Halloween Party

Prologue 

“Jamie and Freddie invited us to a costume party on Halloween,” Tim mentioned to Ethan at dinner a few weeks before the party. 

“We should go.” Ethan said immediately.  “It’d be nice to meet your friends.” He hinted. 

Tim hesitated.  “They have dogs.  Jamie’s allergic, and she says they’re hypoallergenic, but I don’t know…I don’t know how bad your allergy is.  If you’ll be ok.” He fussed. 

“What kind of dogs?  I’ve been around some that are hypoallergenic with really no problems.” 

“Labradoodles.” 

“I’ve been ok around them before.  I should be fine.  Besides, I’ll have my allergy meds in me anyway.” Ethan reassured Tim.  “What should we go as?” 

“I don’t know.  I thought we’d go to a costume shop and figure it out.” 

2 days later, they had done so, and decided on Mario and Luigi. 

The day before the party  

“I’ll just be a minute.”  Freddie said as Tim and the rest of his coworkers headed to the conference room to meet Alex. 

Tim made it halfway down the hall.  “Forgot my phone.  Be right there.”   He turned and headed back to the shared office to find Freddie there, blowing his nose.   “Hey, Fred, you ok?”  

Freddie looked up, then suppressed a sneeze into his tissues.  “Yeah, why?”  He blew his nose again. 

“Bless you.  Got a cold?” 

Freddie sighed.  “Don’t tell anyone.  I’d rather Jamie not find out and have it get in the way of the party.  It’s not too bad; I’m mostly just stuffed up.” 

Tim gave him a sympathetic smile.   “I won’t tell.”  He grabbed his phone and followed Freddie to the conference room.” 

“EhhChuh…AhChuhh.”  They heard Alex sneezing before they walked in.   

“Bless you.”  Tim heard Ella say as he and Freddie walked in and sat down.   

Alex nodded his thanks.  “Sorry guys.  Allergies are really bad today.”  He scrubbed at his nose with the back of his hand.  “There’s gonna be a lot of that today.”  He sighed.  It was going to be one of those days where they gave him Benadryl an hour before the show, and he’d still struggle not to ruin his timing by holding back a sneeze.  Tomorrow promised to be just as bad, but at least there was no show to tape.  Just Jamie and Freddie’s party, but Jamie’d be sneezing here way through that as well, so at least he wouldn’t stand out. 

“Hatchoo!” 

Tim shot Ethan a worried look at his third sneeze in 30 minutes.  “You sure you’re ok?” He fretted.  “Not getting sick on me, are you?” 

Ethan shook his head.  “I’m fine, hon.  It’s just allergies.”  He pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened his allergy tracker app.  “See, grass, tree and weed pollens are really high today.  They’re going to be that way for the next week.” He showed Tim. “I’m allergic to at least one thing in all three of those categories.” 

“So I shouldn’t worry when you sneeze.” 

“As much as I sneeze on a normal day, if you do, you’re going to drive yourself crazy.”  Ethan teased. 

“HuhChushh, Chushh.” Freddie muffled the sneezes in a wad of tissues, then blew his nose as softly as possible before leaving the bathroom.   Jamie was sitting on the bed, rubbing her eyes.   “You hanging in there, Sweety?” He asked, gently.  She had sneezed through dinner and a movie on the couch, and he knew, if Alex’s allergies were bad, her’s would be too. 

She nodded.  “Used to it.” She sighed, leaning back against the headboard, tissue box on her lap.   She hastily plucked a tissue from the box. “And again…ahhIhhtschoo, hahIhtschoo…ahhIihhtschieew.” 

“Bless you.”  He kissed her forehead.  “Benadryl?” 

“Waiting for it to kick in,” she sniffled, letting him tuck the blankets around her. 

Within minutes, the NyQuil had him asleep. 

Alex hung his Batman costume on the closet door.  “You haven’t shown anyone your costume, Lyss.”  He commented. 

“Oh, um, I’m keeping it secret.” She confessed.  She was unsure about wearing her flapper costume at the party; the style wasn’t like her, so she didn’t want anyone to see it until it was time.   She’d be meeting Alex at the party, so it would be a surprise to him as well.   “Ihhshoo.”  She sneezed softly, groaning internally when the sneeze was followed by two more equally soft sneezes.   She took the tissue Alex offered and took care of her running nose. 

