Strangers In A Strange Land
by tma

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And So It Begins

I remember the first time I ever saw him. I was in my third year in college and he was one of the upper level history professors. Dr. Hansmeyer. He rather young- the youngest of the faculty by Many years. He was tall and lean, reminding me of a basketball player, except for the thin wire glasses that he wore over his keen blue eyes. He had a mass of wavy reddish brown hair that sat always slightly askew upon his head, never quite submitting to be tamed. He spoke passionately about history and the consequences that could be gleaned from analyzing it. There was always just a note of sarcasm, just a hint of a quip in his manner. He was very methodical. Each day at the start of the class period, he would step up behind the lectern, take off his watch, look at it carefully, and gently lay it down next to his notes. Then, he would turn on the microphone attached to the lectern and begin class. He was taller then most of the other professors- so he always had to lean down a little if he wanted to see his notes. It was a small class so when he asked us questions he'd step out from behind the lectern and meander around the desks. Dr. Hansmeyer had a deep, crisp voice that carried well

I enjoyed his 300 level class called, interestingly enough "The Evolution of the Modern Dictator". I confess that part of my reasoning of choosing to take the course, had to do with the provocative style of the class title. At the college that I went to- course titles like that were very rare.

He was passionate about his topic, and really pushed us to think for ourselves. He'd rather hear a well reasoned argument that he didn't agree with than someone weakly defending a position, just trying to tell him what he "wanted to hear". He always wore the "traditional" professorial tweed jacket with a white shirt, a tie and dress slacks, and always seemed to be very in control of both his class and himself.

One day at the beginning of class, I could tell that something wasn't quite right. His step seemed less deliberate and purposeful. He stepped behind the lectern, turned on the microphone, and started his lecture. Wait a minute, I thought, that isn't right. He plowed through the material diligently enough, though. Except for the occasional subtle sniff, everything seemed fine.

Coming out from behind the lectern, he strode in front of us. "Now, who do you think was the more effective dictator: Stalin, or Hitler? Miss Martin, we will see how closely you've been paying attention." He gave a quick sniff that might have been interpreted by others as derision, although I knew that it wasn't.

"I would say that the most effective dictator style would be a cross between the two."

"How so?" I could by his eyes and the tone of his voice that I had caught him somewhat off guard, but that he was intrigued.

"Well, Stalin had very effective control of his inner circle and with the purges, I am sure that no one would have openly plotted to kill him, and if they had, they wouldn't have gotten away with it." He nodded and sniffed again, fixing his blue eyes intently on me. "However, his image with the commoners wasn't as persuasive as Hitler's was. He didn't rely enough on propaganda to win the affection of the masses." The professor nodded, but his gaze seemed a little unfocused. "To be an effective dictator one must have control of both the general masses and the inner..."

As I was speaking I heard a small gasp that seemed to come from the professor's mouth. "Huh... Heischoo, Huratchoo, Hitchumf." The sneezes were harsh and bent him forward; he had managed to partially stifle the last one in the folds of his handkerchief. Several people in the classroom blessed him, and he murmured a soft, "Excuse me." He looked up at me, his eyes still a little moist from the sneezes and his cheeks a little flushed with embarrassment. "I'm terribly sorry, please continue."

I was a little flustered, I confess. I suppose that I had always found him rather attractive, in an unorthodox fashion. I had never heard him sneeze, and the loss of control that he had just displayed sent shivers down my spine. I heard a small cough, "Um.. Miss Martin. We're waiting."

I started at those words. "I'm sorry, I was just re-collecting my thoughts. One must have subtle but clear control over both the general masses and the inner circle to be an effective dictator."

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Very good. Mr. Stacknick, you have a question?" Dr. Hansmeyer asked with a raised eyebrow, looking toward the back of the classroom, to where a hand was raised, a hand attached to a slumping figure of one of the "ultra conservative" guys in the class. I really am not sure exactly why he was taking this class- unless he felt it his solemn duty to report any "liberal uprisings".

"Um, why do we have to learn about effective dictators? Are you trying to train us to run, like a dictatorism?"

A few of the students chuckled, although I wasn't certain if they were chuckling at the professor's lecture or the student's question. I myself thought the question was rather amusing, especially considering that was basically questioning the whole premise of the course.

He rolled his eyes, and said, "First of all if there was such a thing as a dictatorism, I am certain that you would be a spectacular failure. Sec... ond dof ... all." His breathing was getting shallow and I could tell that he had to sneeze again. I shifted in my seat, and hoped that my cheeks were not starting to turn pink.

