A/N: takes place one year prior to Visit Home
Intro:
“Better not. I’ve warned you; I’ve got a cold.” Tim said as his brother, Mark, started to pull him into a bear hug on the front porch.
“Not worried.”
“Can we at least go inside where it’s warm?” Tim shivered against the cold December air of Wisconsin.
“Right. Forget you’re not used to this, California boy.” Mark led him into the foyer, then crushed him in a hug. “So good to see you. So glad you decided to stay here.”
“Well, you said Abie would throw a fit if I didn’t. Besides, like you said, you’ve got the room.” Tim said, pulling away, sniffling.
“Want the tour? Girls are sleeping. Mom’s out. Good time for it.”
A pause from Tim. “Huhhyuhhrshoo! ruhhrsshoo! Huhhrtshoo! Uhhhruhhhtshoo!” Another wet sniffle. “As long as the tour includes tissues.” He scrubbed his nose with the crumpled handful from his pocket. “I think mine are ready to disintegrate.”
Mark made a face. “Bless. Bathroom’s right down the hall on the left.” He led Tim down the hall to the bathroom, where Tim tried to clear out his nose and restock his pocket with tissues.
Mark showed him the house, the view of his wooded lot. “If you’re up to it, we can go for a walk later. It’s nice in the snow. I’ll bundle you up since you’re not used to the cold anymore.”
“What can I say?” Tim said through his congestion. “I like 75 and sunny. HuhhKuhsshehhh, uhhrShheshh! Really hope I don’t give you guys this.” He coughed, getting up to wash his hands.
2 days later:
Tim slipped through the front door of Mark’s house following lunch with his other brothers, Pete, Luke and Dave. His mom was sitting in the living room, watching TV with the baby monitor.
“Mark go out?” He asked, indicating the baby monitor. Their mom did a lot of child care for Mark and Marisol, so when one of them was home, they rarely asked her to watch a kid.
“He isn’t feeling well; wanted to lay down when the girls did. I told him I’d take the monitor in case the twins needed anything so he could rest.”
Tim felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Of course, he’d managed to give Mark his cold. And right before Christmas. He nodded. “A nap doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” He cleared his throat. “My head is ringing after lunch.”
“Your brothers will do that.” His mom agreed. “Get some rest.”
Tim headed up the stairs to the guest room. Walking down the hallway, he heard a sneeze from Mark’s room.
“H’Cushh.”
“Bless you.” Tim poked his head in. Mark was laying with his head at the foot of the bed, TV on softly.
Mark looked up. “Hey, how was lunch?”
Tim shrugged. “Alright. Loud. Got caught up.”
“That’s good.”
“How are you? Mom says you’re not feeling well.”
“Just a headache.”
Tim noted the tissue box next to Mark. “Runny nose?”
“Sneezing a bit, too.” Mark sighed. “Scratchy throat. Slight cough.”
“Sorry, man.” Tim took one of Mark’s tissues and blew his nose.
“Is what it ishhissChuhh. How are you doing?”
“Starting to feel better, I think.”
“How’s your asthma?”
“Cold hasn’t bothered it. It’s mostly stayed in my head.”
“I meant, overall, since I we last talked. You were having problems then.”
“Air quality out there sometimes gets to it. Otherwise, I’ve been ok. How’s Abie doing?”
“Couple urgent care visits this fall; the ones I told you about. Other than that, nothing new. Gotta admit, I’m worried about her getting this cold.”
Tim nodded, feeling guiltier. He should have gotten a hotel, he thought. “If it helps, it’s mostl…yyyehhshoo! Heyyyeehhrrshoo!! It’s staying in my head, so far, like I said.”
Mark smiled, patting the spot on the bed next to him. “Have a seat. Or lay down. I’ve got you one one one right now.” He’d noticed a change in Tim this trip from last time; that Tim seemed happier, and he wanted to chat with him uninterrupted; time uncompeted for.
Tim kicked off his shoes and laid down on the bed next to him. Mark handed him one of his pillows, and Tim folded it under his arms.
“So…”Tim started, unsure where to go.
Mark took charge. “How are things going? Work?” He started down his checklist.