“Bless you.  You ok?  Three isn’t like you.” 

She sighed.  “I think I’m getting a cold.”  She admitted.  “My nose keeps running, and I’ve been sneezing all day.” 

He gave her a sympathetic smile before doubling over.  “Heh’Chuhh, Chuh, EhChuhhHoo.” 

It was her turn to bless him, and she laughed.  “We’re going to make quite a pair tomorrow.  You with your allergies and me with a cold.” 

The day of the party 

Ethan was one of the three who had to work that day.  Grateful he and Tim weren’t at the spend the night stage, he sneezed his way through his morning routine and headed to work.  He resisted the urge to rub at his itching eyes as he found a parking space and headed into the clinic. 

“Atchoo!”  His sneeze announced his presence before he appeared in the department, and he walked in to a chorus of “bless yous.”  Blushing, he grabbed his stuff and headed to his assigned room.  He spent the day getting sympathetic looks and murmurs from his patients and plenty of ribbing from his coworkers as he sneezed regularly throughout the day.   Finally 4:30 came, and he was able to escape the attention of everyone. 

Except…it hit him on the drive home; he was going to make a great first impression, sneezing his way through the party tonight. 

HehChuhh…uhChuh!” Alex sighed.  He’d been trying to hold those back another five minutes.  He reached over for a tissue, sighing. 

“Bless you.”  Alyssa mumbled, sleepily, glancing at the clock.  “Looks like you’re my alarm clock today,” she teased, switching it off and slipping out of bed.  Sneezing lightly, she made her way to the shower.   45 minutes later, she was standing next to him with a packet of Benadryl and his allergy pills, having heard him sneeze the entire time she was getting ready, his heavier ones mixing with her softer ones.  .    

“Remember,” she told him as he swallowed the pills, “I have a faculty dinner, so I’ll meet you at the party. You’re gonna have to drive yourself or see if you can get a ride with Tim.” 

He nodded as she plucked a tissue from the box on his lap.   “Hiiitschoo.  Ugh.  Wish me luck today.” 

“Bless you.  You’ll get through it.   Got DayQuil?” 

She held up the foil packets she had stuffed in her pocket along with cough drops. “See you tonight.”  She sniffled, bending down to kiss him, 

“Love you.” He called after her before exploding with a sneeze. 

Freddie didn’t know Jamie was awake until he heard her sneezing in the bathroom.   The NyQuil has definitely done it’s job – he’d slept like the dead.   What he didn’t know was Jamie, after listening to his congested snores all night, knew he was sick; she just wasn’t going to mention it until he did.    

“HuhIhhschoo.  Ihhschiew!” Jamie sneezed into a tissue, coming into the bedroom. 

“Ble-“ his voice cracked and he cleared his throat.  “Bless you.” He tried again. 

“Thanks.”  She leaned over to kiss his cheek.  “How are you this morning?” 

“Other than that frog in my throat, just fine,” he lied. 

She laughed.  “I’ve got a list of things for you to do today to get ready for the party.” She reminded him. 

He nodded.  “I’m your man.” He promised.   “Have a good day at work.” 

“Hihtshuu! Hopefully my allergies will die down.  Otherwise, I’ll be sneezing through the party.” 

He gave her a smile, “if it helps, so will Alex.” 

She smiled back, kissed him goodbye, reminded him about the list again, and left for work. 

She left the room just in time.  She couldn’t have been halfway down the stairs when to be safe, Freddie buried his face in his pillow.  “Hehchumph, chmff, hhhchfff.”  A flurry of sneezes followed, and he was grateful for the likelihood that Jamie was out of earshot when he began blowing his nose.  

He pulled himself out of bed a few hours later and began on the list.   By the time the caterers came to deliver the food, he was chilled, tired, and sneezing with a greater frequency than he had been that morning.   He put everything away to wait until closer to the party, then went upstairs to use his last remaining hour for a nap. 

Alex decided to call Tim for a ride to the party.  No sense in having two cars there, and it wasn’t too far out of Tim’s way, so he knew there was a chance Tim would do it.    

Blowing his nose firmly so there was a good chance it wouldn’t act up during the phone call, he dialed Tim.    

“Hey,” Tim answered.  “What’s up?” 