He scrubbed at his nose with his handkerchief for a minute, then continued, "Second of all, we learn about his... story so as nah... huht  to ree... pt EISHOO, huh... uh Ishoo, huhAtchoo." As he stood, holding his handkerchief up towards his face, several of the students blessed him again, but I could tell that he wasn't through. His breath was coming in short little pants, and he held up a hand, then resumed the "praying" position. His nose was flaring and his breathing was ragged. For some reason that I couldn't fathom, I was starting to feel like my breathing could get ragged as well.

"Come on" I yelled in my mind, "just sneeze already." It was as if he had heard me, his eyes opened wide and he threw his head back and gave a harsh, "HuRETCHOO" which just about bent him in half with its force. He wiped his eyes again, and apologized. There was a slightly weary look to his eyes now. "Excuse me, so as not to repeat it."

He wrapped up class with the excuse that we evidently could use some extra time to study for the final. I don't think that any of us bought the excuse, but who was going to be stupid enough to argue about getting an extra half an hour of time. Before we left, Dr. Hansmeyer asked to see me after class.

That was surprising. I thought that he only met with students who were having problems in his class, and as far as I knew, I was doing well

Once everyone had filed out, I went down to the lectern where he was sorting through his notes, and putting his papers away into his worn brown leather satchel, sniffing occasionally.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?"

He looked up briefly from what he was doing. "Umm yes, I sniff wanted to talk with you aba... out yah..Ischoo, Eischoo." He sighed as if annoyed with himself, and loosened his tie a bit. "Bless you, sir."

He murmured, an "excuse me" directed mainly towards the floor, then said, "I wanted to talk to you about how you are doing in my class."

"Yes?" I wasn't certain what to make of that. Was I doing so poorly that I was unaware of how poorly I was doing? If so, what would I need to get on my final in order to pass?

"Well, you are an extremely bright young lady, and thus far in the class you have been doing extraordinarily well." He seemed to be hemming and hawing a bit, which made me wonder if there was a "but" to this sentence, and if so, how big?

He started fidgeting with his papers and I could have sworn that his ears had started turning a dull shade of red. "I was just wondering, Miss Martin. I had a position open up. A student transferred, and I was wondering if you would consider being my T.A. second term?"

I was speechless. Wow! Normally the TA's were further along in their studies than I was.  I was beyond flattered. Plus, I must confess, I was not exactly "repulsed" by the idea of working with him on closer terms.

He misread my silence. He rubbed at his nose and sniffed, and continued stiffly "I mean, I'm sure that you have a very active schedule, and it's not the most exciting prah spec eh..Eichoo, heitchoo, Ishoo." He turned away suddenly as he began to sneeze again. Now his ears were scarlet.

"Bless you. No, sir, I am extremely flattered and would be honored to be your assistant." I'm sure that I sounded almost giddy.

He smiled and chuckled quietly. "Good. But one thing that you have to promise me."

"What?"

"You can't keep calling me "sir" you make me feel ancient. Call me Erik, it's much more comfortable."

I grinned, "I suppose I can manage that, but then you need to remember to call me Theresa, and not "Miss Martin"; it makes me feel like a dried up old spinster."

He chuckled. "Well... I suppose that I can try, at least outside of class.  What do you say about meeting over coffee and going over some paperwork to get this thing in order?" Suddenly his face fell, "Hitchoo, Ishoo" they had caught him off guard and he turned and sneezed to the side.

"Bless you. I would, but I think that you probably should go home, you sound like you are feeling horrid."

He shook his head, "I'm fine. I must just sound worse than I feel. But if you have other plans, I could see you tomorrow during office hours."

Hmmm.... Other plans? Plans involving doing homework and straightening out my dorm room. Gee... I think I could put those on hold to spend more time with an intelligent, attractive professor who is obviously coming down with something that elicits many breath-taking sneezes. What a choice.

"No, I didn't have any other plans, coffee sounds nice actually."

"Great. Well, I'll just stop back at my office and grab my coat and then we can take off."

As we stopped by his office, he pointed to a little room just off to the side. "That's where your office will be. Nothing impressive, I know. I think they worried that if your office was any bigger, it would be the same size as mine." He said with a chuckle, gesturing around his rather small office. There were books crammed in every nook and cranny. I glanced at the titles. There were books from a wide array of cultures, concerning numerous time periods. While most were definitely "scholarly tomes"- there were several "popular"-style history books. I wondered about that. Light reading, keeping up on "popular" literature in his field, or books to recommend to students interested in a certain topic? I was curious. Maybe I'd have to ask him about that over coffee.

As I stood gazing at all the titles, he had put on his trench coat and was waiting for me. A slight cough from him awakened me to my surroundings. "I'm sorry." I stammered.

"It's perfectly acceptable. I take it that someone is a "bookworm"?" he quarried with a grin. His blue eyes now seemed to be sparkling. Evidently, I had hit upon another "passion". I nodded.

