t mind…if we stay here, you’ll spend the night listening to me sneeze.

“I think I’d rather get to know you.” He smiled.

 

13.  Voice

Alex slipped into the studio and straight to his office, avoiding the writers area until he absolutely couldn’t any longer.   He took a sip of the tea he brought with him and sighed.

 

Half an hour after he’d been there, Freddie and Tim, noticing that he hadn’t been in to check in yet, checked in on him.   He was coughing when they knocked on his door, but he looked up and motioned them in.    

 

They stood, waiting for him to finish and take a long sip of his tea.    “Haven’t seen you yet today, boss,” Tim commented.

 

“Wanted to get to work.” Alex’s voice was hoarse with notes of congestion.  He fumbled quickly for a tissue.  “Heyyehhchuhh.”

 

“Wanted to save your voice.” Freddie surmised. “I thought your cold was getting better.”

 

“That too. And it was.   Then it moved to my chest and got worse again.  I’m trying not to talk so it gets better so I don’t sound like this on the air.”

 

“Cold medicine helping?” Tim asked.

 

“Didn’t take any.  Not really stuffed up.”

 

“Helps with the cough.   I have some in my desk.”

 

“I have cough drops.” Freddie offered.

 

“Salt water gargles.”

 

“We’ll bring you more tea.”

 

“And remember, talk normally, don’t whisper.” They said in unison, leaving to fetch things for Alex.   

[aggedy_ann]

This takes me to 100.  
 

1.     Compromise

Freddie had taken Tim out for a birthday dinner.   Tim had seemed a little annoyed that no one else could join in, but Jamie had to “work late,” Freddie told him.   Alex had begged off, having to “attend a faculty benefit” with Alyssa.

 

In reality, the three of them were at Tim’s apartment, stashing ice cream in the freezer, decorating and putting candles on a chocolate cake.

 

Freddie had texted when they were about 5 minutes away.   They had all hid in the kitchen and turned off the lights.   After a few minutes, the heard voices in the hall and a key in the lock.  Alex looked over at Jamie and jokingly told her, “don’t sneeze,” as he knelt down to tie his shoe.

 

She glared at him as unbeknownst to everyone, Cashew walked into the kitchen.  He walked over to Alex and rubbed up against him, brushing his tail against Alex’s cheek.   

 

“Huhh…huhhhh.” He quickly pressed his hand against his nose.   Freddie and Tim were talking in the living room.

 

Cashew jumped up on his bent knee, placing his paws on his chest.

 

“HUHHHH-CHUUUHHH.” The proximity of the cat was too much.

 

He heard Tim swear and the kitchen light was switched on.

 

“Happy Birthday!” Alyssa and Jamie called out as Alex sneezed again.

 

“Huhh-CHUHH!” Alex sniffled.  “Yeah, happy birthday.”

 

2.     Hush

Freddie came home to find Jamie lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling.  She sat up when he came in and gave him a tiny attempt at a smile.

 

“Hey baby.”  He bent down and kissed her.  “How are you feeling?  You still feel pretty warm.” He commented.

 

Her response was to burst into tears.

 

“Hey, hey, hey,” he said, gently, sitting next to her and reaching for her.  “What’s wrong?”  She pulled back, turning away from him.  “Jamie?”

 

“Ihtschoo! Ihtschoo!………Hiitschoo…Huhh…huhhh…hhuhhihhtschooo!”  She turned back to him, wiping her nose, still crying.   

 

He pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair.  “Hush, sweetie, tell me what’s wrong?”

 

“I just feel so awful.” She sobbed, sniffling and burying his head in his shoulder.

 

3.     I’m here (follows hush)

He held here and let her sob.  He’d never seen her like this.  Her allergies never got to her.  Even when she was sick, it never seemed to bother her.   He brushed her hair back and was, again, taken aback by how warm she was.   

 

She pulled away from him and sneezed again.  This time she was visible to him, and she saw her wince after.    

 

“Bless you.”  He handed her a tissue.  “Is your throat sore?”  

 

“”Hihhtschoo. Yeah.”

 

“And you’ve probably still got a fever.   I think it’s time to go to the walk-in.”

She shook her head.  “Don’t want to.”  She started crying again.

 

He put his arms around here.  “Hey, it’s ok.  I’m here now.  I’m not going anywhere tonight.”

 

4.     Bubbles

Alyssa poured the eucalyptus bubble bath into the tub and watched the bubbles rise as the water ran.  She slipped into the warm water, feeling it instantly relax her.   It took about 10 minutes before she could feel the eucalyptus work on her congested sinuses.   She sniffed and sniffled until the sneezing started.  “Hahh-Ishoo, ishoo, huhihhshoo!”

 

Her nose running freely now, she got out of the tub and into a pair of sweats and one of Alex’s sweatshirts.   She stood at the sink and blew her nose over a dozen times before slipping into the bedroom, head finally clearer.

 

5.     Bed (Follows bubbles)

She sank down on the bed, wrapping the blankets around her, box of Kleenex at her side.   Her nose was still running from the bath.   She blew her nose again and tossed the tissue into the nearly full trash can.   

 

She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but her attempt was interrupted by a sudden flurry of sneezes.   “Ihhschoo, Hiihschoo, Ihhschoo, huhhihhschoo, uhhihhschoo!”  She buried her face in the pillow until the fit abated.  

 

She sat up to blow her nose, then lay back down.    Stretching out her tired, sore body, she tried to sleep once again.

 

6.     Delivery

She had just hit send on the text to Tim – ‘Can’t stop sneezing this morning.  Skipping church today’ when she got one from him. ‘ have a bad cold, coughing nonstop.  No church for me today.’   

 

Jamie texted him ‘feel better. Need anything?’ And laughed when the text he sent her at the same time simply said ‘bless you’

 

He texted back a few seconds later a second response – sleep.

 

She headed into the kitchen, deciding to surprise him later with some soup.    

 

Freddie woke up a few hours later and wandered down to the kitchen for breakfast, wondering why he smelled chicken soup.

 

Jamie sat at the table with her orange juice.  “No Mass?” He asked.

 

“Been up sneezing since 5.” She sniffled.  “And Tim cancelled with….hihhtschoo! Ihhschoo!  He has a bad cold.  Hiiihhhtschoooo!”

 

“Bless you.”

 

“I tried sleeping on the couch, but…” she gestured to her nose, reaching for a tissue.

 

He noticed the pile in the garbage next to her and frowned.   “Getting sick?”

 

“Just aller-  ehhrtschoo….Allergies.”

 

“And the soup?”

 

“I thought I’d take it over to Tim.”

 

Freddie shook his head.  “Not the way you’re sneezing.”

 

“You could drive me.” She blew her nose again.  “I think it’s hard on him when he’s really sick…be…beihh…ihhhtschoo, tschoo! Being alone.”

 

He nodded.  “Ok. You coordinate a time.  See what he needs.   We’ll go over.”

 

Jamie texted Tim an hour later to find out he needed cough drops.   She and Freddie picked him up a few bags and continued to his apartment.   Jamie picked up her bag and carried up to his apartment, thankful for the empty elevator where no one witnessed her sneezing fit.   

 

She walked down the hall and knocked on his door.  He answered, coughing, and let her in.   “I..hold on…ihhtschoo, ihhtshoo.   I can’t stay long; Freddie’s in the car.” She followed him into the kitchen as he blessed her.    She set the soup on the counter and handed him the cough drops.  “That doesn’t sound good.” She commented, listening to him cough, quickly handing him the cough drops before sneezing 4 times.

 

“It doesn’t feel good.” He confirmed.  “And you really can’t quit sneezing today.”

 

She shook her head.  “I’ll let you rest.”  

 

“Thanks for the delivery.”

 

7.     Green

Alyssa watched as Alex walked out of the bathroom and back towards the bed.   He paused halfway across the room, placing a hand on the dresser for support.  “Huhhchhh, uhhcchhtt, huhhuhhchhxxtt.”  He sneezed, holding on to the dresser for a few seconds before continuing to the bed.   

 

She noticed he sat down slowly and stifled another sneeze.  Unusual for him, especially around her.

 

“Bless you.  You ok, babe?”

 

“Migraine.” He said softly.  “And allergies chose today to pick up.  Hhhcchhh.  Ughhh.”  He moved the trash can closer.   

 

He did look a little green, she noticed.  “Need a Zyrtec?” She offered

“Waiting for that and the excedrin to kick in.” He sniffled, laying back down.  “HehhhChhxnxt.”

 

“Bless you.”  She tried to slide off the bed without disturbing him and pulled down the shades.   “I’ll let you rest.”

 

8.     Blue

Alex and Tim walked along the trail.  It was a sunny, summer day with a slight breeze.   They had been hiking for about 45 minutes and were halfway to the top of the trail.

 

Tim noticed his nose was stuffy and his eyes were starting to itch.   He had no idea why.   He and Alex had hiked this trail before, and usually, in the spring and fall, Alex was the one sniffling.   Tim had no allergy issues, not really.   He was puzzling this out when he stopped to sneeze suddenly.   “Heyehhshoo, hehhshoo.”  Shaking his head, he caught up with Alex.

 

“Bless you, man.”

 

Tim held up his hand.  “Heyyehhshoo, ehhshooo…ehhhshoo, heyyahhshoo!”  Four powerful sneezes rocked his body. He straightened up and sniffled.  “Got a tissue?”

 

Alex pulled a pack out of his pocket and tossed it to him.  “You ok?”   

 

“Nose ihhh…ihh-ihhhschooo, Ihhschoo…itches.”  He tried to blow the tickle out.

 

Alex took a look at Tim and noticed his blue eyes were watery as Tim reached up to rub them.   “Bless you.  I think you’re allergic to something out here.  Let’s go back to the car.”

 

Tim blew his nose again.  “I’m not going to argue with that plan.”

 

9.     Pink

Jamie and Freddie were having dinner with Tim, and Cashew would not leave Freddie alone.  Tim had tried putting him in the bedroom, but tonight he had yowled and yowled until Freddie said to just let him out.

 

Freddie’s sneezing had picked up during the course of the meal.  Now they were sitting at the table talking, Freddie practically one with the Kleenex box.

 

“Huhhchishh” he sneezed into a crumpled tissue.  “huhhchiisshahh.  What did you say, Tim?”    

 

“I asked if you were opening for Alex next month.”

 

Freddie nodded, wiping his nose.  “Yeah.  I’m going down to Arizona with him.   Jamie’s staying…hhhurrchishh…she’s staying here.”  He pushed the cat away from his legs.

 

Jamie noticed how Freddie’s sneezes were worsening in intensity from his normal, quiet Huhh-chushh, and took a look at his pink rimmed eyes and pink nose.   

 

“Tim, I think we should go.” She said, nodding her head towards Freddie who sneezed again.   “Dinner was lovely; I’ll see you in the morning for church?”

“We cand stay,” Freddie protested.  “I’mb not…sec…ehh-chushh, chushhh, chushh, chuhhhshoo, huhhchushhh, uhhhchuschh, Huhh-uhhhchushhoo!”

 

“Bless you.” Tim told him.  “I’m with Jamie.  You’ve had enough cat for one night.”

 

10.  Illness

Alex lay on the floor in the living room while Alyssa and Jamie came in.   “Hey,” he sniffled, not getting up from his blanket cocoon.  “How was your trip home?” He asked Jamie before pulling the blankets up to cover his mouth and nose. “Hehhhh-CHuhh, ehhhCHUHH, Chuhhh.”  He shook his head and blew his nose.

 

“Still got that cold?” Jamie asked.  “That’s going on, what, 3 weeks now?”   