Alex started to answer when Tim interrupted.   

“Hang on,” he said, breathlessly.  “HehtShoo, Heyehhshoo.” 

Alex rubbed his nose.  Tim’s sneezes made his own nose itch.  

“Sorry.”  Tim sniffled. “Been doing that for the last hour. Was organizing the spices and dropped the cayenne.  Bottle broke, and I got a nose full of it.” 

Alex scrubbed at his nose again; he could just imagine.  “Sucks.”  He managed, and blew his nose. 

“Allergies still bad?” 

“Yeah.”  Alex cleared his throat.  “I’ve been trying to work today, but keep getting distracted by the sneezing.” 

Tim chuckled.  “At least the party is at Jamie’s and not here. She’s got all the anti-allergy protections, and I’ve got the fuzzy cat.” 

The thought of the cat who loved to jump on him pushed Alex’s nose over the edge.  “EhChuh, hehChuhh, ChuhhHhoo.” 

“Bless you.  Don’t do that.   Hayyahhshoo, ahhchhoo.”  Tim rubbed at his overly sensitive nose and grabbed a tissue, blowing loudly as Alex did the same.  “Anyway, what’s up?” 

“Oh, uh, I was wondering if I could get a ride with you to the party.   Alyssa has a faculty thing, and is meeting me there.  We really don’t need 2 cars there.” 

“Sure.  Ethan will be home about 5:30, so 6:30-ish?” 

“Absolutely.  Thanks.” 

“See you then.” 

“Yup.”  Alex hung up the phone to the sound of Tim trying to muffle two more powerful sneezes into a tissue. 

Ethan entered the lobby of Tim’s apartment building and stood there a moment, rubbing his nose distractedly.   He tried glancing up at the sun again to force out the sneeze that wasn’t coming.   

“Taking the elevator?” He heard a cheerful voice ask. 

He looked over to see one of  Tim’s neighbors, Amy, pushing her daughter Stella in in the stroller.  

He shook his head.  “Stairs today.”  He paused, sniffling, “not enough steps today.” He laughed. 

She grinned. “With a two year old, I gave up on keeping track.” 

He found his way to the stairs and began climbing them to Tim’s fifth floor apartment. He thought he was in good shape, but his cross country days were a long time behind him apparently. Having a sneeze stuck deep in his his sinuses didn’t help…especially as that was the reason he took the stairs.   He was already to head for the elevator when he saw Amy and Stella.  His sneezes scared Stella in a normal environment.  Stuck sneezes tended to be louder, and he knew from experience, sneezing in an elevator seemed loud to begin with in the small space.   The last thing he wanted to do was traumatize Stella.    

Breathing slowly, trying to catch his breath, he made his way down the hall to Tim’s apartment and rapped on the door.    Tim opened and took stock of Ethan standing there, sweaty and short of breath. 

“You ok?” 

Ethan nodded, coming in and flopping on the couch.   “Took the stairs.” His breathing was becoming more its normal rate now.  He rubbed his nose again and sniffed deeply. 

“Why?” 

That last sniff had done it apparently.  “HAT’Choo!” The sneeze exploded out of him and he bent double, head to his lap.    

Tim jumped at the volume.  “God Bless You.” 

“Thanks.  That’s been stuck for at least the last half hour.” He complained.  “That’s why I took the stairs.  Amy and Stella were gonna take the elevator.” 

“And you didn’t want to scare Stella.”  Tim’s face softened.   

“More like scar her for life.” Ethan muttered, blowing his nose and heading into the kitchen for a snack before showering for the party.   

Ethan and Tim picked up Alex right on time.  Sniffling and watery eyed, Alex crawled into the backseat of Tim’s SUV.   

“Allergies still bothering you?” Tim gave him a half smile.   

Alex rubbed a hand under his nose.  “I woke Alyssa up with my sneezing this morning.  That’s pretty much a sign on how the day was going to go.” 

A sympathetic look from Tim.  “You remember Ethan?”  He asked, shyly.  “From the restaurant?”   Ethan turned around from the front seat.   

Alex nodded.  “Alex Moore.” He grinned. He shook Ethan’s hand.  “I swear it’s just allergies.”  He sniffled.  “It’s nice to officially be allowed to meet you.” 

“Ethan O’Connell. And same.”    