"I love books. Always have. In fact the biggest punishment that my folks could dish out was to take away all my books." I said with a shy smile.

He nodded. "You probably didn't try the trick of trying to read by the light of the alarm clock when you were supposed to be in bed sleeping. I used to do that and look where it got me." He said tapping his glasses, and glancing at my hazel eyes, which were unencumbered.

"I must have just managed it better than you did." I said with a smile.

"Well, one can't be a scholar..." he paused and blinked a few times, then he shook his head as if to clear it. "Without them, it's a pre-requisite." he said with a wink. It looked like the sneeze was returning. He drew his handkerchief out of his pocket and unfolded it. I could tell what was coming and for some strange reason, my heart sped up. His prominent nose started to twitch and he held up a hand and said, "Ex.. huse... be..Heh Eishoo, Eishoo, huh huh Heratchoo." He turned away to blow his nose.

My mouth felt a little dry. "Bless you." I breathed.

He nodded an acknowledgment and we started toward the coffee shop.

Coffee and Me

We made our way over to the little shop. Erik looked like he was clutching his coat tightly to himself to keep warm. It was pretty chilly, and the wind whipped at our faces.

We got inside and I ordered while Erik cleaned his glasses, then he ordered and we sat down at a little table by the windows. That coffee mug sure felt good in my chilled hands. I noticed that Erik had remembered to wear gloves. They were a nice pair; black leather, and they looked like they were lined with wool. He took them off and rubbed his hands together for a bit before reaching out for his mug. He looked over at me for a moment.

"No gloves, Miss Martin?" he queried with a raised brow and a shake of his head.

I shook my head, "Left them in the apartment, sir."

He made a tsk-tsk sound, "That's not good. By the way, what did I tell you about that?" he asked with a sniff.

"Nearly the same thing that I told you in regards to using my first name." I countered with a bashful grin.

He chuckled, "I suppose you did." And then he sniffed again.

He brought the mug of steaming coffee towards his mouth. Suddenly, he halted, nostrils flaring. As his eyes closed and his breathing hitched, he tried to put the mug down. I knew he'd be unsuccessful, so I took hold of it and gently set it down on the table. He'd managed to pull out his handkerchief in time to meet several harsh, wet sneezes. "HuhRetchoo, Atchoo,... huh... huh Eichoo, Eichoo, ah Hutcumft." He sighed and looked over at me, his blue eyes looking misty and weary. "Thak you. Sniff ‘cuse be." He said congestedly, his cheeks looking a little flush. He turned away and blew his nose.

"Bless you. No problem."

He cleared his throat and pulled out some papers from his briefcase, "These are the forms. Most of them are just so that the college knows what department to bill the hours to, and who to pay. I also made a list of my basic expectations."

"All right," I said not quite ready to get "back to business". When I reached for the papers, our hands touched, and I could have sworn that I had gotten "zapped". Startled by my own reaction, I drew back and dropped the papers.

"Here, let me." He said, bending down on one knee, and scooping them up. He put them in a tidy pile on my side of the table.

"Thank you" I murmured, rather embarrassed. I looked through the papers, and Erik lent me his pen to fill out the forms. I didn't know if he thought I was taking too long, or what, but I caught him looking over at me several times while I was filling things out.

After I was done, sat back and slowly savored my coffee. Not as good as the stuff at home, but still very satisfying.

"I take it that you enjoy a good cup of joe" Erik said with a chuckle.

"Yes, although I miss my favorite shop back East. I'd always get a white chocolate raspberry latte with whipped. That's a little complex for out here." I sighed.

"Yes, even though this stuff is pretty good. It is really hard to find good coffee out here in corn country. You know what else I miss?" he asked conspiratorially, leaning toward me.

"What?" I asked, grinning.

"Ben and Jerry's. Anytime I visit the East Coast, I have to get my "fix"." He said with a wink.

"Me too! Well that and a Real calzone." I said excitedly. "I hadn't realized that you were an East Coaster as well." I was pleasantly surprised. Although I enjoyed college life, being in a small rural community was really a hard adjustment sometimes. I felt like a square peg. I realized that he was able to understand parts of my life that nobody around this rural college town seemed able to.

"Oh yes. Studied in D.C. and lived for many years in New England."

"Beautiful country up there." I commented appreciatively. I hadn't been up there much, but I remembered the rolling hills and breathtaking fall colors. So different from the endless flatness and dearth of trees around here.

"Yes" he said wistfully. "I admit sniff occasionally I do feel sniff rather nos... tall... gi Hureichoo, Hatchoo, Heichoo.:" he shuddered a little.

Although I somehow enjoyed watching Erik sneeze- the look of anticipation, the loss of control; I really didn't want him to feel miserable. I was really starting to feel bad for him.