 

Alyssa nodded.  “I’ve caught it and gotten over it while he’s been sick.  I told him he should see a doctor.”

 

“I don’t need a doctor.  It’s just a cold.”  Alex protested, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

 

11.  Puppies

She normally ordered the dog food online but had forgotten in time.   And forgotten to ask Freddie to run to the pet store before he left on the road with Alex and Alyssa.   Which found her outside the pet store in Tim’s car, convincing herself that Pace couldn’t live on chicken and steak for four days.    

 

She grabbed a handful of Kleenex from the box on her lap cramming them in one pocket, debit card in the other.

 

“Jamie – “ Tim started, but she was already on her way in the building.    

 

It was adoption day; specifically dog adoption day, and there was at least 10 dogs waiting to be adopted in addition to the half dozen that had come with their owners.   Jamie walked past the dogs, past the guinea pigs, hamsters and rabbits, feeling the urge to sneeze become overwhelming, yet knowing if she gave in, she wouldn’t be able to stop.

 

Pressing her hand to her nose, she made it to the back and grabbed Pace’s food.  “Hiiiiihtschooo!” A breathy sneeze snuck out and she cursed, walking quickly to the front of the store, dog for under one arm, tissues in the other hand.   She sneezed twice more on the way to the register, managed to pay without sneezing and fled the store.

 

Tim had been watching and had the back door of the car open for her to toss the food in.   She climbed in the front seat, pressed her tissues to her nose and let the sneezes come.   “Ihhhtschoo, ihhhtshoo, hahhihtschoo!” Tim watched as her head bobbed forward with each strong sneeze as they continued. She caught his worried glance.  “I’m ogay.” She managed breathlessly, blowing her nose as the sneezing began to slow down.   “I’m okay.”

 

“5 minutes with dogs set you off that bad?”

 

She shook her head.  “Not just the dogs.  Rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, hay,  cedar chips.  Ughh…haahtschoo, ahhhtschoo,  haahhiitschhoo.”

 

“Jamie.” He said, seriously.  “I would have gone in there for you.”

 

12.  Kittens

Tim and Alex walked into the pet store, noticing instantly the array of cat carriers signaling cat adoption day.   “You gonna be ok with this?” Tim asked, “there’s like 20 cats over there.”

 

He swore he saw Alex’s nose twitch with that, but Alex swore he’d be fine.

 

Alex was fine for 5 minutes.  “Hehhh-CHUH!”  He doubled over with a powerful sneeze in the kitty litter aisle.   “EhhChuhh.”

 

“Bless you.” Tim eyed him warily.   “Sure you’re ok?”

 

Alex opened his mouth to reassure him.  “EhhhChuhh, heeyEHHChuhh.” Was the response that came out.

 

Tim fished his keys out of his pocket.  “I’ll take that as no, Tim; I’d like to go sit in the car.” He said placing the keys in Alex’s hands.   Alex turned and headed out; Tim shaking his head as he heard him sneeze three more times on the way to the exit.

 

13.  Baffle

“Huhh-chushhh.”

 

He shook his head and blew his nose.   That was his fourth sneeze in less than 2 minutes.    

 

Another sneeze built and his head dipped forward.  “Huhhhchishhh.  Uhhhchushhh.”

 

He didn’t usually sneeze like this, and the cause always seemed to elude him.   He wasn’t sick; it wasn’t allergies.   “Hehchushh.” Another sneeze shook him, and he tried blowing his nose to quell the fit again.

 

It just served to irritate the tickle.  “Ehhhchushhh. Chusshooo.”   And then, the itch was gone.

 

These fits simply baffled him

 

14.  Daffodil

”Hiitschoo.”

 

Freddie heard Jamie sneeze as he entered the condo and followed the sound to the kitchen, where she stood at the counter, flipping chicken in the marinade.  “Hiitschoo!” She sneezed again.

 

“Bless you.” He said from behind her.  “Rough allergy day?”

 

She nodded, putting the chicken back in the fridge and blowing her nose.  “Just a little.  How was your day?”

 

“They gave us all flowers to celebrate 100 episodes.”  He said. 

 

“Please tell me you left them at work.” She sniffed, noticing he had a hand behind his back.  “Please tell me that.”  She blew her nose again and rubbed her eyes.

 

“Alex has your back.”  Freddie laughed, setting the bouquet of silk and plastic flowers on the table.     

 

She laughed.  “Do we have a vase?”

 

15.  Harsh

”Hhaahhrahhshoo, ahhrshoo.”  The force of the sneezes doubled Tim over.   Alex looked at him, somewhat concerned as Tim sneezed again.   “Haaayaahhshooo, AHHSHOO!”

 

This cold was knocking Tim on his butt.  He had an unrelenting cough, and his sneezes were rougher, harsher, louder, more fittish than they normal were.   

 

“Bless you, man.”  He said as Tim straightened up and pressed another tissue to his red, chapped nose.   “Those were, um,”

 

“Indtendse.” Tim finished.

 

16.  Grumble (follows illness)

”You’ve been getting worse.” Alyssa reminded him.  She looked at Jamie.  “He’s sneezing more; it sounds weird, but his sneeze has changed - it’s harsher, deeper, stronger.  He’s running a fever half the time…”

 

“HeyAhhChoo, HahhChoo, CHOO!”  Alex cut her off.   They noticed him rub his head, the bridge of his nose, and finally his jaw.  “What?” He asked, when he saw them looking.  “My face hurts.” He complained.   

 

“Your face?” Jamie asked? “Like a bad headache?”

 

“No.” He grumbled.  “Face.  Headache, around my eyes, top of my nose, cheekbones, even my teeth.”  He paused.  “Huhh….EhhtChoo.   Especially when I sneeze.”   He blew his nose loudly.   “Or blow my nose.”

 

“I still think you need a doctor.” Alyssa told him.   “What if this is a sinus infection of something?”

 

Alex mumbled something under his breath, but picked up his phone and called his doctor.

 

17.  Mold

Freddie filled the ice molds at the sink, preparing for the party they were having tonight.   

 

“Huhhchushh.” He sneeezed, spilling the ice mold into the sink.   He righted the tray and continued filling it with water.   

 

He turned and carried it to the freezer.   “Huhhchushh!”  He was about to open the freezer door when another sneeze shook him, sloshing water on his socks and the floor.   

 

He went back, set the tray in the sink, took a paper towel to blow his nose and several more to mop the floor.   He hoped he wasn’t catching a cold.

 

18.  State

Jamie was from Minnesota and Tim from Wisconsin.  They occasionally traveled home together.  Tim had been with her in all seasons in both states and California.

 

This particular trip took place in April, when spring had taken over for winter.   Tom’s brother, Ken picked them up in Minneapolis.  They had been waiting about 10 minutes in the pick up zone when he pulled up; Tim loaded their bags into the SUV, and they waited to pull out into traffic.

 

“Hittschoo.”  Jamie sneezed.  She pulled tissues out of her purse and continued sneezing.  “Hiitschoo.  Ihhhtschoo…huhhiihtschoo…hittschhuhh….Hiitschoo…hitschh…tschhhoo….huhhh ….huhhhittschooo….huhhh…huhhhtschhoo.”

 

She noticed the concerned look Ken gave her.  “Bless you.  You ok?” He asked.

 

She nodded, blowing her nose again and tossing the crumpled tissue in her purse.  “Allergies.  I see no one warned you.”

 

Tim nodded.  “She’s gonna sneeze her head off, no matter what state she’s in.”

 

19.  Quilt

Tim had a faded blue patchwork quilt he always pulled out at times like these.    Time when he was lonely, down or like now, sick.   His mother had made it for his brother, Steve when Steve was little, and when Steve had died, Tim had claimed it.   

 

It reminded him of his brother, reminded him of home, of being taken care of.   

 

“Heyehhshoo, eyyshoo.”  He sneezed roughly into a tissue, scrubbing his nose.

 

He pulled the quilt tighter around him and curled up in a ball on the couch, hoping for sleep.

 

20.  Quarantine

Tim looked over at his two sick friends sitting in his apartment and sneezed.   Freddie had called first; Jamie wanted to send over soup – could he drop it off?   Then Alex was going to the store for more Kleenex and cold medicine; did he need anything? 

 

It’s not that he minded his friends’ presence; it’s just, he was the latest to catch this cold, and it was at the worst.  Playing host wasn’t number on on his to do list.   

 

‘You guys don’t have to stay with me.” He told them.  “It’s just a cold.  I’m ok, really.”

 

Alex looked away and didn’t meet his eyes.   “I, uh, think Lyss wants me out of the house for awhile.  Hihh-chuhh.”    

 

“Bless you.” Said Freddie.   “Yeah, um, Jamie, too.”  He coughed.

 

“Great.  So you’ve been quarantined here.” Tim grumbled.

 

21.  Attack

Freddie sat on Tim’s couch, eyeing the cat warily.  She was already pouncing on his shoelaces.   He rubbed fiercely at his nose and sniffled.

 

A few minutes later the cat was clawing at his pant legs.   “Huh-chushh.” He sneezed.  “Hehh-chushhh.”

 

“Bless you,” Tim called from the kitchen where he was finishing washing the dishes.   

 

Freddie noticed the strings to his hoodie swinging back and forth post sneeze, and noticed Cashew notice too.  “Oh no.” He told the cat.  “No you…huh-chushoo…don’t.”

 

The cat sprang up onto his chest to attack the strings, tail waving in his face.   “Huhh-chushhh.  Ehhh-chushhh…heehhtchushh, heychushooo, eyyyuhhshoo, chushooo.”  He pushed the cat down and recovered himself.   “Tim, your cat is attacking me.” He called.   

[aggedy_ann]

And starting the second 100

 

1.     Kink

Freddie was in the bathroom while Jamie sat on the bed, trying to read.   He was trying to get ready for bed; instead, he was distracted, listening to Jamie sneeze.   He loved hearing her sneeze, though, he could never tell her that.   It was hard enough hiding the effects her frequent sneezing had on him.

 

“Hi-ihtschoo!  Ihhtschoo!  Sweety?”   She appeared in the bathroom doorway, and he jumped.

 

“Hey, hon.”  He ducked to give her a kiss.  “What’s up?”

 

“Do we… eehhtschoo! Do we have any more tissues in here?....Shit…not agaihhn…ahhihhtschoo! Ihhhtschoo!  Hhuhhh….ihhtschoo!  Uhhhh…huhhh…ihhhtschoo….huhhhhhhhhh…tschoo!”

 

Freddie watched her head bob forward sharply with the first two sneezes, then watched her fight to get the last three out.  He never wanted her more than in these moments.   If there was a 2% chance she’d understand, he’d tell her, but he kept his mouth shut.

 

Everyone had kinks.  This was Freddie’s.  

 

2.      Hand Sanitzer

In retrospect, he should have stayed home from work, Alex mused, sneezing again.   He hadn’t had a cold this bad in years.  Constant sniffling and nose blowing, near constant cough, frequent sneezing.   They’d brought in a guest host, for crying out loud.   

 

No one would come near him.   Everyone had checked in on him, but fled when the coughing got out of control or after the third or fourth sneeze.

 

He had returned from the bathroom when he noticed the large bottle on his desk.  A large green bottle with a bow on it.   Hand sanitizer.   With a card.   “Thought you could use this; feel better boss” signed by the entire office.

 

3.     Frightened

Freddie sat there anxiously.   Jamie had been sneezing for 10 minutes straight, barely able to draw a breath between sneezes.   He’d been hearing her wheeze the last couple minutes, but fortunately, he noticed, the sneezes were slowing down.

 

“Hiitschoo! Can you get my purse?” She asked in a tight voice, finally getting a break long enough to speak. “hiiitcschuhh”.  He noticed even her sneezes were tight and raspy.