“It’s good. Alex’s show keeps getting picked back up. The hiatuses are nice…gave me a nice chance to come home, for example. Although mostly I just work full time for Bill during them. Stay busy.” He looked down and sighed. “It’s nice not to have to worry about keeping the lights on the last few years,” he admitted.
“Alex and Bill have been good rocks for you.” Mark said after a moment.
Tim nodded. “They keep me in line.” He admitted.
“How’s that going? It’s been, what? 4 years?”
“4 years. I think sober’s gonna stick this time.”
Mark had watched Tim struggle to stay sober in the aftermath of Steve’s death; he’d gone to California a couple times to try to help, but overall, there was little he could do from Wisconsin, so he let Alex and Bill take the lead.
“Lunch was hard,” Tim admitted. “Bars are hard, yet. Especially when everyone at the table is drinking.”
Mark frowned. “I wish they wouldn’t drink around you.”
“It is what it is, I guess. You know they’re not gonna change.”
Mark sighed, then turned his head toward his pillow and sneezed. “H’Kusssh.”
Tim made a face at the spray misting down on Mark’s pillow. “Gross, man. Cover.”
“Snuck up on me.” Mark reached for a tissue. “And I’m not worried about infecting the guy who gave it to me.”
“I hope it doesn’t get too bad for you.” Mark had had surgery on his sinuses and had his deviated septum fixed after college, but was still prone to sinus infections.
“Not gonna lie. I wish this was a chest cold.”
“Like it’d actually go to your chest.” No matter the cold, it always went to Mark’s head, at least initially.
Mark sighed. “I know.”
Tim rubbed his back. “Sorry.”
“Sucks. Mari won’t be back for another two days. Which means I’ve got a a toddler and two babies to take care of…and I’m already starting to feel it. Don’t want to get the girls sick. Don’t want to get mom sick.”
“I can help.” Tim pointed out. “You know mom will. She’ll probably fuss over you the way she’s been fussing over me. You’ve taken care of the kids sick before.”
“It was one kid, and I had Marisol for backup.”
Tim felt the guilt well back up inside him. Mark was already starting to sound stuffy. “Seriously, dude, anything I can do to help while I’m here.”
“Thanks.” He paused for Tim’s sharp inhale.
“Yyisshahh, hhhuuriisshshoo, Rrhhisshhoo, uhhhriishhesshhh…” Tim shook his head as Mark opened his mouth to bless him. “Yhhiihiitshoo, hiiitsschehhh.”
“Bless you. Damn. Forget how much you sneeze when you’re sick.”
“Bank ‘em up when I’m healthy.” Tim cracked. “You sneeze all the time. I don’t.”
Mark laughed. Since Tim had outgrown his allergies, he’d become one of those people who rarely sneezed. “I wouldn’t say all the time.”
“Couple times a day.”
“That’s not all thehh..the tihhhKushhuhh. This is all the time.” He referenced the cold. “Ugh.”
“Need some cold meds? Got ‘em in my bag.”
“Probably. Wasn’t sneezing like this when I laid down.”
“I’ll get ‘em for you.”
“It can wait. What else is new with you?” He cleared his throat. “You seem,” he shrugged, “happier than last time I saw you.”
Tim shrugged. “I unno. Just settling into things, I guess. Sobriety’s good. Work-life balance. A lot of time with friends. New cat.”
“Seeing anyone?”
Tim’s heart stopped. He should have anticipated that question. “Nothing serious.” He managed around his dry mouth. “Few dates here and there, but you know, bachelor life for me.”
He wanted to tell him about Ethan. That he thought he might have met the love of his life; might have what Mark and Marisol had…but, then he’d have to tell Mark he was gay. Mark, who’d never missed mass, said his rosary every Wednesday, just like when they were kids. No, he wouldn’t understand.
“How are things with you? I mean, other than this?”
Mark smiled, then began telling Tim about work, the PhD program he had started the previous January, the girls, Mari’s career. “HuhKuhshoo!” Mark grinned with joy as he sneezed and launched into the new baby on the way.
Tim’s smile came easy, but his heart broke as he kept Ethan his secret. Maybe sometime…just not now. “HuhhHiihtschahh..ihhtscheshh!” A pair of sneezes shook him from his thoughts.
