New Years Eve

Ethan beat Tim to the door of their new apartment.  He opened it to see Freddie and Jamie standing there with a bottle of wine. 

“Happy Housewarming!  Happy New Year!”   Jamie reached up to give Tim a hug, but he stepped back.   

“Better not, Jamie.”  He cautioned.  “Santa brought us colds for Christmas.”  He ushered them in as Alex and Alyssa appeared behind him.    

Ethan led the next two into the apartment, along with their gift basket. 

Tim took the gifts to the kitchen, slipping the wine into the fridge.   

Alex cast a concerned look over to Ethan as he heard Tim coughing harshly in the kitchen.   

“We came down with colds on Christmas Day.” Ethan explained. 

Alyssa nodded, wiping her nose with a tissue she’d pulled from her pocket.  “I got my usual between terms cold Christmas Eve day.”   

“Hehdshoo…Hehhdehhshoo!”  They heard Tim’s muffled sneezes from the kitchen, followed by him blowing his nose and washing his hands.  He emerged moments later, carrying trays of snacks.  “Sorry for going with store bought over cooking myself.   I’m sure you all understand.”  He opened the lids on the two platters and sat next to Ethan.   

Alex leaned in, rubbing his eyes with one hand.  “Can tell I haven’t been around a cat for awhile.  Eyes already itch.”  He commented. 

“You guys remember Claritin?” Tim asked as Ethan turned to the side. 

“HahChoo!” 

“Bless you,” Tim said softly, rubbing Ethan’s back as Ethan went for the hand sanitizer on the coffee table. 

A brown kitten hopped up into Tim’s lap to surprised looks from Alex and Freddie.    

“Who’s that?”  Jamie asked. 

Ethan took the small kitten from Tim, cuddling her in his lap.   “This is Coco.  She was my Christmas present from Tim.”   

Alyssa grinned, looking at Tim.  “How’s Cashew tahhh…tahshoo…taking it?” 

“It’s an adjustment for him.  And an adjustment for Ethan.”  Tim laughed.   

“I’ve never had a pet before.”  Ethan admitted, sheepishly. 

“Never?” Freddie asked, surprised.  

“Yeah, first pet.  Well, I mean, goldfish, but do those really count?” He polled the group.  “I’m allergic to dogs; sister – cats.  Hamsters, gerbils and such – too much dust.  Mom had excuses for everything else.  And I’ve got a lot to learn about having a kitten.” 

Tim laughed.  Alex sneezed.   

“HehhChuh.  So there’s t-two of them now?  UhChuhh!” He groaned. 

Ethan confirmed with a nod.  “Cashew and Coco.” 

Alex sighed and headed for the bathroom, returning with allergy pills.  He handed one over to Freddie, then swallowed one with a swig of his beer.    

“Did it have to be a cat?” Came Freddie’s complaint as he rubbed his nose. 

Jamie switched seats with Alex so he and Freddie would be able to share a tissue box and perhaps distance from the cats a bit.  And so she and Alyssa could fuss over the tiny thing.    

“It kinda did.”  Tim laughed.  “Dog allergy, feather allergy, dust allergies.  I didn’t think starting him off with a reptile would be a good idea.” 

“And he didn’t want to get me anything boring, like another fish.” 

“Dust allergies?”  Jamie looked at Tim.  “Are you finally admitting you’re allergic to dust?” 

This time Ethan laughed.  “When he cleaned behind the furniture to move at 8 in the morning, and was still sneezing and wheezing at 8 at night, he couldn’t exactly hide it anymore.” 

Tim blushed, then doubled over.  “Huhhruhshoo, ruhhshoo.”  He sneezed into his lap.  “‘Scuse me.”  He grabbed a tissue from the table. 

“Aiihshoo.”  Alyssa followed his powerful sneezes with a tiny sneeze of her own. 

“Bless you both.”  Jamie passed Alyssa a tissue.    

“Thanks,” she sniffled.  “Every year.” She sighed.  “Every year.”  She laughed as the kitten jumped into her lap.  “I shouldn’t play with you.”  She sighed again, gingerly petting the kitten.   “You make my boyfriend sneeze.” 

“Let me see her, Lyss.”  Jamie took the kitten Lyss handed over.  “You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?”    

“UhChushuhh.”  Freddie’s head bobbed forward with a sneeze from across the room. 

“And you’re making my fiancé sneeze.”  She pouted.  “No cat sitting from either of us.”  She set the kitten on her lap, and the kitten moved to nestle between her and Alyssa.   