 

He brought her purse to her and she pulled her inhaler out of the side pocket, and waited.  “Come on.”  He heard her whisper, and realized she was trying to time it between sneezes.   “Huhh…hiiihhtschhoo!”   She took a puff off the inhaler and held her breath.    20 seconds later, she let it out, coughing.    

 

Freddie too let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.    Her sneezing returned, still slower, and he put a hand on her shoulder.  “Ok?”  He mouthed, when she looked at him.

 

She nodded.  “Ok.” She managed back.  “Hiihhhtschoo!”   She took the second puff from the inhaler and waited, then fished Benadryl out of her purse.    

 

“I’m ok.” She told him.  “Are you?”  She took this in stride by now, but it still scared the bejeezus out of him. 

 

4.     Fake (reference Kink)

Freddie came in the front door, and saw Jamie waiting on the couch in a dress.   He groaned inwardly.  The fundraising dinner for the non profit she worked for was tonight.   He was tired, and the last thing he wanted was to sit through a four hour dinner.   

 

“I’ve got your suit out.” She told him. “Ready to get ready?  She led him upstairs.

 

He ducked in the bathroom and closed the door, having a plan to get out of this.   He opened the bottom draw where he kept his stash of dental picks.”   He put the rubber bristles in one of his nostrils and began twisting it around.   Before he knew it “Huhh-chushh.” And his nose was running.   He placed the pick back in there and kept inducing.  “Huhh-chushhh.”  

 

“Bless you.” He heard Jamie call from the bedroom.   

 

“Huhh-chushh, uhhhchushhh,  huhhhh…uhh-chuhhsshh.”  He stopped inducing there, but two more sneezes found their way out when he removed the pick.   He threw the pick away as Jamie knocked on the bathroom door.

 

“Sweety?  You ok?”

 

He opened the door.  “Yeah, I think so.”  He answered, blowing his nose.   “I don’t know what that was, I’ve been sneezing like this all day.”   His nose still tickled and he glanced up at the bright bulbs above the sink to chase out a final sneeze.  “Huhh-chushhhooo.”

 

“Bless you.”  She looked concerned.  “Do you think you’re getting a cold?”

 

He shrugged.  “Probably.” He sniffed.   “I’ll take some medicine and finish getting ready.”  He managed a few coughs.   “I know this is important to you.”

 

“But if you’re getting sick…” she trailed off, resting a hand against his forehead.  “You might be a little warm.  You should stay here and rest.   Alex and Alyssa will be there; it’s not like I’ll be alone.”  She went and brought a pair of sweats and a tshirt over to him.  “I’ll have Alex pick me up, and I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

 

Freddie changed and curled up on the couch while she waited for Alex and Alyssa.  He couldn’t believe this actually worked.

 

5.     Pencil

Hitschoo!”  Jamie set the pencil down and picked up a Kleenex instead.

 

“Hiitschoo”

 

She waited.  “Huhhh…huuuhhtschooo!”

 

Blew her nose.  And waited.   “Hiiiiihhh……uhhhh….hiiihtschooo!”

 

She gave her nose two more blows and tossed the tissue.   Picking up her pencil, she got back to work.

 

6.     Squint

Alex woke up ready to claw his eyes out.   He reached for the bottle of eye drops on his nightstand and put them in, then squinted at the clock.  8:20.   8:40, he could put his contacts in.   He really should get an updated pair of glasses, he thought, but he hated the way he looked in them.    

 

“Hehh-chuhhh.” He sneezed and fumbled for the tissues to smother the second one.  “Hehh-chuhh.”  Blowing his nose, he sat up, deciding to use his 20 minutes to shower.

 

7.     Misplaced

Jamie finished getting ready for work and went back into the bedroom to grab a few things.   Her watch, eye drops, lip balm, inhaler.   She found everything but her inhaler quickly.   She had left it on the nightstand, but it wasn’t there.  She checked the drawer and the bed before ducking down and looking under the bed.  There it was.

 

Sighing, she dropped to her knees and reached for it, feeling a sneeze build in her nose from the dust under the bed.  “Hiitschoo.” She sneezed, wrapping her hand around the inhaler and pulling away from the floor.  “Hiitschoo, hiiitschoo!”   She managed to stand up and grab a tissue.  “Huhhh…itschoo….uhhhh….iiihhtschhooo!”   She blew her nose and sniffled as Freddie came into the room.  

 

“You ok?”

 

She nodded, holding up her inhaler.  “Had to go under the bed.”  She sniffled.

 

8.     Gratitude

Jamie came into their shared office, carrying her laptop.   “Hey, still want a dog?”  She asked.

 

Freddie looked at her as she set the laptop on his desk. “Yeah.”

 

“Found one at the humane society.  Year old, so still basically a puppy, but trained.  Interested.”

 

Freddie opened his mouth to respond, then turned his head and sneezed instead.  “Huhhchushh.  Yeah.”   He scrubbed his nose.  “What do we need to do?”

 

She walked over to the printer. “We fill out the application ask Alex and Tim…” She paused as he got a distant look on his face, cupped his hand over his nose and sneezed again, rubbing his nose.  “One more?” 

 

“At least.”

 

“We ask for references and wait and see if we’re approved.  Then we can pick him up.”  She set the application on the desk.   

 

“Ehh-chush” Freddie sneezed, blowing his nose.   “He’s not going to bother your allergies?”  

 

“Bless you.  And he shouldn’t.  He’s the same as Pace.”   

 

“You’re sure you’re ok taking care of him when I’m not here?”

 

“Sweety, when I said you could have a dog, I meant it.”  

 

He wrapped his armed around her, grateful to her that he was finally getting a pet.

 

9.     Touched

”Ihshoo!  Ihshoo!”  Alyssa sneezed half asleep.

 

The sneezes woke Alex.  “Bless you, baby.” He said touching her shoulder to wake her.

 

“What’s wrong?” She mumbled.   

 

He smiled, amused.  “You were sneezing.”

 

“Oh.”  She rolled over and went back to sleep. 

 

10.  Joy

Alex and Freddie pulled up at the animal shelter, and Freddie went inside to meet, and possibly claim Cash, noting the sign on the door to not let the cats out.  Cats milled around the counter, and he unconsciously rubbed at his nose.  The girl at the counter, Amy, led him back to meet Cash.   

 

He followed her past the row of crates to Cash, two cats following them.  She chattered on about Cash…he was good with kids, good with other dogs, good with cats, housebroken…

 

He nodded along with her conversation, a tickle building in his nose.  “Huh-chushh.” He sneezed softly into his elbow.

 

“Bless you.” She said.  “You’re not allergic to dogs, are you?  I mean, he’s hypoallergenic….we don’t get many labradoodles…but you don’t want to take a chance.”

 

He gestured at the now, three cats, behind them, sneezing again. “Hehh-chushhh.  It’s the cats.   I’m allergic to cats.”  He sniffled.   

 

She nodded.  “Sorry.  They pretty much have run of the place.   Let’s get you to your dog.” 

 

A few more feet, and they were at Cash’s kennel.  She opened the door and coaxed a medium sized, cream colored, shaggy dog out.  “He needs a haircut.” She said.  

 

Freddie let the dog sniff him and lick him; before he knew it, the dog was all over him.  He grinned. “I’d like him.” He said happily, sneezing again.

 

11.  Cough

Alex sucked harder on the cough drop, which didn’t seem to be doing any good.  He took another long sip of water from the bottle on the coffee table and tried to turn his focus back to the tv.  

 

“Hehchuhh.” He sneezed loudly, which triggered a prolonged bout of coughing.

 

Catching his breath, he made his way to the kitchen and made a cup of tea with plenty of honey, hoping that would get the cough to back off a little so he could sleep.

 

12.  Hot/cold

The cough had died down.  The sneezing and sniffling was manageable.  But, a fever had kicked in.   Alex has forgotten how miserable those could be.  He was currently in his office, with his coat on.   

 

“Hehchuh. Ehchuhh.”

 

Tim was passing by in the hallway and hearing him sneeze, poked his head in.  “ Bless you, boss.” He grinned.

 

Alex was hot again.  “Thanks.”  He blew his nose and slipped his coat off.  “I think I have a fever.” 

 

Tim crossed over to him, placing one hand on Alex’s forehead and the other hand on his own.  “You’re warm.” He agreed.   

 

Alex sighed, slipping his coat back on.

 

13.  Letter

Freddie saw the letter from Jamie’s allergist sitting on the kitchen table when he got home.  “Hey, I’m home,” he called, glancing over at the letter.  

 

“Hey,” she came in and gave him a quick kiss.  

 

“Everything ok?” He asked, indicating the letter.

 

“What?  Oh, yeah.  Just results from allergy testing. I’m allergic to life.  Who knew?” She joked, followed by a pair of sneezes.  “Hihhtschoo!  Ihhtschoo!  Hey, I couldn’t have planned that.”

 

Freddie skimmed the letter…not much they didn’t already know…just laid out in more specificity than pollens, animals, molds.  “These are new.”  He pointed at the paper.  Pointing out a new food allergy and a latex allergy.  

 

She nodded.  “And every pollen in California that’s not in Minnesota is new.  But I’m officially not allergic to cats anymore.”

 

14.  Care

It never worried him when she woke up sneezing.  He was accustomed to that with her allergies.   But whenever Jamie woke up coughing, he was concerned.   

 

That was this morning.  She was coughing and sneezing and trying to reassure him she was ok.   A quick glance at his phone showed a bad allergy day and a bad air quality day with smoke blowing in from the fires.   Her inhaler brought her breathing back to normal, and by the end of breakfast, Benadryl had tapered down the sneezing.  

 

He drove her to work, not trusting her nose to give her a break, and told her to call if she needed to leave early.   She attempted to kiss him, pulled away to sneeze at the last second, and promised she would.   

 

Freddie went home and changed in to sweatpants.  The first thing he did was change the filters on the air conditioner and the air purifiers, hoping to improve the air quality in the condo.   Then he dusted, mopped and vacuumed.  Then decided to do laundry, just so she wouldn’t have to over the weekend.   

 

She made it until 2:00 before she called him.  He went and brought her home, encouraging her to lay on the couch.   “Are you hungry?” He asked.

 

“Hiiihtschoo!” She shook her head.  “Hiihhhtschoooo! Dot really.”

 

He brushed her hair out of her face.  “Have you eaten since breakfast?”

 

Again she shook her head and sneezed.

 

“I’ll make you anything?”

 

“Hihh-hihh-Hihhtschoo! Hihhhhhtschooo! Bashed potatoes”.  She blew her nose several times.

 

“Try to rest while I make them.”

 

15.  Frail

Jamie was short and skinny.   Freddie liked to poke at her and call her scrawny.   She was usually pale.  Her allergy list was as long as her arm, and she never knew when her lungs would freak out on her.  At first glance, you’d think she was frail.

 

One thing Freddie learned the first year of their relationship, frail she was not.  For one, she was nearly as strong and fit as he was.  It no longer surprised him to come home and find furniture moved.

 

And, despite the allergies and asthma, she was healthy.   The past year, she had seen him through 2 colds, bronchitis, a sinus infection, pinkeye and strep.   She’d caught one cold, and he swore she was better before he was.

 

“Hihhtschoo! Tschoo! Hihh-Hihhtschoo!”  He could hear her exasperated sneezing coming from living room.   Even her sneeze, while usually ladylike, would not be described as frail.

 

16.  Dainty

“Hiishoo.” 

 

Alex looked up at Alyssa’s breathy sneeze.  He opened his mouth to bless her, stopping when she held up her hand.

 

“Hiiishoo” A second light sneeze.

