- 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?”
- 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.”
- 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.
- 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.
- 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?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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.”
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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 