“Seriously, Lyss?” Alex asked as Cashew came up and began pawing at his jeans.  “Hhhchuxxt,  chhxxgt,  chhunngt.” 

“Bless you.  And do you want her crawling all over you like he is?” 

Alex sighed. “Go away, Cashew.”  He moved his legs closer to the couch. 

“HuhChushh.  I think she’s got a point though.” Freddie said, starting to match Alex in the stuffed up department. 

“Here.”  Ethan reached for Coco, then pulled his hands back as Alyssa extricated the cat.  He ducked his head into his elbow.  “Atchoo!  Ugh.  This cold.”  He reached back out for the cat and placed her in his lap. 

“She’s certainly not bothered by you guys’ sneezing.” Jamie commented. 

Ethan shrugged.  “We got her Christmas Eve. She was a little skittish the first day with mine, then curious; you know I sneeze all the time to begin with.  I think she realized it happens a lot. She hasn’t had a problem with Tim’s at all; probably because she got used to me.” 

“She avoids me though, when I sneeze.   She’ll come and, it seems like she’s almost checking on Ethan, when he does.” Tim laughed, then coughed.   He took a drink of his water.  “I promise we’re not that sick.  I’ve got the lingering cough like usual, and he’s still sneezing a lot more.  But we sound worse than we are.” 

“I’m the same way.” Alyssa laughed.  “Can’t ditch the sneezing with this one.”  She blew her nose, stuffing her tissue in her pocket. 

“Sounds like you guys had a quiet Christmas, too.”  Alex commented with a sniffle.   “Other than chasing a new one of these around.”  

“Well, I had to work for a lot of it.”  Ethan sighed.  “But Tim fussed over me when I got home.” 

“Figured since I had the day to rest…” 

“I’ve got a long weekend for this holiday though, so maybe I’ll finally kick the extra sneezing.” He laughed. 

“Huhhchushoo.”  Freddie sneezed softly from the couch, Cashew in his lap.   Alex had moved as far away from him as the couch would allow.    

Tim shook his head.  Cashew had originally been Freddie’s, before discovering Freddie’s allergy, and Freddie still maintained a bond with the cat, no matter how miserable it made him.   

Alex blew his nose loudly from where he sat on the arm of the couch, as far away from Freddie as he could get without standing in the corner.  He shot Freddie a watery eyed glare. 

Jamie shot him a sympathetic look.  “Switch spots with me, hon.” She stood up and sat down next to Freddie, plucking the cat from his lap. 

“Ihtschiew.” Another breathy sneeze from Alyssa as Alex sat next to her.    

“Bless you.” Alex whispered stuffily.  “You doing ok?” 

She nodded.  “You?” 

He scrubbed at his nose to no avail.  “HehChuhh, Chuhh, Chushh, uhhChuhHoo, uhhChxxt, Chhngxxt.  Unnggghh.”  He took the tissues Alyssa handed him and blew his nose again. 

“Bless you.”  Alyssa and Tim chorused. 

“Thanks.”  He gave a wet sniffle, blowing his nose again.  “Must be double the cats.” He commented, wiping his eyes.  “Hopefully the pill will kick in soon.” 

“You catching Lyss’s cold?” Freddie asked.  He pulled his shirt collar up over his nose.  “HuhChusshh.” He sneezed, leaving his striped top damp.  “You say your allergy always gets worse when you have a cold.” 

Alex shrugged as Jamie plucked Cashew off of Freddie’s lap again and placed him on the floor.   A brief whispered exchange took place between the two. 

“Aww, baby, I hope not.   I warned you not to fuss over me so much.”  Alyssa rubbed his back as he wiped his nose.    

“I’m ok.”  Alex flushed red at everyone fussing over him.   For an actor/comedian, he hated being in the center of attention, especially where his allergies were concerned,    

“Hatchoo!”  Fortunately, Ethan’s well timed sneeze took the focus off him as Tim whispered “bless you” and rubbed his back again.    

The group fell into conversation and everyone overlooked Freddie’s increasingly more frequent sneezes and Alex’s attempts to stifle his sneezes into oblivion. 

After about half a hour of stifles and unobtrusive blows that did nothing, Alex excused himself to the restroom.    

The small room was just off the living room, and the group  pretended they didn’t hear the crescendo of rapid sneezing that came once he exited or the powerful blows that followed.   After a few minutes, Alex was back in the room, nose noticeably redder, but also clearer.   

“You sure you’re ok?” Alyssa whispered as he sat back down.   

He shrugged.  “I don’t know.” He admitted.  “I’ve never reacted like this before.”  He gently wiped at his nose with a damp tissue.   