 

And a third.  “Hehhshoo.” 

 

She dropped her hand down to her side.   “Bless you.” He said, handing her a tissue.   He smiled as she gently blew her nose; she really was the daintiest about this whole process most of the time. 

 

17.  Battle (no sneezing)

He was mid banter with the guests when the urge to sneeze struck.   He rubbed his finger under his nose trying to forestall it when it was his turn to jump in with a joke.  He managed to stay on cue and get laughter to his planned response.  Managed to make it a few sentences without sneezing, though he did rub his nose mid sentence at one point.   He focused on listening and participating in his show, all the while trying to block the tickle.   

 

Finally he heard in his headset, 15 seconds to commercial, and took the lead to wrap it up for the break.  Then, cut for commercial.   He relaxed, ducked his head down into his head and waited.  Ehhhhh…..And he lost it.   A few seconds later…huhhhhhh….and gone.

 

“Alex, are you ok?” Steve, one of the guests asked.

 

He felt his face contort again.  “Hehhhhh….” Gone completely.   “Had to sneeze since the last segment.  Now it’s gone.” He shrugged as they announced 90 seconds to air.

 

18.  One

Jamie sat curled up on the couch with Freddie, watching TV.  He had just gotten over a cold and wasn’t up to doing much; her allergies were simply being annoying today.  Therefore, it was a couch day for them on a March Saturday.  

 

“Hiiihtschoo!” She sneezed, wetly

 

“Bless you.” Freddie handed her a tissue.

 

“Thanks.”  She took it and held it in anticipation.

 

Freddie watched her for a minute.  “What are you waiting for?”

 

“More.” She said simply.  “There’s always more.”

 

“Maybe not this time.”

 

19.  Never (precedes unforeseen #70 in the first 100)

Tim never sneezed, well almost never.  Unless he had a cold, which wasn’t often, or his seemingly random allergies, again, not often, and not this time of year.  So why couldn’t he stop now?

 

“Heyehhshoo, ehhshoo…yehhshoo, hayahhshoo.”  He tried to keep them as quiet as possible.   It wasn’t that he was a loud sneezer, but he wasn’t quiet either. 

 

Alex looked over from where he was working with Freddie after probably the 10^th sneeze.  “You ok?

 

He waved his hand at Alex, as if to brush off his concern.  “Huhhyuhhshoo, ihhshoo.  Fide.”  He sniffled, pulling a tissue from the box Freddie had tossed over and blowing his nose.  

 

His eyes itched, he realized groaning inwardly.  This felt like allergies, but inside, in the winter?  That had never happened to him before.  “Huhhihshoo, yihhshoo.”  He tried blowing his nose again and all that got him was two more sneezes.   

 

He heard Alex finishing up with Freddie, and come over next to him.  “I’ll come back later to work with you; you don’t seem up to it right now.”  

 

Tim felt the tickle intensify to unbearable proportions as Alex stood next to him and could barely manage to answer.  “Sure.” He gasped, turning away.  “Uhhruhhshoo, uhhshoo, hurrshoo, huhhruhhshoo.”  4 more sneezes followed as Alex walked out of the room, realizing Tim was in no condition to talk.  

 

“You sure you’re ok?”  Freddie asked.

 

Tim blew his nose, realizing the tickle was beginning to dissipate.   “Yeah.  Uhhshoo, huyuhshoo.  I think the fit is ending.  I don’t know what that was.  It felt like an allergy attack, but…”

 

Freddie smirked.  “Maybe you’re allergic to Alex.”

 

20.  Midnight

Alyssa had taken NyQuil and passed out about 10:00, leaving the others to watch the New Years festivities and have their low key parties.  Jamie, Freddie and Tim never went to the New Years bashes, and with Alyssa sick, Alex had decided to skip them too.   

 

He looked over at her, curled in a ball on one of the chairs, snuggling the box of Kleenex.  He draped a throw blanket over her, and went back to talking to Tim.   

 

The time passed quickly, and the next he knew, it was 11:55.  Did he wake her?  He decided to try.

 

He knelt down beside the chair, placing a hand on her arm.  “Lyss?”  He gently shook her arm.

 

“Hahshoo.” She sneezed, and he pulled back.  “Go away, Alex.  I am not giving this to you.”  She blew her nose loudly and coughed, closing her eyes again.   

 

Alex sighed.  Looked like he was kissing Tim this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hovercuke]

Wow, these are so good! The characters are really fun and I love their individuality over so many drabbles

[aggedy_ann]

Thanks @Hovercuke   I’m having fun with these.  
 

Here’s the next batch

 

1.     Promise

He had promised his daughter when she visited, he would take her shopping, that they would redo her room.  

 

Now she was here.  And he had the worst cold he’d had in recent memory.   Headache, body aches, cough that wouldn’t quit, congestion, and, of course, incessant sneezing.  

 

Alyssa had picked her up last night, and he was still in bed when she came running into his room the next morning.

 

“Hey kid.” He managed, in a stuffed up voice.  “How’s by girl?”

 

“Fine.”  She started telling him about her journey out until he interrupted her, sneezing.

 

 “Huhh-chushhh, Huhh-chuhhh, hurrchushoo.”  He grabbed a tissue and blew his nose.  “Sorry about that.” He apologized.  

 

“Bless you, dad.  You’re still sick?”

 

He nodded, coughing roughly and sitting up to take a drink of water.   “Yeah,” he rasped.  “Dad’s got a pretty bad cold.” He sneezed again into a tissue, grimacing at how wet it was.  He blew his nose a few times.  “Sorry, kiddo.”

 

“So we can’t go shopping today?” She pouted.

 

“I don’t know.” He didn’t want to break his promise, but, he really wasn’t up to going out in public.   “Let me shower and get moving first…then we’ll decide.”  He blew his nose again and coughed.  “Go get dressed.  I’ll start getting up.”  He cringed at how congested his voice sounded.   

 

She nodded, leaving with a defeated expression on her face as Alyssa came in to grab clothes.  Once his cold got bad, she’d started sleeping in the guest room.  

 

She saw the frustrated expression on his face.  “What’s wrong?”

 

He held up his hand, burying his face in his other arm.  “Huhh-churshh, uhhhruhhshh, chuushhahh, ahhchuhh.” Several more nose blows, and he winced at how tender his nose had gotten.   “She wants to go shoppig today.  Hah-ahheshh.  I do’t thik I cad.”  More nose blowing.  

 

“Bless you.  And no, you can’t.  You look like death.”

 

He hung his head, coughing.

 

“You were buying things for the room, right? Bedding, curtains, wall stuff, right?” He nodded, scrubbing his nose and blowing it again.  “What if Jamie and I took her?  It’s more of a girls thing anyway.  Then when we get back, you can rearrange and hang everything.”

 

“Hahheshhuhh.  We can try to convince her.  Thanks Lyss.”

 

2.     Fight

 

“Hih-hih-hihh-Hihhhhhtschooo!”  Jamie sneezed, walking into the kitchen, flopping down on a chair.  She wiped her nose with a crumpled tissue.  “Hihhh-hihhhh-hhihhhhtschoo!” A pause.  “Hehhh…hehhhhhhh….hetschoo!”  Another pause, but Freddie noticed the sneezy expression never left her face.     

 

“You alright?” He asked, setting the paper towels next to her.

 

She tore one off.  “Hihhhh…..hihh-Hihhtschoo.  Stuck.”  She managed.   

 

He looked at her quizzically before catching on.  “The sneezes?”  

 

She nodded, holding a paper towel in front of her face as the doorbell rang.  Freddie excused himself to go let Alex and Alyssa in.  “Hihhh-hihhh-hihhh-hihhh-hihhhshooo!”  She blew her nose and waited.

 

She could hear Freddie ask them to wait in the living room and offer drinks before dinner.   He came back in the room with a box of tissues for her.  “Figured you didn’t want an audience.”

 

“Hihhh….ihhh…ihhhschooo!”  She shook her head.  The sneezes were increasing in intensity as she just wanted them out and no longer cared about restraining them.  She grabbed a tissue from the box he handed her and blew her nose.    She watched through watery eyes as he poured three glasses of wine and carried two to the living room.  She rubbed fiercely at her nose.  “Hih-hhh-hih-hih-hhh-hihSchooo!”  

 

“Bless you.”  He grabbed the third glass of wine and the bread bowl of spinach dip.

 

“Hihh….hihhhh….hihhhIHHSchoo!”  She tried blowing her nose again.   She could hear Freddie reassuring Alex and Alyssa that this happens to her sometimes, that she was fine.   She fought out six more torturous sneezes over what felt like an eternity, each one louder than the next.  She blew her nose and clenched fresh tissues in her hand, praying, again, that the next one would be the last one.   “Hhhhahhh….hahhhhhh…hahhh….hahhh-AHHHHSHOOOO!”  She blushed at the volume, knowing there were other people within earshot.   She blew her nose three times, relieved to find the tickle had abated.    She washed her face at the kitchen sink, hoping to look presentable before pouring herself a glass of lemonade.   She shyly joined them in the living room, apologizing for what they had just had to listen too.

 

3.      The End (see battle)

The tickle resurfaced during his closing monologue, when the camera was solely on him.   He’d been fighting the tickle throughout the show, the cold for a few days.  He knew it was evident in his voice; that he couldn’t control.  But he was simply not going to sneeze on camera; that he would control.   He knew he rubbed his hand on his nose more than usual, ok, a lot, just freaking a lot, during the monologue, and he knew he rushed it.  He inwardly cringed throughout at the sound of his voice, hoarse, gravelly, increasingly congested.   He needed to do his walk off off stage.  Finally he could.   

 

He made it *just* off camera.  

 

“Hehh-chuhhh.”  His assistant was waiting with a Kleenex box which he accepted gratefully.   “Huhh-Ehhchuhh!  Ehh-chushhhh, hehhh-chuumpphhh.”  He blew his nose.   Stupid cold.

 

4.     Pollen

It was her first time in Hawaii, and Alyssa was excited.   The first day there, Alex suggested a hike, and she was game although slightly concerned about the effect it would have on Alex’s allergies.   

 

Alex led her up his favorite trail.  They’d been hiking for about 10 minutes when he heard Alyssa’s breathy sneeze.  “Ihhshoo.”  

 

“Bl-“ he started, when he noticed she was gearing up for a second one. 

 

“Hihhshoo.”   And a third.   “Ihhshoo.”  4 more sneezes followed in rapid succession.  She sniffled, looking over at him.  “Got a tissue?”

 

“Bless you.” He said, pulling the pack from his pocket and handing it to her.  “You ok?”

 

“Hihhschooo!” Louder this time.  “I don’t know.” She said, baffled.  “Just keep sneezing.”  She blew her nose.

 

Alex looked around at the flora surrounding the trail, plants they didn’t have in California as Alyssa sneezed three more times into her tissue.   “Sweetie, I think something’s triggering your allergies.  Let’s head back.”

 

5.     Embarrassed 

Alex bounced out onto the stage and began his opening monologue.   He was halfway through the second joke when the urge to sneeze struck him.   He rubbed a finger under his nose and continued.   

 

He had just started the third joke when the sneeze slipped out.  “Huhh-chuhh.”  He whipped to the side, away from the audience, away from the panel, feeling heat creep into his face.   

 

That had never happened before.   Wanting to melt into the stage, he recovered himself and launched back into the third joke without further incident.

 

6.     Alcohol

Alex liked his Friday nights out with “the guys.”  They’d go out and he’d have a few drinks.  As he go older, he’d started to stick to beer.  His hardcore whiskey and tequila days were in all likelihood behind him.   

