They regrouped in the kitchen a few minutes later. Ethan ate while they discussed dinner, opting to stick to soup; Tim and Dustin option for the spicy chicken noodle with Ethan sticking to the chicken dumpling.
Tim looked at the two men and tried not to sigh. Dustin looked rough, and Ethan was sounding worse by the minute. His raspy voice was now just above a whisper, yet he was insistent on talking. Dustin had slept, but had coughed harshly in his sleep. Now that he was awake, the sneezing had started up again.
Tim unconsciously rubbed his temples, a move not escaping Ethan’s notice.
“You ok?”
“Just starting to get a headache. I’ll be fine.”
“Tylenol and ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet. Your choice.” Ethan offered.
“Thanks.” Tim slipped away, grateful for the offer. He returned and swallowed the pills with a sip of his water.
“HahKishoo-kishoo-kishoo-kshoo-kshoo-kshsoo-shoo-shoo-shoo…HahKishoo.” Dustin sneezed for the third time in the short period he had been awake. “I’m done with this.” He grumbled. “I’m going back to bed.” He barely acknowledged Ethan’s blessing as he blew his nose, then stalked off toward the guest room.
Tim glanced over at Ethan once the bedroom door closed. “Is he always this temperamental?”
Ethan shook his head. “He’s usually only like this when he’s sick. The sicker he is, the worse he gets. He doesn’t tolerate not feeling well.”
“Not like you. You’re pretty easygoing with it.”
Ethan shrugged. “I’m an easygoing guy. You’ll find that out.” He laughed, then coughed.
“I think you should rest.” Tim gently told him.
“Not tired.”
“Just lay down. Read, watch TV. But I want you to lay down for a bit.”
Ethan sighed. “Couch?”
Tim hesitated; he had hoped to get some reading done. “Ok. But I need to get some work done.” He paused. “Without help.”
“Ahshoo!” Ethan ducked down, sneezing into his shirt collar. “Ok.”
“Bless you. And, you’re gonna rest your voice. Before your sneezing kills what’s left of it.”
Ethan laughed, then was rewarded with a coughing fit. After a long drink of water, he followed Tim to the living room and got comfortable on the couch. “TV going to bother you?”
Tim shook his head, arranging his things on the chair.
Ethan found a true crime show and curled up with his iPad.
Tim managed to become engrossed in his studies despite his growing headache. Ethan had sneezed a couple times the first hour he was studying but when he took a brief break for more water, an hour and a half in, he realized he hadn’t heard him sneeze for awhile. Looking over, he saw Ethan, sound asleep.
He settled back down and continued studying until dinner. He gently shook Ethan awake and sent him to wake Dustin while he checked his blood sugar. Tim put soups in the microwave and set out orange juice for the other two.
He had taken the Tylenol earlier, so he headed to the bathroom to try the ibuprofen as his headache wasn’t quitting. After grabbing the pills, he joined the two men at the table.
Tonight was Tim’s turn to pick at his food. Ethan’s appetite had returned; not only did he finish his soup, he made himself a sandwich. Dustin ate half of his soup before the spiciness got the better of him.
“HaKishoo-kishoo-kishoo-kshoo-Kshoo-shoo-shoo-shoo…HahKishoo.” He blew his nose several times, then doubled over with another fit. “You’re definitely clearing out some of this congestion. The spices really catch up to you.”
“Good thing or bad thing?” Tim asked, hesitantly, remembering Ethan’s response.
“Good. Maybe I’ll be able to breathe.”
“Take it home with you.” Ethan offered. “I won’t eat it.” His face wrinkled. “Hatshoo!”
Ethan noticed Tim wince at the sound as he blessed him.
“Headache worse?”
Tim nodded. “Just took some ibuprofen. That should help.”
Dustin turned away from the table, sneezing again. “Sorry.” He apologized. “I’m going to be doing this for awhile.” He commented, sniffling back his running nose.
“My mom used to make spicy chicken soup when I was sick.” Tim shared.
Dustin nodded. “Mine too. Now Beth does.”
“It works.”
“But someone,” Dustin glanced at Ethan, “won’t try it.”
“It makes me sneeze.” Ethan protested.
“That’s the point.” Tim laughed.
“HahChoo!” Ethan doubled over with another loud sneeze.
“Ugh…don’t do that.” Dustin sighed, grabbing tissues from the box on the table, turning away and pausing in anticipation before pitching forward. “HahKishoo-kishoo-kishoo-kishoo-kshoo-kshoo-shoo-shoo-shoo-shoo…HahKishoo!” A loud, gurgling blow followed before he turned back to the others. “I have a feeling I’ve had enough soup.” He sniffled.
Ethan assessed his friend’s pale complexion and bleary eyes. “You look like shit.” He commented. “You should go back to bed.”
“You think.” Came Dustin’s retort, only this time, he wasn’t irritable. He got up from the table. “Ethan, will you wake me when you do your meds so I can take NyQuil?”
Ethan nodded. “Sure.”
Dustin headed to lay down, leaving Tim and Ethan alone.
“HahAtchoo!” Again, Ethan noticed Tim’s involuntary wince. “Maybe I should hang out in my room for awhile…til your headache goes away. Besides, we don’t want to get sick of each other.” He laughed.
“Thanks.” Tim smiled. “I’ve got to try to work through this reading.”