“Bless you. You sure I want the cold medicine…doesn’t seem to be doing much for you.”
“Believe me, it’s helping. You didn’t hear me last night after we went to bed?”
Mark laughed. “Just a few…soundtrack to my slumber. Heard you snoring more.”
“You sleep like the dead.”
“Sharing a room with you…survival skill.”
“Likewise. God, your snoring was the worst!”
“Like yours was that much better.”
“At least mine stopped when the allergies did.”
“For the most part. And mine stopped after surgery. Anyway after kids, I became a pretty light sleeper.” He buried his nose in a tissue and waited. “Kuuh’Shoo!”
Tim followed suit with another double, then looked at his watch. “Cold medicine’s wearing off.”
“I should wake Abie for her neb.” Mark said, but made no move to get off the bed. He sniffled. “I’ll be snoring tonight.” He sighed, losing his ‘n’s in his congestion. He blew his nose to restore them. “Drives Mari nuts.”
“She’s not here. And the NyQuil will help.”
Mark sighed. “Pretty sure we don’t have any. Add a Target run to the list of things I don’t want to do.” He yawned as Abie poked her head in the room.
“I want a snack, daddy.”
He nodded, snatching another tissue. “Kuhhshh. Neb first. I’ll be right there.”
She nodded. “Bless you, daddy.”
“Hey, Abie-O, how about your Uncle Tim helps you with your neb?” At her eager nod he continued, “I gotta go grab some more medicine for me and do something for your dad, and then I’ll be right there.”
She nodded, then ran off to her bedroom. Tim took the cold medicine himself, then brought a dose to Mark. “Sorry to talk through your nap.”
Mark grinned. “Good talk, though.”
“Now rest.”
He went and sat with Abie while her neb ran, showing her YouTube videos of cats doing silly things for 15 minutes, then headed downstairs.
“Hey mom, can you watch the kids for a bit. I need to go to Target, and Mark’s finally sleeping.”
“Finally?” She raised an eyebrow.
“He wanted to talk. I’m just gonna get some cold medicine – he’s got like, none, and some stuff to make soup for dinner.”
She smiled. “Go. There’s one about 10 minutes away. Twins are still sleeping.”
“Abie’s had her neb and snack.”
He looked down as Abie begged to go with him. “I don’t have a car seat, kiddo.”
“Take the van.”
“I don’t wanna wake Mark for the keys.”
His mother laughed, getting up and getting them from the bowl by the door. “I’ll help you get her strapped in.”
“Thanks. Hey mom, I need…” he started, then paused, taking a deep breath. “Can I talk to you later?”
The last day
Tim was packed and waiting by the front door. He’d already said goodbye to Marisol and was saying goodbye to his mom, again.
“You’re gonna see me in like 2 months,” he reminded her, laughing as she hugged him again.
“I know, I know.” She gazed up at him. “I just miss you, is all. I already can’t wait to see you again…and meet…”
“HuhhSHUshhh!” Mark paused on the stairs to sneeze.
“Bless you.” Tim said in unison with his mom. “That was loud.” He finished up.
Mark shrugged, reaching into his robe for his stash of tissues. A long, liquid blow followed. “You would pick an early flight,” he grumbled.
“You only care because you’re sick.”
“Yeah. Remind me to give you strep next year.”
Tim laughed. “Neither of us have tonsihhls..shiihhishhoo…hiitszshoo!”
“Bless you. You eat?”
“Mari and mom fed med. Now get over here and hug me.”
Mark laughed, squeezed him in a bear hug, and once again, Tim wanted to pull him aside, take a minute. His mom thought Mark would understand…he just wasn’t ready to take the risk. He felt Mark pull away, then felt him sneeze as Mark ducked his head into his own shoulder.
“HuhhKushh. Sorry.” Came the sniffle.
“Bless you, sneezy. Back to bed.” The past few days had been rough on Mark; he’d refused to cede control of the house until Mari came home, insisting he be the one up with sick kids. Once they’d outnumbered him, he’d begrudgingly allowed help. And now he was paying for it.
“I’ll call when I get home.” He promised, slipping out the door, not knowing how much would change in a year.
Aggedy Ann 