 

The thing he’d noticed was after a few beers, he’d start sneezing, particularly when his allergies were already bad.  He’d looked it up once, but darned it he could remember.  He was a comedian.   Science was Alyssa’s thing.  

 

Take tonight, for example.  He had just started his third, and final beer.   Freddie had asked him about his plans for the weekend.  And his response was “HehChuhh, EhhChuhh, EhhChuhh.” Followed by a noseblow on a bar napkin.

 

“Bless you.”  Freddie said.  “Beer got you again?”

 

7.     Wine

Freddie didn’t usually drink wine.  He didn’t drink much at all.   An occasional beer or mixed drink, but he stuck to one.   Jamie didn’t drink, so he drank even less.

 

They were at a dinner event for the show, wine on the table.  Jamie, as usual, declined, and Alex poured the bottle into the other three glasses.   

 

He’d drank about half the glass when he felt the urge to sneeze building.  “Huhh-huhhchushh.”  He ducked his head under the table and tried to make his sneeze as quiet as possible.   “Huhhchushh.”  A second, and then a third and fourth quickly followed.   

 

He took the tissue Jamie passed him, blew his nose, then sat up.  “Excuse me.  I don’t know where that came from.” He apologized.  

 

“Bless you.” Alyssa told him.  “It’s the wine.  It has histamines, which can make you sneeze.”  She moved the glass away from him.  “Stick to water.”

 

8.     Mask

It was Tim’s annual Halloween party.  Freddie had decided to go as a gorilla….sort of.  He lacked a gorilla suit but  had found a rubber gorilla mask that he planned to wear with black pants and a black sweater.   Jamie had bought face paints and rabbit ears and would wear white.   

 

She was putting her makeup on when he slipped the gorilla mask on to try it.   It smelled weird, he noticed.  After a minute, he noticed it made his nose itch.   He pulled the mask off just in time.  “HuhhChushhh.   Uhhchushhh, Chushhh, HuhhhhChuhhhshoo.” He sneezed violently.  He sniffled and shook his head.   

 

“Bless you.” She said, carefully painting the tip of her nose pink.  “What was that about?”

 

“Dunno.”  Freddie blew his nose and slipped the mask back on.  “What do you thihhh?”  He whipped the mask back off.   “Huhhyuhhshoo! UhhhChuushoo.”

 

“I think the mask is the culprit behind your sneezing.” She grinned.

 

“So now what am I gonna be?”

 

She disappeared and came back with a pair of mirrored sunglasses.  “Black suit.  Secret agent.”

 

He blew his nose again and went to change.  

 

9.     Mistake

Alyssa had told Alex what brand and type of cleaner to get.   At the store he was overwhelmed by the selection of scents sitting there on the shelf.   Deciding lilac sounded nice; he’d always liked that smell; he hurriedly grabbed a bottle off the shelf, not noticing he’d grabbed the scent next to it, also in a purple bottle.

 

He got home and started cleaning the bathroom.  “Heh-Chuhh” he sneezed about 5 minutes in, thinking nothing of it.  Until 5 minutes later.  “HuhhChuhhh, UhhChuhhh.”  Followed by a third “HuhhUhhChuhh” a minute later.  He rubbed at his eyes with his wrist, noticing that they were beginning to itch.   

 

He looked closer at the spray, noting the lack of lilac scent.  Through his suddenly congested nostrils, he noticed another scent he couldn’t quite place, but had a bad feeling about.   He had made a mistake, he realized as he sneezed again.  

 

He had grabbed lavender.

 

Pressing toilet paper to his nose, he headed to the bedroom to wait out the allergy attack.

 

10.  Suspicion (see kink)

Jamie went into the bedroom to change after work.  The bathroom door was shut and the shower running.    “HuhhhCHUushhh” she heard a harsh sneeze from the bathroom, followed by a second one minutes later.  “”HahhhChurschhh.”   

 

She knocked on the door.  “You ok?” She called.  No answer.  Probably didn’t hear me over the shower, she figured, as two more harsh sneezes echoed out.

 

She continued changing, hearing 5 more loud “huhhhChUUshhoo”s or variations thereof from the bathroom before the shower turned off and the bathroom door opened.   Freddie stepped out, clad in a towel and blowing his nose.

 

“Bless you.  You ok?  You were really sneezing in there.”  She thought it was her imagination but did he blush a little?

 

“Thanks, I didn’t know you were home yet.”  He rubbed his nose.  I, um, got shampoo in my nose, and it drove it crazy.” He explained.  “Couldn’t stop sneezing.”

 

She nodded.   Freddie seemed jumpy…like he was hiding something, and those sneezes didn’t sound like his normally did.   And how do you get shampoo in your nose?   She was suspicious, but what could she accuse him of, exactly?

 

[aggedy_ann]

1.     Quarrel

Alyssa looked at the pile of papers sitting on the kitchen table.   She had lab reports to grade, and her cold was making it hard.  She grabbed the paper towels from above the sink, tore one off and blew her nose.   The tissues were in the living room with a sleeping Alex.  She didn’t dare wake him; he become either whiny and needy or a total bear with this cold, and she wasn’t in the mood to deal with either.   

 

“Ihhshoo.” She sneezed lightly into her paper towel, and picked up her pen and the first paper.  She was coughed her way through it, into a paper towel, of course; she didn’t want to hand back papers and her cold to her students.   “Ihhshoo.  Hihhshoo.”  She blew her nose again as Alex walked in the room.

 

“Bless you.”  He muttered, going to the fridge, still clearly resentful she had given him this cold.  He poured a glass of orange juice for himself and sat down to watch her work.   

 

She was focused on the second paper when Alex’s powerful “HehhChuhh, EhhChuhh.” Broke her concentration.

 

“Bless you.”

 

“Can you go get the tissues?  I left them in the living room.”  His voice was hoarse and congested.  He sniffled back his runny nose.   She pushed the paper towels over to him.  “Those hurt my dose.” He whined.

 

“Alex, I’m workihh…ihhshoo…working.  You’ll have to get them yourself.” 

 

“Sick.” He grumbled.  

 

She sighed.  “Yeah.  Me too.  You were home all day, resting.   I taught 3 sections of biology, had 5 advising appointments and a staff meeting.”  She paused to sneeze into her paper towel.   “Now I have papers to grade before I teach labs on Tuesday.”

 

“Fide…I get it.  Your job is more important.  You’re a fancy teacher ad i’mb just a comedian.  HeehhhChuhhh” he sneezed into cupped hands, wiping them on his pants.  

 

“I didn’t say that.  I’m trying to say…ihhshoo….Hihhshoo…” she broke off and started coughing.  “I’m trying to tell you I’m tired.” She rasped when she was done coughing.

 

Alex sniffled, rubbing his nose on his sleeve.  “But I’m sicker.  H

1.     Quarrel

Alyssa looked at the pile of papers sitting on the kitchen table.   She had lab reports to grade, and her cold was making it hard.  She grabbed the paper towels from above the sink, tore one off and blew her nose.   The tissues were in the living room with a sleeping Alex.  She didn’t dare wake him; he become either whiny and needy or a total bear with this cold, and she wasn’t in the mood to deal with either.   

 

“Ihhshoo.” She sneezed lightly into her paper towel, and picked up her pen and the first paper.  She was coughed her way through it, into a paper towel, of course; she didn’t want to hand back papers and her cold to her students.   “Ihhshoo.  Hihhshoo.”  She blew her nose again as Alex walked in the room.

 

“Bless you.”  He muttered, going to the fridge, still clearly resentful she had given him this cold.  He poured a glass of orange juice for himself and sat down to watch her work.   

 

She was focused on the second paper when Alex’s powerful “HehhChuhh, EhhChuhh.” Broke her concentration.

 

“Bless you.”

 

“Can you go get the tissues?  I left them in the living room.”  His voice was hoarse and congested.  He sniffled back his runny nose.   She pushed the paper towels over to him.  “Those hurt my dose.” He whined.

 

“Alex, I’m workihh…ihhshoo…working.  You’ll have to get them yourself.” 

 

“Sick.” He grumbled.  

 

She sighed.  “Yeah.  Me too.  You were home all day, resting.   I taught 3 sections of biology, had 5 advising appointments and a staff meeting.”  She paused to sneeze into her paper towel.   “Now I have papers to grade before I teach labs on Tuesday.”

 

“Fide…I get it.  Your job is more important.  You’re a fancy teacher ad i’mb just a comedian.  HeehhhChuhhh” he sneezed into cupped hands, wiping them on his pants.  

 

“I didn’t say that.  I’m trying to say…ihhshoo….Hihhshoo…” she broke off and started coughing.  “I’m trying to tell you I’m tired.” She rasped when she was done coughing.

 

Alex sniffled, rubbing his nose on his sleeve.  “But I’m sicker.  Hehhchuhh, Ehhchuhh, hehhehhchuhhh.”

 

“Bless you.” She slid the paper towels to him.  “You’re not going to stop that until you blow your nose.”

 

“Then get the tissues.” He snapped.

 

Alyssa sighed, gathering up her papers, pens and water.  She’d work in the office upstairs.   On her way past the couch, she snagged the tissues, taking them upstairs with her.

 

2.     Disagreement

Alex got a glass of juice and plopped down across from Alyssa, watching her cough her way through her grading.    “Hehhchuhh, EhhChuhh.”  He sneezed loudly.

“Bless you.” She told him, offering him the paper towels.

 

He refused them, asking her to get the tissues he had forgotten in the living room.  “I’m sick.” He reminded her when she told him no.

 

Sighing and sneezing, she reminded him that she was also sick, that she’d had a full day at the university while it was his day off to rest.  He had accused her of saying his job mattered more than his, stopping short of pointing out their difference in incomes.  He had sneezed instead.

 

“I’m trying to tell you I’m tired.”  She sneezed and started coughing.  

 

“I’m sicker.  Hehhchuhh, uhchuhh huhhchuhh.”  She had shoved the paper towels at him, ordering him to blow his nose.  Like he didn’t know he was going to keep sneezing until he did so.  He just snapped at her to get the tissues, then watched as she gathered her things, grabbed the tissues from the couch and went upstairs.

 

She was clearly overreacting, he thought.  Or maybe he was being an ass.   Probably the latter, he realized.  He’d been so irritable and grouchy and demanding since he got sick he overlooked her needs.   Sneezing again, he grabbed a paper towel and blew his nose, then went upstairs for another box of tissues.  

 

He could hear her coughing from their shared office.  She’d been up most of the night coughing, and that plus the sneezing couldn’t make lecturing easy.  Going back down, he started on a cup of tea.  He squeezed the lemon in, then added plenty of honey.  Knowing that she wouldn’t let him in right now, he scrawled a note on a paper towel, then carried them both upstairs.

 

“Hehh-Chuhh.”  Sneezing again, he knocked at the office door.  

 

“Alex, go away.” She yelled.” Her voice cracking.   

 

Sliding the note under the door, he knocked again and left, leaving the tea outside the door.

 

Alyssa got up, preparing to let him have it.  She saw the note first.   “I’m sorry I started a fight with you.  There’s tea outside.  I hope it helps your cough.” She opened the door and saw the steaming mug of tea.  “Hihhshoo, hiihhshoo.”  She paused to see if there were more before picking it up, then headed back to the desk.  She took a drink of the hot tea; it did feel good on her throat.   

 

Picking up her phone, she texted him “thank you.”  She was still upset, but not angry anymore.

 

3.     Assignment 

Alyssa remained in the office, hold up with her papers, tea and tissues.  She slowly chipped away at the grading, reviewing the findings on each report.  “Ihhshoo.” She sneezed, then yawned.  She’d barely slept last night, thanks to her cough.  “Hihhschoo.”  As usual, the sneezes were growing stronger as the night wore on.    