Ethan went to his room while Tim headed for the living room. He could hear Ethan sneezing periodically as well as his hoarse cough, but overall Ethan was starting to sound better.
30 minutes into his reading, his head was simply throbbing, and the lights were killing his eyes. “Heyyehhchuhh, ehhxxchuhh.” He sneezed suddenly, a wave of nausea coming over him. He closed his eyes, the looked up at the ceiling to see silver raindrops pouring down from it. “Migraine.” He sighed, reaching into his bag and digging out his meds. He let the pill dissolve under his tongue and sighed again. He wasn’t getting anything done tonight. The meds would work on the headache but make him groggy as hell for at least a few hours. Stretching out on the couch, he buried his face in his pillow and waited to fall asleep.
Ethan came out an hour later for water and saw Tim sleeping on the couch. He quietly covered him with a blanket, then closed his bedroom door when he returned to his room so his sneezing wouldn’t disturb him.
Ethan came out at 9 for his snack and meds. He woke Dustin who took NyQuil, did his neb and quickly went back to bed. He hesitated before waking Tim, but not knowing if he needed to do anything before bed, he decided to take the plunge.
He rested his hand on Tim’s shoulder and said his name. Tim opened his eyes, at first looking confused, then recognition flashed in his eyes.
“Sorry, forgot where I was for a second.”
“We’re not wearing you…” Ethan paused and turned away. “Hatchoo! Wearing you out, are we?”
Tim shook his head. “Migraine. They tend to come out of nowhere. I took my pill; it’s gone now. I’m just a little tired from it.”
Ethan nodded. “Understand. I get them sometimes, too. Dustin went to bed. I think I’m gonna go there after I eat. So, you can sleep. Sorry I woke you. I just didn’t know if you needed to do anything before you went to bed.”
“Brush my teeth.” Tim smiled. “Might want to change into sweats, but if Dustin’s in bed…”
“He just went. He won’t be asleep yet. He still has to call Beth.”
Tim went to grab his toothbrush and pajamas while Ethan got ready for bed. He knocked on the guest room door. After a few seconds, Dustin opened it, mid sneezing fit. He waved Tim in, continuing to sneeze. Tim grabbed his things as Dustin blew his nose and immediately pitched forward into his tissues again.
“HahKishoo-kishoo-kishoo-kshoo-shoo-shoo-shoo-shoo…HahKishoo.” Sighing, he wearily blew his nose again and leaned against the wall.
“Goodness, bless you.”
“Thanks.” Dustin took a few fresh tissues for another blow. “The sneezing’s always worse at night.” He explained with a sniff. “Should die down once the NyQuil kicks in.”
Tim gave him a sympathetic smile. “Hopefully soon.”
“Yeah.” Dustin sat down on the bed, coughing. “I want to actually be able to talk to my wife when I call her.”
Tim laughed. “I’ll leave you to try.”
He got ready for bed and found Ethan still sitting on the couch.
“Hey…still not tired?”
“Not really. But I know you are.”
“I’m good for a little bit.” Tim yawned.
“Very convincing.”
“I’m up for a little TV.” Tim joined Ethan on the couch. “How are you feeling?”
“Rough.” Ethan admitted. “I’m worn out. I just can’t sleep. Cough is still pretty bad.” He brought his arm up. “Ahshoo! The sneezing is approaching normal levels though.”
Tim chuckled. “I think you win the award for sneeziest guy I’ve ever dated. And your voice is still wrecked.” He pointed out.
Ethan shrugged. “It’ll come back. It’s always goes.”
“Why’s it worse today? It was coming back yesterday.”
“Told you. Long phone call with my mom. I did a lot of talking.”
Tim looked at Ethan. “Why’d she keep you on the phone so long with your voice so bad?”
Ethan looked away, then back at Tim, an unreadable expression on his face.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that.”
Ethan looked down, biting his lip. “We were arguing.” He said softly.
Tim nodded, but didn’t press. “Explains your voice.”
Ethan nodded, clearing his throat. “She’s good at somehow knowing when I’m sick and calling.”
“Moms are like that.”
Ethan shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged, looking down again. He stared at the floor for several seconds, then ducked his head into his arm. “Ahtshoo!” He sniffled, deep and wet, then sighed. “Families can be difficult to navigate.” He finally said.
Tim nodded, remembering what he had shared of his own family. “Yes, they can.” He heard another thick sniffle from Ethan and turned to see the other man’s lashes were wet with tears. He wasn’t sure if Ethan were the type to wear his heart on his sleeve or was simply more emotional when he was sick but didn’t want to call attention to the threatening tears. A third sniff from Ethan, and Tim grabbed a couple tissues. “Your nose is running.” He said casually, handing them over.
Ethan took the tissues without comment, turned and blew his nose, a wet crackling sound, once, twice, three times, folding the tissues until they were a small useless square which he crammed in his pocket. “Thanks.” He uttered, softly, giving Tim a small smile.
“So TV?” Tim gave the subject a complete U-turn. “Wanna see what other sitcoms we can find from our high school days?”
Ethan laughed. “Friends is always on somewhere.”
“Perfect.” Tim picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels, stopping when he did, in fact, find an episode of Friends. Two episodes later, both were ready for their respective beds.
Aggedy Ann 