Alex began some gentle ribbing of Tim for a few minutes, until the sneezing kicked in. 

“HehChuh, hhh’Chuh, Chuhh, UhhChuhhshuhh!”  Several thick wet sniffles followed, and Ethan fumbled for the tissue box under the front seat, offering them to Alex.  Gratefully, Alex took several, blowing his nose, powerfully.  “So, Tim, when did you start keeping tissues in your car?” He asked, knowing Tim never had them unless he needed them. 

Ethan laughed.  “Since he got a boyfriend with allergies.” 

Alyssa pulled her cardigan tighter around her.  They would seat her under the air conditioning vent.  She picked at her salad, trying to unobtrusively sniffle back her runny nose while focusing on the departmental discussion around her. 

“Excuse me,” she murmured softly to her colleague sitting next to her, “I’ll be right back.”  She slipped off to the rest room, pressing a crumpled tissue to her dripping nose.   Thank goodness for cardigans with pockets, she thought as she fumbled for another tissue.   None to be had and she made due with the overused one in her hand.  “Ihhschoo.”  Soft but desperate.  She held the tissue in place as she pushed the bathroom door open with her free hand, ducking straight into the first open stall. 

“Ihhschoo, ihhtschh, ihhschiew, hihtschieww!”  She blew her nose with a wad of toilet paper and stepped out to wash her hands, only to see her dean standing there.   

“Bless you, Ms. Tappen,” Dean Phillips said kindly.   

“Thank you, Dean Phillips.”  Alyssa’s voice was slightly hoarse with a tinge of congestion.  

“Head cold?” 

Alyssa nodded and sighed.  “I’ll be alright.”  She ducked back in the stall for more toilet paper and blew her nose again. 

“While attendance at the dinners, is strongly suggested, Alyssa, it is never mandatory, especially in cases like these.   Go rest.” 

Freddie coughed as he finished blowing up the orange and black balloons Jamie had brought home from work with her.  First she wanted them, then she didn’t, and apparently, instead of working, she had decided she did.   Jamie gave him a look as she took the from him and finished taping them up.    

She headed into the kitchen to start bringing out the food the caterers had dropped off earlier.   

He took advantage of her head being in the refrigerator to muffle a sneeze into his elbow.  “Hehhtmmff.” 

“What did you say, Sweety?”  Jamie asked, coming back in, carrying the platter of sandwiches.    

“Huh? Oh. Nothing.”  He said as she thrust the sandwiches at him.   

“Sneehhze…ehhshuu, ehhshiiew, ehshoo.  Ughh.  I’m gonna be sneezing all night.” She sighed.  “I was hoping it would die down.” 

Freddie set the sandwiches on the table, giving her the tissue box.   “Go try some Benadryl.  Go get ready.   I got it from here.”   She was all the way up the stairs before he unclenched his jaw, freeing a quartet of sneezes.  “HehChushh, Chushh, Chusch, HuhhChuschoo!”   

The trio of Alex, Ethan and Tim showed up just after 7.  Alex grinned when the cowardly lion opened the door.  “Where’s Dorothy?” He asked. 

“Upstairs fixing her makeup.  Her eyes keep watering so her eye liner keeps running.  Where’s your mask?” 

“Still need to throw it on.  Those two need to finish their costumes too.” He gestured to Tim and Ethan behind him. 

“You know where the bathrooms are.”  Freddie laughed as Alex grabbed his Batman head and headed upstairs, passing Jamie on her way down.   

“I am giving up on the eye liner.” She announced loudly, then blushed, noticing Tim and, more so, Ethan standing there.  “Get in and close the door, please! Tim, Freddie, you know better than to hang out in the doorway.”  She pulled a tissue out of her dress pocket and blew her nose, then walked up to Ethan who was standing there, looking awkward.   “Hi, I’m Jamie.”  She held out her hand. “And it’s allergies, I promise.  I’m not sick.  They’ve just been awful lately.” 

Ethan nodded, shaking her hand.  “Mine too.  And I’m Ethan.” 

Freddie turned to Ethan, offering him a hand.  “I’m Freddie.  Jamie’s fiancé.”  He looked at a Tim and Ethan.  Go finish your costumes.  Then we’ll know who you are.”   Tim guided Ethan to the downstairs bathroom where they finished their costumes. 