 

She returned to the paper, coughing into a tissue.  The words swam in front of her, and she held her eyes shut for a moment.   Returning to the paper, she tried to concentrate on grading.   Between the fight with Alex and her cold, she had just gotten to the fourth report.

 

“Hihhschoo, hihhshoo.  Uhh-ihhshoo.”  She blew her nose again, and tried to refocus.  Instead, she yawned and started coughing.  

 

Clearly, this was going to have to wait until morning.

 

4.     Purple

Having given up grading papers for the night, Alyssa grabbed the tissues and made her way downstairs to the living room where Alex was watching TV.  “Thanks for the tea.” She said softly.

 

“Did it help?”

 

“Hihhshoo.  It’s better.  I think all the talking during the week made it worse.”

 

He nodded.  “I was coughing more after taping. Hehchuh.  Now if I could figure out a way to curb the sneezing.”

 

She blew her nose.  “I don’t think anything helps with that.”

 

She reached over to the back of the couch where she had tossed her purple blanket.  She always covered with that blanket when she didn’t feel well; it was her favorite blanket.   Muffling two sudden sneezes in her elbow, she looked at Alex.  “Where’s my blanket?”

 

He looked at her quizzically.  “Blanket?”

 

“My purple blanket.  It was here this morning.”

 

“Oh.  The purple blanket.  It’s in the dryer.  It should be done.  EhhChuhh.  I’ll go get it.”

 

“Bless you.  Why is it…” she started to ask but he was already out of the room.  He returned 5 minutes later with the blanket and more water.   

 

“Lay down.” She did as she was told, leaning against the arm of the couch.  He draped the blanket over her.

 

“It’s warm.” She smiled, sneezing again.

 

“Don’t sneeze on it.” He told her.  “I just washed it.”

 

5.      June

Spring was rough on Jame.  It was her worst time of year.  She was never more glad than to see the calendar switch over to June, knowing she’d eventually get relief.  

 

Sure enough, by mid June, things were much more tolerable.  She was still sneezing frequently, but she was no longer constantly felt like sneezing nor needed to keep tissues on her at all times.  She no longer exploded into fits 6 or 8 times a day.  For her, things were normal.   

 

It took Freddie awhile longer to catch on to the change that first year.  He kept meeting her at the door with handfuls of tissues, got everything she might forget in her car, kept Benadryl handy.  

 

She finally sat him down 2/3 of the way through the month.  “Spring is over.” She reminded him gently, pausing.  “Hiitschoo.  Hahhihhtschoo!”  She took the tissue he handed her. “That kinda ruined my speech, but my allergies are gonna be better for awhile.  You don’t need to be constantly waiting with Kleenex.”  She smiled.  “You’re not going to say bless you 87 times a day now.”  She sneezed three more times and blew her nose.  “Seriously, allergies?  I haven’t sneezed in an hour, and you act up now?   I know it doesn’t seem that way this second….Hiitschoo! But it goes back to normal in June.”

 

He nodded.  “I’m being overprotective, I guess.   Spring was just so awful.  And you do seem better.   I mean, you only sneezed 6 times, not 16.”

 

6.     Summer

Tim buried his nose in the tissue and gave a loud blow, followed by several harsh coughs.   This sucked.   It was July.  July and he had a head cold.   No idea where he picked this up.  No one he knew got sick in the summer.   

 

“Heyehhshoo” he hastily grabbed a tissue to catch the second one.  “Ehhshoo.  Heyehhshoo, ehhshoo.”  Stretching out on his bed, he groaned.   At least, the rest of the year when you got sick, you usually had someone to be miserable with.   In the summer, every one was healthy and out having fun.  

 

He coughed again as he heard knocking at his door.    He dragged himself over to the apartment door and opened it, then whirled away, pulling his tshirt up over his nose.  “Hayahhschoo, hahhschoo!”

 

“Bless you.” Jamie told him, holding up a gallon of orange juice and a box of Kleenex.   “Heard you were sick.  See that you’re sick.”

 

He pulled a tissue out of his pocket and tended to his nose.  “What are you doing here?” He coughed.

 

She shrugged.  “Everyone went hiking.  I thought, since you weren’t up to going, I’d check on you.   In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t mix real well with the outdoors.”  

 

He laughed and took the juice from her, ushering her in.  

 

7.     Tears

Alex made his way down to the kitchen after a long hot shower.   It had helped minimally to clear his sinuses, but now, his nose was running like crazy.   He grabbed a tissue from the box he clutched to him and blew his nose.

“Morning, Alex.” Jamie called from her perch on a stool.  “You look great.” She commented, sarcastically.   

 

“Thangks.” He rolled his eyes at her.   

 

Alyssa offered him breakfast which he declined and a glass of orange juice which he accepted.   He spotted Kristin, sitting sullenly at the table.  “Hey, kid.” He sat down across from her, setting the tissues on the table. 

 

“Hi.” She said, sulkily, taking in his sweatpants and tshirt.  “You’re not taking me shopping today, are you?”

 

He opened his mouth to respond, instead ducking down under the table and sneezing.  “HuhhrhhChuhh,  uhhhchuhhh, uhhrhchuhh, huhhhChuurshhehh.”  He sat back up, grabbing a tissue and blowing his nose.    “Umb, no, kiddo.  I cand’t.”  His face fell as tears filled her eyes.   “But, umb, Lyss had ad idea.”  He shot his girlfriend a ‘get over here’ look.

 

Alyssa crossed over with Jamie behind her and knelt next to Kristin.  “I thought maybe, since your dad is sick and can’t go, maybe me and you and Jamie could have a girls day.  Shop for your room, have lunch…” she glanced at Alex and grinned…”maybe get our nails done.”

 

He nodded, sneezing again…anything that might make this up to his daughter.  “Whadever you do od girl’s day.” He sniffled.  

 

“Can put pink in my hair?”

 

Alex stared at her.  “Ub, will your bother kill be?”

 

Kristin shrugged.  “She said to ask you.”  She looked at Alyssa and Jamie, “and ok, I’ll go with you guys.  You’re probably more fun than dad right now.”

 

Jamie looked at Alex who was sneezing yet again.  “Yeah, we are.  Even I don’t sneeze as much as he does right now.”

 

 

8.      Counting

It was a still, peaceful night, and Jamie insisted they sit on the back patio and watch the sun set.   Freddie had protested, but she was insistent.  The wind wasn’t blowing; she’d be fine for a little bit.

 

5 minutes in, she was sneezing.  “Hiiihtschoo, ihhhtschoo, huhhh..ihhhtschoo.”

 

“Bless you.” Freddie said, as she fished a tissue out of her cardigan pocket.   “Do you want to go in?”

 

She shook her head, sneezing twice more into her tissue.   

 

5, Freddie kept a mental tally.   6, 7, 8, 9.  He added a few minutes later.   

 

Jamie blew her nose.  “Look, Sweety,” she said stuffily.  “Isn’t the sunset…ihhtschoo, ihhtschoo, ahhihhtschoo, hihh-hih-hihhtschoo…beautiful?”

 

13, he thought.  To her, “bless you, and yes.  Are you sure you don’t want to go in.” He asked as the sun started to dip below the horizon.   

 

“Yes.” She sniffled, pulling a fresh tissue out of her pocket.  4 more sneezes followed.   She sat in silence, broken up by sneezes until the sun fell below the horizon.

 

She was up to 23 by his count when she sneezed again.  “Hiitschoo! Ihhtschoo!  Oh…hihhh-ihhhtschoo!”

 

Freddie put his hand on his shoulder.  “It’s time to go in.”  She looked at him blankly and sneezed again.   “27 sneezes in 15 minutes.”  He guided her to the screen door as two more powerful sneezes made their way out of her.  “You’re going to be sneezing all night now.  Was it worth it?” He asked gently.

 

“Yes.” She sniffled.

 

9.     Fall

Alex sneezed like crazy in the spring.  Less so in the fall.  

 

Case in point.   It was the middle of September.   He’d been awake for an hour.   And already sneezed 8 times.   

 

“EhhChuhh.  HuhhEhhChuhh.”  He sneezed as the toast popped up.    

 

Make that 10.   Nowhere near as prolific as a spring morning, but just as irritating.  

 

His nose just so itchy, he thought, rubbing his hand upward across it, trying to alleviate the tickle.  

 

His Claritin should kick in soon, he hoped, sneezing again as he grabbed the jelly out of the fridge.

 

10.  Calculating

Alyssa had gone out to buy groceries.   Groceries that included more cold medicine and tissues for him.  She’d been gone over an hour; Alex wasn’t sure how much longer he could wait.

 

5.  He was down to 5 tissues.  He didn’t know how long he’d have to make them last.   

 

He sniffled back his drippy nose and pressed his wrist to his nose in a vain attempt to keep from sneezing.    

 

“Hhh-chuhhh, ihhh-chuhh, uhh-chuhhhshehhhshh.”   Wiping his wrist on his jeans, he picked up a tissue and wiped his nose.  No good.   It continued to run.  He was going to have to blow.  And the repeated wiping had saturated one tissue.   Now he was down to 3.   “Hehhhcheesshhmmpphh.”   He had sneezed right through the tissue.   Down to 2, and he still needed to blow his nose.   Especially as he had a feeling this was one of those time the sneezing wouldn’t stop until he did.   

 

He picked up his second to last tissue and blew until the tissue was a soggy mess.  

 

He had one left.   Time to start weighing the merits of paper towels versus toilet paper.

 

“HehhChusshooo!”

 

Time to make that decision, he reckoned as he picked up his last tissue and blew his nose.   Calculating out their use hadn’t worked; his nose had other plans.  

 

 

 

[aggedy_ann]

1.     Relief

Freddie rubbed his nose feeling the itch start back up again.  He’d been sneezing sporadically all morning for no reason that he could determine.   It wasn’t frequent, just enough for him to notice that he was sneezing more than usual today. 

 

Jamie had started giving him concerned looks 6 sneezes and 3 hours ago.   But he felt fine, so he assured her he was fine.

 

Now the tickle was intense, almost painful, but not at that ‘I’m going to sneeze’ point yet.   He tried everything he could thing of to coax out the sneeze…rubbing his nose, sniffing hard, looking up at the lamp, gently brushing his nose with his sleeve.   Nothing.  Not even a false start.

 

God, this tickle was infuriating.  He looked over at Jamie, told her he was running upstairs to grab his book.   He headed straight for their bathroom and pulled a rubber dental pick out of the bottom drawer.  He stuck one in the itching nostril and rotated it, feeling the bristles intensify the tickle.   His eyes started watering instantly.  4 seconds of twisting….”HahCHUSH!”  He pulled the pick out.  “HahChushh, UhhChushh, Huhhchushhuhh.”

 

Finally, the itch was gone, and he reached for a tissue to blow his nose, sighing with relief.

 

2.     Breath

Jamie’s asthma flared up when her allergies were bad or if she were sick.  She took it in stride, after all, she was used to it; Freddie on the other hand, was terrified every time he heard her start wheezing.   He’d literally run to get it if she asked him to get her inhaler.

 

Today, she was fighting a bad cold.   It was nearly noon and she was still curled up in bed, half asleep when Freddie went to check on her with a cup of tea.   “Hey, babe,”. He sat down next to her on the bed.

 

She opened her eyes and sneezed.  “Hiitschoo, ihhhtschoo, hiihtschuhh.”  She coughed roughly following the sneezes.

 

“Bless you.”  He offered her the tea, noticing her raspy breathing.  

 

She shook her head.  “Can you grab…” she paused to cough…”my inhaler?  It fell under the bed.”