“Did you guys change litter?  Cat shampoo?   I know it’s not an air freshener because then I’d be sneezing.”  Jamie suggested. 

Tim shook his head, bringing his arm up to his face and taking a shuddering breath.  “Heyehhshoo, heyyyshoo.  No.”  He sniffled, taking the tissue Ethan handed him.   “Uhhshehh, ehh’hehhshoo! ‘Scuse me.”  He turned to the side and blew his nose. 

“We haven’t changed anything. You’ve been to the apartment to help unpack without a problem…”. Ethan shrugged. 

“It’s a mystery…hhihhngxxt.”  Alex stifled a sneeze against his wrist that was immediately followed by three more.    

“Bless you.”  Ethan gave him a sympathetic look.   “You want some Benadryl?” 

Alex hesitated. 

“Take it.” Alyssa urged.  “I can drive home.” 

“Ok.” Alex agreed, looking up gratefully at Ethan through puffy eyes.    

Ethan slipped out and returned with a blister packet of the pink and white pills.    

“How are the cats getting along?” Alyssa asked, drawing attention away from Alex fumbling with the foil packet. 

“Mostly ok.  They get into it sometimes. We’ve been using the squirt bottle, and Cashew’s been more stressed out, so we’ve been using a lavender deodorizing spray on him to chill him out a bit.”  Ethan explained.     

At lavender, Alyssa, Freddie and Jamie froze, while Alex pitched forward with a handful of loud sneezes, drowning out the end of Ethan’s explanation. 

“EhhChuhh…Chushh…huhhChuh-ChuhhHooo!” 

“Bless you.” Realization dawned on Tim’s face.  “Your allergies.” He looked at Alex. 

“The worst one.” Alex managed. 

Jamie pulled Cashew off Freddie’s lap for the umpteenth time that evening, this time bringing him close to her.  “It’s definitely noticeable.” 

“Aishoo.”  Alyssa sneezed softly into her tissue, followed directly by a loud sneeze from Alex.  “I’m sorry, but we should go.” She apologized.   “Even with the Benadryl, he’s not going to get better with the source around.” 

Alex nodded.   “Sorry.” He snuffled as Freddie sneezed in the background. 

Alyssa grabbed their coats from the kitchen.   “We’ll try this again.  Another time.  When Cashew has adjusted.”  She said softly, ushering Alex to the door.  They heard him insist on taking the stairs, lest someone see him in the elevator. 

Tim turned back to Freddie and Jamie, flushing red.   “I completely forgot.” He confessed.     

“Hitt’schoo.” Jamie buried a sneeze in her elbow.   “He’ll be ok.  I’ve seen him a lot worse.  I’m sure you have too.” 

Tim nodded.  “I just feel awful for being the cause of it.” 

Ethan put a reassuring hand on his arm.  “If we’re assigning blame…” He trailed off and grabbed a tissue with his free hand.  “Hashoo!  It was my idea.” 

“It was an accident.” Freddie reassured.  “You got meds in him.  He’ll be ok in awhile.  Tired, but ok.  Huh-uhChuhshoo, UhhChushoo.”   

“Bless you.” 

“Now, let me see this kitten,” Freddie said, moving closer, ignoring Jamie’s groan. 

Later that night: 

True to form, Freddie was a sneezing watery eyed mess when he left the apartment.  Ethan, to Jamie’s relief, had handed out more Benadryl about half an hour before they left, so hopefully Freddie would be able to shower and go to bed when they got home. 

Still feeling guilty, Tim picked up the phone to at call, or at least leave a message for Alex, knowing there was a very good chance he’d be asleep. 

He got Alyssa. 

“Hey Tim, Alex is sleeping.” She told him softly. 

“I had a feeling.   Just wanted to check on him.” 

“He’s ok.  The Benadryl knocked him out.  He’d pretty much stopped sneezing in the half hour it took us to get home.” 

Tim sighed with relief.  “That’s good. So he’s alright.” 

“He’s pissed.  But he’ll be fine in the morning.” She laughed.  She paused as he coughed harshly.  “Go to bed.  You sound pretty rough.” 

“You get some rest too.  Thanks Lyss.” 

Tim hung up the phone and turned to Ethan.  “He’s ok,  he was better by the time they got home.” 

“Good.” 

“And maybe we come up with another way of de-stressing Cashew.” 

“Ashoo!  Sure.”  Ethan wrapped his arms around Tim as the taller man lay down next to him.  “And maybe now, I can de-stress you?” He asked with a kiss.