“Heyehhshoo, eckshoo.” 

They heard Tim sneezing as he came back down the hall and Ethan blessing him.   

“Thanks.  I don’t know what that was.  Everyone knows better than to wear a feather costume.” He joked.   

Party 

Freddie played bartender, getting Tim a Diet Coke and Alex a vodka and sprite.  They clustered together for chatting, while Jamie got to know Ethan.  

“How’s your cold?” Tim asked Freddie, neglecting to remember that he was supposed to keep that a secret.   

Freddie glared at him, then sighed.  “I don’t think I can hide it much longer.” He admitted, as Alex sneezed explosively next to him.    

“H’Chuh!” 

“Bless you.” Freddie and Tim said in unison. 

Alex grabbed a napkin off the table and blew his nose.  Up close, Tim could see how red and tender looking it was at the base of each nostril. 

“At least I can hold back the sneezes until she’s out of the room.”  Freddie grinned. 

“Hatchoo!” 

Ethan’s sneeze from across the room caught Tim’s attention, and he turned to see Ethan with Jamie and the dogs.  He rushed over to Ethan who was carefully blowing his nose. 

“Bless you Sweety; are you ok?” To Jamie: “he’s allergic to dogs. And you’re letting them rub all over him.”  He tried to shoo the dogs away. 

“Tim, Tim.”  Tim kept trying to chase the dogs off, ignoring Ethan.  “Timothy!”  Tim looked at Ethan. “It’s not the dogs.  Trust me.  I’d be sneezing a lot more if it was.  My eyes would be swollen.  You’d know.” 

Tim left the dogs alone and Ethan leaned against him.  “It’s just my regular allergies, babe.” 

Tim nodded, tentatively accepting the answer, bringing his elbow to his face.  “Hahshoo, ahyahshoo.” 

“The question is,” pronounced Ethan, “what is making you sneeze?” 

Alyssa arrived earlier than planned, thanks to her early release from the faculty party.   She slipped, noticed only by Jamie, who let her in, into the downstairs bathroom, and emerged a brief moment late in a short black  1920s style short dress, bobbed hair sprayed flat, white feather boa around her neck.    

She ran into Tim first when she entered the living room.  Well, he ran into her…the perils of 5’4” and 6’4,” sometimes the latter failed to see the former.    

“You’re early!” He noticed. 

She nodded.  “Boss took pity on me.  Maybe Alex will next.” 

He looked a bit confused, but seemed to catch on to the congestion in her voice.   “Well, before that happens, you have to meet Ethan.”  He called for the other man to join them, rubbing at his nose, eyes only on Ethan.  “My nose has been itching all night.” He commented to her as Ethan made his way over. 

“What’d you need?” Ethan asked, joining them.    

“The last one arrives.”  Tim paused, pressing a knuckle against his nose for a long second.   “Ethan, this is Alyssa.”  Looking at Alyssa, “Lyss, this isEthan.”  He spun away as they introduced themselves.  “Huhyuhshoo, uhhshoo!”  He gave Alyssa an exasperated look when he finished.  “Seriously Lyss? Feathers?  Now I’m really gonna be sneezing all night now.” 

“Now?” She questioned. 

“He’s been sneezing since the party started.” Ethan explained as Tim buried a harsh double in his elbow and went in search of tissues.   “Not sure why.” 

“I forgot about his allergy,” she said, turning and sighing.   Alex was standing there, taking in her costume, glaring daggers at her.   “And his.  It’s easy with Tim because you forget he has any, and it’s easy to miss one with Alex because he has so many.” 

Alex crossed over to Alyssa.   “What are you wearing?” He asked through gritted teeth.  “Why?”   He felt his eyes fill with allergic tears a resisted the urge to wipe them away. 

She looked at him, blue eyes bright on her pale skin.   “I forgot.”  She mumbled hoarsely, coughing. 

Alex brought his arm up over his face, turning from her.   “HehhChuhh, uhhhChuhh, Chuhh.  As if I wasn’t already sneezing enough.” He grumbled, walking away in search of more tissues. 

Alyssa grabbed her cardigan out of her bag and wrapped it around herself.   This dress would be fantastic if she wasn’t freezing.   She slumped down on the sofa, sneezing.   “Ihhshoo, hihshuu.”  Sniffling she checked the pockets for tissues, then started to get up to look for some.   