 

He hurriedly set the tea on the nightstand and headed for her side of the bed fishing out her inhaler, handing it to her, watching anxiously as she shook it up and used it.  “I’m ok.” She told him.  “I’m…miiihttschoo..ok.”

 

He nodded, feeling guilty for giving her this cold.  

 

“It’s just a cold.  I’m ok.” She reassured him, breathing clearer already.

 

3.     Miserable 

Alyssa was curled up in the guest room bed.  She was completely knocked out from the cold Alex had given her, despite everything she had done to try to avoid getting it.  She had now quarantined herself to the guest room to keep his daughter from getting sick.   “Hatshoo!” She sneezed loudly as Alex opened the door, quite a change from her usual breathy sneeze.

 

“Hey, hon,” he said softly as his eyes adjusted to the dim light.  “How are you doing?”  He set a glass of orange juice on her nightstand.  

 

“Hahhschoo,” she sneezed again, fumbling for a tissue.  “How do you think I feel?” She asked, blowing her nose.

 

He winced.  Her voice was nearly gone and sounded painful.   “Miserable.”  He said, feeling guilty.  “What do you need right now?”  He helped her sit up so she could take a sip of juice.

 

“Sleep.” She croaked.  “Sleep.”

 

[aggedy_ann]

Next update

1.     Chocolate

Alex didn’t really eat sweet things, so Freddie was surprised when he caught him eating a candy bar at work.  Alex brushed it off, “what, a guy can’t have a little chocolate once in awhile?”  He’d then sneezed three times, but flatly informed Freddie it was his allergies, that he was fine.

 

He was still sneezing at dinner, where he ordered a brownie for dessert.  Alyssa gave him an odd look.  It seemed a little early for his allergies to flare up, and certainly odd for a sweet dessert, but she hadn’t checked the pollen counts, and hey, who didn’t get a craving once in awhile.

 

It was when they sat down that night to watch a movie that she got concerned.   Alex had plopped down next to her, sneezing loudly.  In his hands was a giant bowl of ice cream.  

 

And then she remembered.  Alex ate chocolate when he was getting sick.

 

“Huhhchuhh, uhhhchuhh, chuhhh.” Alex sneezed fiercely.   She slipped the ice cream from his grasp and set it on the coffee table.  “Hhhchuhh,  hehhhchuhh, heyyyuhhhchuhh.”

 

“Bless you.”  She waited while he blew his nose on a crumpled tissue he pulled from his pocket, then handed the ice cream back.  “Why didn’t you just tell me you were getting a cold?”  She asked, getting up to find a box of tissues.

 

He looked down at the ice cream.  He was caught.

 

2.     Violent

Tim and Alex sat on the couch playing video games.  Alex was caught up in the game when Tim pulled away.  “Hahhrahhsoo, ahhrshoo!”  His body shook with the force of the sneezes, and Alex paused the video game.

 

“Huuhhhruhhshoo, Ruhhshoo….ahhhhruhhshoo…hahhrshoo!”

 

Shaking his head, he looked over at Alex.  “Um, bless me.  Do you have a tissue.”

 

Alex pulled a pack out of his pocket and handed it over.  “Those sounded violent.  Where did that come from?”

 

Tim finished blowing his nose and shook his head again.  “No idea, man.”

 

3.     Muffle

Jamie pressed a handful of tissues to her nose.  “Hitschhmphh, hihhschsshh,  hiitshhchh.”

 

Freddie was working on a new bit, and she didn’t want to disturb him with with her sneezing. Her allergies had chosen now to kick in, naturally.  

 

“Hihhtshmmph, hhmphh, ihhscmmphhh,  hhhtschh, IhhtSCHUhhhh.”

 

The last one got away from her and Freddie appeared in the bedroom a few seconds later.  “Bless you.  You ok.”

 

She sighed.  “I was trying not to disturb you.  It’s just my allergies again.” She reassured him, blowing her nose.

 

“I’m across the hall.  Even when you try to muffle them, I can hear them,” he reminded her.  “Besides, I’m used to them.”

 

4.      Smother

The sore throat and sneezing had crept up on him halfway through work.   By the time he got home, he was 99% sure he had another cold.    

 

Jamie was in the kitchen making dinner so he opted to lay on the couch for a little while.

 

Feeling the urge to sneeze building, he buried his face in the throw pillow.  “Huhhchhmmphh, hhhchhmphh.” Sniffling, he set the pillow on the couch, making a note to Lysol it later.  He ducked into the bathroom to blow his nose.

 

He didn’t want Jamie to know he was sick again.

 

5.     Run

”Sweat out a cold.”  That’s what he’d always been taught.  That’s why Tim was tying on his running shoes despite his cough and runny nose.  “Ehhshoo, Hayehhshoo.”  He sneezed quickly into his sleeve, then tucked his cell phone and inhaler into his pocket.    He hit the pavement and started jogging. Pretty quickly, he picked up the pace into a full run.  About 10 minutes in, he noticed he was getting dizzy and short of breath.   So he slowed down.  Didn’t help.  “Hehhshoo, Ehh-hehhshoo.”  The sneezes stopped him in his tracks, and he found he had to catch his breath. He fished his inhaler out of his pocket and used it, noticing instantly, his breathing was easier.

 

“Maybe this was a bad idea.” He muttered to no one, beginning the slow walk back to his apartment.  

 

6.     Swift

Alex was curled up on Tim’s couch dozing.  He hadn’t been sleeping well lately, but had popped over to watch a movie with Tim.  Unbeknownst to both of them, Cashew had curled up at his side.  

 

Tim noticed that Alex was rubbing his nose occasionally in his sleep, and occasionally swiping at his eyes, but he knew Alex was a light sleeper, allergic to his cat, and that Cashew frequented the couch, so he thought little of it; just Alex’s allergies starting to act up.

 

Then he saw Cashew crawl from around Alex’s side, tail swiping the sleeping man’s nostrils.

 

Alex reacted instantly.  “EhChuhh. Chuhh.  HehhChuhh. Heyuhhchuhh.”

 

Startled by the sneezes, Cashew hopped off his lap, and Tim snagged him, taking him to the bedroom.   He grabbed the tissues off the nightstand, bringing them out for Alex.”

 

Alex was still sneezing when he returned, although the sneezes were slowing.

 

“HehhChuhh…EhhChuhh…ehhchuhhshoo…hhhchuhh….hehhuhhchuhh.”

 

Tim pressed a tissue into Alex’s free hand, and Alex took advantage of the break in sneezes to blow his nose.   “Ehhhchhgxxt.”  He stifled into the tissue, blowing again.   He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and looked up at Tim.

 

“Bless you.  Sorry.  I didn’t know he was out here, let alone on you.”

 

7.     Share

Alex and Alyssa were curled up on the couch, wrapped in blankets.  Alex had come down with the cold first, then passed it on to her.  As revenge, Alyssa was making him watch a romantic comedy.

 

The tissue box sat on his lap and she was curled against him.

 

“EhhChuhhh!”  without warning, he let loose with a powerful sneeze, wrenching his body away for her.  “Hehhhchuhh! CHUHH!”  He turned back, grabbing tissues and placing the box back on his lap.

 

She nested against him again…temporarily.  Two minutes later, she was releasing soft, breathy sneezes into her shoulder.  “Ahhshoo, shoo, hahhshoo, ahhshooo.”

 

Alex handed her a tissue out of the box on his lap.  “Bless you, baby.” 

[aggedy_ann]

And more:

 

1.     Germs

He was doing everything he could to prevent Jamie from catching his cold.  Hand washing after hand washing, hand sanitizer in between.  Trying to cover in tissues whenever possible, his elbow when he lacked the forewarning.  And basically, just keeping his distance.

 

At night was harder.  She was so much closer to him at night.  So he worked at staying on his side of the bed, lest he contaminate her side.  Tissues were on his side of the bed for once, trash can right below.   Hand sanitizer on the night stand.   And he slept facing away from her, instead of with her snuggled into his side.   She might still sleep pressed against his back, but this way he didn’t risk waking up, unable to cover a sneeze and get her. 

 

“HuhhChushh, UhChushh, Chushoo.”   Freddie sat on the side of the bed, sneezing.  He coughed lightly as he blew his nose.

 

“Bless you.”  He felt Jamie’s hand rubbing his back.   “That cold just won’t loosen its grip on you, will it?”   

 

He shook his head.  He’d been sick for 5 days with no sign of it lightening up.   “Doesn’t seem like it.” He sighed, rubbing hand sanitizer on his hands.

 

2.     Contagious (see germ)

Freddie woke when he felt Jamie, who had been curled into the small of his back, stiffen and pull away.   A forceful, yet feminine “hihhtschuhh” quickly followed.  A small groan escaped her, followed by two more sneezes.  “Ihhhtschoo, ihhtschuhh.”  

 

“Bless you.” He mumbled, sitting up.  She was sitting, fumbling for the tissues.    “Those weren’t allergies.”  A statement, not a question.

 

She shook her head and blew her nose loudly.   “Despite all attempts not to, I think I’ve caught your cold.”  She flopped back down on the bed.  

 

He sighed and laid back next to her.  “Sorry, baby.”  

 

3.     Tissues (see calculating)

He had just blown his nose on his last tissue until Alyssa got home.   Sniffling wetly, he felt another sneeze brewing and began calculating his options.  Paper towel or toilet paper.   

 

He stood up, trying to weigh the pros and cons of each.   “Esschuschh!”  The first sneeze snapped out from him, followed quickly by two more similar sounding, but much wetter sneezes.   

 

He rubbed his hand on his jeans and sniffled thickly.   Paper towels won out.   But only because the kitchen was closer.

 

4.     Sore

“HehChuh!” Alex’s torso snapped forward with an intense sneeze, and he winced.   He had a cold…which was primarily harsh rough coughing, and recent rains had sent his allergies into overdrive, resulting in prolonged bouts of sneezing.    To top, it off he had pulled an abdominal muscle at the gym.  God, was he sore.

 

He was five sneezes into the fit, and his right side was aching.   He switched from covering with his right arm to his left and pressed his right hand against his side.  “EhChuhh! Chuhh! HehhChuchh!”   That helped a little.   The right upper half of his abdomen had gone from yelling at him for the jerking, twisting, movement down to complaining.

 

He managed to straighten up for a quick noseblow between this set and the next set.   “HehChuh! EhChuhh! ChuhhUhshh. HuhhChushoo!”  Sniffling wetly, he stood straight again, reaching right for the tissues and coughing.    Four blows later, his nose was clear, his side was throbbing, and he was off in search of ibuprofen.  

 

5.     Enraptured

“Hihtschoo.” Jamie slipped into bed next to him with a light, airy sneeze.  “Hihhtschoo, ahhihhtschoo!”  Two stronger ones followed, and she pulled the covers up over her.   “Sorry.” She apologized.  “I know you’re probably tired of hearing me sneeze by now.”  She gave her nose a good, strong blow, and sighed.

 

“Bless you.” Freddie kissed her cheek gently.  “And I never get tired of hearing you sneeze.”

 

She shot him a strange glance, blowing her nose.   “Seriously, you’ve got to get sick of it once in awhile.”

 

He shook his head.  “You’ve got a cute sneeze, baby.”

 

“Sneezing is not cute.  It’s…hahhihtschoo…annoying at best.”

 

“You’re cute all the time.  You e got a perfect sneeze for you…it’s little and cute.   All breathy on the inhale, then a stronger tschoo, that lifts up at the end in a soft feminine sound without having a squeaky quality.    Even when they’re strong and desperate and you can’t restrain them, they’re still soft.   I love how your face scrunches up, how you concentrate on them when they don’t come out right away, how something that small can sometimes consume you totally.   I love how the release gets stronger when you’re sick.”

