How my guy "caught" Me by Susan Santangelo
Every day I take the bus to work from the suburbs to the city - it's about a 45 minute ride in total one way. A few years ago, I saw the same guy at the bus station every day. He would try to sit with me or near me on the bus but, never a word was spoken between us. I never gave him much thought beyond the bus stop. One day during a rather wet F
all, I noticed someone a few rows ahead of my normal seating suffering with a fall cold. The following week, the people who sat next to the person and behind the person seemed to have caught it the same cold.
It was a rainy Thursday, it was windy, and my umbrella broke. I was soaked to the bone and the person in front of me had caught this progressive "bus cold". I was doomed. I made it through the weekend without so much as a sniffle or sneeze then on Monday I woke up and within five minutes of showering, I felt chilly. It was again raining, so, I got out my new umbrella and headed to the bus stop. I saw my seat partner and we nodded to each other. As the bus pulled up, I managed to find a huge puddle and step right in it. I was shivering cold at this point and, then without any notice or control I started to sneeze. The guy next to me finally spoke up and said "bless you" and from there a conversation developed. It turned out we had mutual friends and he asked for my number.
Tuesday morning I woke with a sore throat and sniffles but still went to work. The sweet guy I had been ignoring all these weeks came armed with tissues and throat lozenges and I inquired "did you catch a cold too?" He looked me in the eye and he said "no, I got them for you." I was floored. Never before had anyone been so sweet or thoughtful to me. And by then I was developing a raspy cold voice. I must have sneezed 10 times between the bus stop and work, and, he just sat there asking me if there was anything he could do. I got through work on Tuesday later than usual and was feeling pretty miserable as the cold was beginning to break and I was now stuffed up, feverish, along with the sore throat and generally just not feeling well.
Wednesday morning came, and, I felt awful. I had a fever, I hadn't slept the night before because I was so congested and, I was sneezing like crazy. The rain had turned to snow that late Fall day and I called in sick. I heard my doorbell ring, and, I drug myself out of bed to answer it. Who do I find standing there with homemade soup? My seat-mate. He got my address from mutual friends and that's how he found me. I told him if he didn't mind my being sick, I'd love him to come back for dinner that evening which he did.
When my seat-mate came back for dinner that evening he heated the soup, made sure I was warm, and, we cuddled for hours under a blanket as we watched a movie. Of course, I sneezed on him a few times, completely unintentionally, but, when you have a cold, you're going to sneeze. By the end of the evening, he begged for a kiss good night. I warned him he would catch my cold but, his argument was that he was already exposed to me and he probably already had it. How could I argue? It was hard to kiss with a stuffy nose but it was indeed enjoyable. The next morning he had the cold and came over to be sick together. And that's how catching a cold led me to catching a date. Well, more than a date, we've been living together for 3 years now!
Not all colds are bad ones!
all, I noticed someone a few rows ahead of my normal seating suffering with a fall cold. The following week, the people who sat next to the person and behind the person seemed to have caught it the same cold.It was a rainy Thursday, it was windy, and my umbrella broke. I was soaked to the bone and the person in front of me had caught this progressive "bus cold". I was doomed. I made it through the weekend without so much as a sniffle or sneeze then on Monday I woke up and within five minutes of showering, I felt chilly. It was again raining, so, I got out my new umbrella and headed to the bus stop. I saw my seat partner and we nodded to each other. As the bus pulled up, I managed to find a huge puddle and step right in it. I was shivering cold at this point and, then without any notice or control I started to sneeze. The guy next to me finally spoke up and said "bless you" and from there a conversation developed. It turned out we had mutual friends and he asked for my number.
Tuesday morning I woke with a sore throat and sniffles but still went to work. The sweet guy I had been ignoring all these weeks came armed with tissues and throat lozenges and I inquired "did you catch a cold too?" He looked me in the eye and he said "no, I got them for you." I was floored. Never before had anyone been so sweet or thoughtful to me. And by then I was developing a raspy cold voice. I must have sneezed 10 times between the bus stop and work, and, he just sat there asking me if there was anything he could do. I got through work on Tuesday later than usual and was feeling pretty miserable as the cold was beginning to break and I was now stuffed up, feverish, along with the sore throat and generally just not feeling well.
Wednesday morning came, and, I felt awful. I had a fever, I hadn't slept the night before because I was so congested and, I was sneezing like crazy. The rain had turned to snow that late Fall day and I called in sick. I heard my doorbell ring, and, I drug myself out of bed to answer it. Who do I find standing there with homemade soup? My seat-mate. He got my address from mutual friends and that's how he found me. I told him if he didn't mind my being sick, I'd love him to come back for dinner that evening which he did.
When my seat-mate came back for dinner that evening he heated the soup, made sure I was warm, and, we cuddled for hours under a blanket as we watched a movie. Of course, I sneezed on him a few times, completely unintentionally, but, when you have a cold, you're going to sneeze. By the end of the evening, he begged for a kiss good night. I warned him he would catch my cold but, his argument was that he was already exposed to me and he probably already had it. How could I argue? It was hard to kiss with a stuffy nose but it was indeed enjoyable. The next morning he had the cold and came over to be sick together. And that's how catching a cold led me to catching a date. Well, more than a date, we've been living together for 3 years now!
Not all colds are bad ones!
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