Before she could move, Freddie was there with a box, offering her some.   “Bless you.” He said gently, and she noted the same hoarseness starting in his that was present in hers. 

“Thanks.  I came down with the worst cold yesterday.” She sighed, stashing some tissues in the pocket of her sweater.     

He nodded.  “Same.” He confessed before ducking down into a tissue.  “UhhChushhoo.  Still trying to hide it from Jamie.” He sighed.    

“I just want to go home, but Alex runs in the other direction every time I approach him…” she sighed. 

Freddie slipped the boa from around her neck.   “Try it now.” 

She shook her head.  “Cold brain, I swear to god…” 

“HehChuhh.  I can’t believe she wore that thing.”  Alex grumbled.   “And she won’t take it off.” 

“It’s the worst.” Tim agreed, rubbing his nose.  “My nose is already irritated tonight….and…annuhhshoo, uhhshoo.  God! Why am I sneezing so much?  I’m not near the feathers.” 

Ethan rubbed his back gently.  “Are you getting a cold on me?”  

“I feel fine.   Just keep sneezing.” 

Ethan nodded, giving Tim a quick once over.  “Alex, your thoughts?” 

“I think Alyssa’s finally figured out to ditch the boa.” He grumbled as Alyssa made her way to the group. 

Ethan led Tim away so that Alex and Alyssa could talk.   That did, of course, not mean that Tim wasn’t going to try to listen anyway.    “What are they saying?” He whined.  “Does he look mad? Does she?  Are they whisper fighting again?”  Ethan had made him stand with his back to the couple.    

“Tim…just let them talk.  Give them…Hatchoo!…privacy.”  He called back “Thanks” when Alex called over a “bless you.”  “I think they’re just fine.” He surmised. 

“I forgot.  I’m sorry.  And I’m so miserable I can’t think straight; I didn’t think about taking it off.   Freddie has it now.” 

Alex looked down at his girlfriend, and for the first time noticed how pale she was.  Her red nose and fever bright eyes stood out in sharp contrast, and she shivered in front of him, despite how tightly she had her cardigan wrapped around her. 

“I didn’t realize…” he realized there was nothing he could say.   I didn’t notice you were this sick?  I was too busy being mad to care?  He watched as she doubled over with a fit of strong sneezes. 

“Hiihtschuu, ihhtschiew, hiitischu, ihhtschoo!”    

“Bless you,” he said gently as a loud sneeze from Ethan a few feet over interrupted her response.  “Bless you.” He called over and she laughed.   “Let’s get you home.”  He told her, slipping off his Batman cape and wrapping it around her. 

Freddie was sprawled out on the couch with a beer and tissues across from him when Jamie came over to join him.    “Having a good time?” 

“Yeah.”  He winced at the congestion in his voice, hoping she didn’t notice.  If she did she didn’t say. 

“My allergies are starting to calm down a bit.” She said, brightly.    

“Good.  Maybe you’ll sleep better tonight.”    

“Sure.  If someone’s not snoring.” 

He froze.  And then his nose unfroze.   “UhhChusshh, Chushh, Chushh, Chuscshoo”. He grabbed the tissues off the chair and blew his nose.    

“Bless you.” 

“You knew.” 

She simply nodded. 

Tim and Ethan had been wrapped up in each other when Jamie came and joined them.     “Alex took Alyssa home.  Freddie fell asleep on the couch so I sent him upstairs.   It’s the three of us.” 

Tim laughed.  “It’s always the two of us at the end, James.   The perks of not drinking, remember.   Now we have Ethan.” 

She and Ethan laughed as Tim turned away and sneezed.   “Heyehhshoo, ehhhshoo!  Dammit.” 

“Bless you.  Want help cleaning up?”  Ethan asked. 

Jamie shook her head.  “I’ll just throw everything in the fridge and deal with it in the morning.”  She started talking to Ethan about her former life as a nurse and his current life as one while Tim sat there, leaning against Ethan.    

“UhShoo…uhhChuhshoo.  How do I get this to stop?”  Tim broke in and asked. 

Ethan reached up and peeled off his fake Luigi mustache.   “I think we can take this off now.   And next time, don’t put it right against your nose.”  He laughed, giving Tim a kiss.