 

He paused and continued.  “I love your gaspy little buildups, and sometimes when there’s no buildup at all. I love the slight pause between intake and release.   I love how the single and double sneezes don’t phase you and you just keep moving right through them; I like seeing how the fits are the only thing I’ve seen that slows you down as they totally take you over.   And I love the sound.   Out of 100 sneezes in a room, I swear I’ll know yours every time…and it’ll still be my favorite.”

 

She looked at him.   “You’re full of shit.” She told him.  “Or up to something.”

 

He swallowed, wondering if he’d said too much.  “Want me to talk about your hair next?” He changed the subject.  

She snuggled closer to him.  There was something about her boyfriend that made him almost too good to be true, but she sensed it was harmless.   “No…Hihhhtschooo.”  She sneezed, burying her face in the blankets.   “This is enough of your bullshit for now.”

[aggedy_ann]

1.     Wary

She was always cautious at Tim’s.  Even though the latest round of allergy testing had shown Jamie wasn’t allergic to cats anymore, she still wasn’t quite sure she believed them, despite her lack of symptoms.   She’d just been allergic for so many years, that part of her was habited to avoid anything with fur.

 

She moved her legs to the side as Cashew came brushing up along her.  The cat gave her a dirty look, then moved on to Freddie, hopping in his lap.   

 

“Huhh..chushh.” Freddie sneezed, shoving the cat off his lap.  “UhhChushhh, huhhchushh!”

 

Cashew gave him a baleful glare and stalked over to Alex.   Alex sighed as the cat began rubbing his legs.   “HehhChuh!”  He sneezed loudly as the dander worked its way to his nose.

 

Both men shot a pleading look at Jamie.  “Tim?” She called, “can you remove Cashew?”

 

“Hands are kinda tied up with the food right now.” He called back.  “Can’t you do it?”

 

“HehhChushh!”

 

“EhChuhhh.”

 

Alex and Freddie sneezed in unison.   Jamie sighed, heading over to Alex and picking up the cat, holding him as far away from her as she could on the trip to Tim’s bedroom.

 

2.     Worried

Tim and Alex exchanged worried glances at each other and then back at Jamie as she launched into another spell of sneezes.

 

“Hihhtschoo! Hiihtschoo! Ihhhtschoo! HuhhIhhtschoo! Ihh-ihh-Ihhhtschoo!”  She sighed, wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

 

She’d been at it for close to an hour.  Burst of sneezes, than a short break, followed by another small fit.  Both men were starting to get concerned.

 

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Tim ventured.

 

She nodded.  “I’ll be fine.” She tried to assure him, but here her stuffy voice was less than reassuring.  “Mowed lawn plus dusty basement plus high pollen means allergies in overdrive.”  She sighed again.  “Gonna start ahh…ahhithhtschoo, ihhtschoo, huhihtschoo…Huhh-Huhh-huhhihhschoo!”

 

“Bless you.”  Alex told her.

 

“Thanks.  Benadryl just needs to kick in.” She finished explaining.

 

3.     Nervous (Alex, pre 3 Dates)

It was a first date…a semi- blind date to top it off, and Alex was nervous.  He’d met Jamie briefly at her office and liked her, so it wasn’t like they hadn’t met, but it had been a 5 minute meeting.  The friend setting him up had filled him in on her, but he was anxious.   What if, after more than brief discussion, she didn’t like him?   

 

“Hehchuh.”  A pause.  “Hehchuhh…hhchuhh, heyyuhchuhh.”  Three more sneezes tumbled out of him.   God, he hoped his allergies weren’t going to act up tonight.   He popped a Claritin to be on the safe side, brushed his teeth and headed out to meet her.

 

4.      Pathetic

”EhChushh.” Freddie sneezed, wincing at the pain in his throat.   “Chushh, Chushh, HuhhChushhoo.   Ohhhhhh.” He moaned, taking a sip of water.

 

“Bless you.”  Jamie said from the chair she was curled up in.   Freddie was sprawled out on the couch, wrapped in blankets.  “That sneezing just won’t let up, will it?”

 

“No.” Freddie groaned.  “And it hurts.” He whined.  “My throat is so sore.”

 

She gave him a sympathetic look.

 

“My head is pounding.  It throbs each time my head jerks forward.” He moaned, coughing weakly.  He blew his nose.  “And my nose is so tender.” He continued to whine.  “I hate this.”

 

“Just try to sleep.”

 

“I can’t.” He complained.  “Too miserable.”

 

5.     Sweat

Tim checked his pockets for tissues and his inhaler before stepping onto the treadmill.   Remembering the asthma attack he’d had the last time he’d tried running with a cold, he figured he’d just stick to walking this time.  He’d see how it went, then maybe pick up the pace.  

 

He’d been ingrained, growing up, ‘sweat out a cold,’ so that was what he was determined to do now.   

 

“Hahehhshoo. Ehshoo!”  Fortunately, the sneezes struck before he turned on the machine, and he blew his nose with one hand before he started walking.   

 

5 minutes later, “Huhhyuhhshoo, Huhhshoo.”  They snuck out of him again, and he stumbled, barely able to grab the arm of the treadmill in time to keep from falling.   Sighing he stopped the treadmill and blew his nose again.

 

Maybe he’d be better off on the track that circled the gym.   At least that didn’t move.

[Glatissant]

Loving these, particularly the allergy drabbles! 

[aggedy_ann]

Thanks....more will be coming.  I’m trying to keep it a nice mix lol.

[aggedy_ann]

62.    Milk
”Atchoo!” Ethan sneezed loudly, ruining his glare at Tim.  

“You know you need to eat.” Tim said patiently.   “I know you have a bad cold.  I know you’re not hungry, but you still need to eat.”

“My throat hurts.”  Ethan said, petulantly, blowing his nose.

“Milk?” Tim suggested?  “What about a glass of milk?”  

Ethan nodded.  Milk might feel good on his throat.  “That might work.” He admitted.

Tim got up and poured him a tall glass of milk.  Ethan took a drink and made a face.  “This is your whole milk.” He protested.

“More protein.”  Tim said simply.   
 

[aggedy_ann]

1.     Ravenous 

Alex pawed through the fridge.   He had just gotten home from work and he was starving.   

A bad cold had killed his appetite for breakfast and lunch but now his stomach had caught up with the idea that he should eat.    

He 

“Heh-chuhh.”  He hastily turned away from the fridge, covering a second sneeze with his wrist.  “Chuhh!”

 

“Bless you.” Alyssa came up from behind him.  “Looking for something?”

 

“Hungry.”

 

“Sit down; I’ll make you something.  What would you like?”

 

“Heyehhchuhh.  Anything.”

 

2.     Blanket

Freddie was freezing.  He didn’t mind colds, but sinus infections were the worst.  The pain on the right side of his face and the fever were driving him crazy.  Right now, it was the fever that was getting to him.  He could not get warm.  He wrapped the blanket tighter around him in a futile attempt to warm himself.

 

“HehChushoo!” He brought the blanket to his nose, having wrapped himself too tightly to free his hands in time.  “Chushoo, uhhChushoo, Chushh, HuhUhChushoo.”

 

Sighing and sniffling wetly, he freed himself from his blanket cocoon to blow his nose.

 

3.     Needle

Ethan sat in the Urgent Care exam room with Dustin as the doctor explained he’d be getting a steroid shot, then sent home on oral steroids for his allergy and asthma exacerbation.  After the doctor left, Dustin turned to Ethan.  “I don’t want a shot.” He complained, wheezing.

 

“The doctor thinks it’s best.  It’ll open up your airway, then you can breathe better.”

 

“Don’t like shots.”  Dustin sniffled.

 

“You give them all the time.” Ethan pointed out.

 

“I’m on the other end of the needle.”

 

The nurse came in, verified Dustin’s identity and prepped the shot.   “Ready?”

 

“No.”

 

“He’s ready.”  Ethan told her.

 

“N-no, Ihhm n-not.  Tihhhssue, plehhhease.”   Ethan noted the hitching in Dustin’s voice and pressed a few tissues into his hand.   “HahKishoo-kishoo-kishoo-kshoo-kshoo-kshoo-shoo-shoo…Hakishoo.”  His head snapped forward with the first sneeze and his face remained buried in the tissues until he could blow his nose.  A few wheezy coughs followed.  He nodded at the blessings from Ethan and the nurse.  “I’m ready,” he sighed.

 

4.     Sports 

Ethan sat with Tim and Freddie, watching the hockey game.   Tim was clearly invested, and over the years, he had sucked Freddie into the sport.   Ethan was just trying to follow the puck and keep track of what was going on, without asking too many questions.   

 

It was a 0-0 game with 6 minutes left in the 2^nd, frustrating Tim.

 

“Hatshoo!”  Ethan sneezed as one of the players from Tim’s team shot the puck top shelf and into the net.

 

Freddie blessed Ethan as Tim cheered,  and Ethan looked at Tim, confused, having missed the goal.

 

“They scored.”  Tim explained.  “You missed it.” He laughed.

 

3 minutes into the 3^rd, the opposing team scored, and Tim was on edge again.   As it ticked down to the final minutes, Tim looked over at Ethan expectantly.

 

Ethan gave him a quizzical look.

 

“You sneezed, they scored.”  Tim said, simply.

 

Ethan sighed.  “I can’t sneeze on command.”

 

5.     Ruin

Freddie was working diligently on the decorations for the party that night.   They were celebrating the 100^thepisode of the show.  He had the decorations on the tables, little commemorative gifts for the guests out and was getting ready to hang the banners.

 

He climbed the stepstool and attached one end to the ceiling, then moved to the other side.

 

Sniffling as a result of his lingering cold, he climbed back up and prepared to hang the rest of the banned.

 

“UhhCHushhoo! CHuSHoo!”  Two powerful sneezes shook him, and he grabbed the curve of the arch to keep from toppling, grateful for the steady base of the stepstool.   He heard the rip of the banner as he lurched forward.  

 

He groaned straightening up.  This one was ruined.   Off to buy a new one.

 

 

6.     Lovely

He had dragged her out of bed for the awards show.   She had protested, of course.  She’d spent the week working with a miserable cold, and this was her first chance to rest.    But he’d insisted on having her by his side; if he won, he wanted to share the moment with her.

 

She’d slipped into the gown she’d bought two weeks ago, twisted up her hair, put on her make up and his favorite perfume.  She just hoped the makeup would hide her red nose for, at least, awhile.

 

“Ihhshoo.” She sneezed softly, making her descent down the stairs, followed by a stronger, “Ihhschoo!” which bobbed her head forward with a greater force.

 

He handed her her clutch, which he had stuffed with tissues.  “Bless you.”  He said, gently.   Even with a raging headcold, she looked lovely

 

7.     Hospital

If there was one thing Dustin loved about hospitals right now, it was the easy access to tissues. Sure, they were the rough, sandpapery kind that turned your nose bright red after about 10 blows, but hey, tissues were tissues.  And when you forgot to stash your pocket with the good kind because you overslept because of your cold, hey, he’d take it.   

 

He was hunched over at the nurse’s station, charting, when the wave of sneezes overtook him.   “HahKishoo-kishoo-kishoo-kshoo-kshoo-kshoo-shoo-shoo-shoo…HahKishoo!”

 

“Wow…Bless you.” Amber, the nurse sitting next to him said, passing over the hand sanitizer.

 

He blew his nose and accepted the bottle.  “Thanks.  This cold won’t let up.  I’m at least off the next two days though.”

 

“Well, hopefully, you’ll get some rest.” She said, sympathetically as the oncoming shift came on for report.