"Sir... er Erik" I corrected, "I was thinking... I do have all the paperwork done if you need to go home."

"I'm fide" he cleared his throat. "Fine. Maybe I'm coming down with a bit of something." He conceded, at a look from me "but I'm really all right." He looked outside, the sky had grown darker. "You might want to start heading back though, looks like it might start to rain."

I nodded. He stood up and helped me into my coat. That was definitely a treat that I wasn't used to. He accomplished it with such practiced ease, I could tell that it was a long ingrained habit.

"Thank you for joining me, and getting the paperwork out of the way. I'll see you in class on Wednesday, for the final, and in the office on Thursday. We'll probably just go over a few things with grading essays, I'll probably have you take a look at a few past essays and such."

"That sounds terrific." I smiled. "Thanks so much for the coffee."

"Don't mention it."

As I walked outside, the wind hit me full force. I put my hands in my coat pockets to keep them warm. There was something in them though. I pulled out, to my astonishment, Erik's leather gloves. I turned around to find him and protest that he needed them more than I did, but he had hurried off in the other direction. Too far to catch him. Well, I thought, I guess I'll be visiting the office sooner than I anticipated.

The Gloves

The next day I stopped by Erik's office to drop off the gloves. I knocked on the door, firmly enough to be heard, but not obnoxiously loud. I waited; nothing. I thought that maybe I'd just leave the gloves on his desk. I tried the door and it was unlocked. I quietly went in and set the gloves down on the desk. I was about to leave when I heard a congested snore. It took me by surprise, since I thought the office was empty. I yelped.

"Whad? Who's dere?" Erik said sleepily.

"I'm... I'm sorry." I stammered.

He adjusted his glasses and focused his eyes and looked at me in confusion, "Whad are you sniff doing here?" he asked in a puzzled and congested voice.

"I knocked, but nobody answered. I just opened the door to drop off your gloves."

"Gloves?" he questioned with a congested sniff.

"From yesterday, after the coffee shop."

"Oh yes." He chuckled, which turned into a coughing spasm. I opened my bottled water and handed it to him. He drank it, then sighed. "Thank you." Then his reddened nostrils began to flare and he reached into his back pocket, for his handkerchief "huh, huh Eichoo, Eichoo, Huretchoo, Hutchoo." He sighed again and leaned back in the chair, looking exhausted.

"Bless you. Not feeling well?" I asked. I know, dumb question, but I didn't know what else to say.

He sniffed and ran his hand down the length of his face. "I suppose I've felt better." He coughed into his fist; a harsh barking cough. Then he carefully took another sip of water.

"I know that I've seen you looking better." I confirmed.

"Gee thanks." He said with a sniff.

I happened to look down at the desk and I noticed that Erik's hands were trembling. "Are you cold?" I asked, concerned. His cold definitely sounded worse.

"A lit- ttle bit." He said, teeth chattering slightly. "It's just the heating, or lack thereof in the building."

I didn't buy that line, but I decided to let it go. "I could make some good chicken soup" I offered.

He shook his head and sniffed, "oh do, I woddent wand do pud you oud. Sniff" he blushed and turned his chair to the side to blow his nose.

I thought that it was kind of cute, the way his voice, normally strong and crisp, softened and was made more "rounded" while congested. I could tell though that it embarrassed him to no end.

"It definitely wouldn't put me out." I insisted. "Particularly after you were so nice as to lend me your gloves yesterday."

"Ah, but I only did that for my own selfish reasons." He said with a little smirk. "If you had gotten frostbite, you wouldn't have been able to type for me."

"I see. So purely mercenary reasons?" He nodded.

"Well, I suppose that will make me rethink as to whether to thank you or not." I said with a grin, then asked. "Did you bring your car to campus? I brought mine, and I could at least offer you a lift home."

I could see that he was mentally weighing the options, and was realizing that he had taken too long for me to buy into the idea that he had brought his car. He shook his head. "I'b fid" he insisted with a congested sniff.

"You definitely are not 'fid'" I insisted.

A spark of annoyance flashed in his blue eyes and I could tell that he wanted to respond. He started to open his mouth, then blinked a few times, threw his head back and succumbed to a sneezing fit. They kept coming, barely allowing him time to breathe in between. I had a pack of tissues in my purse. I grabbed a handful, and pressed them into Erik's hands, in between sneezes. Erik shakily accepted them, holding them up to his face as he finished sneezing. Then he quickly blew his nose, and tossed them away.

"Bless you!" I exclaimed, startled, and yet strangely excited. "You were going to say?" I asked, head cocked to the side.

"Umm... cough Thank you." He murmured softly. His ears had turned scarlet for the second time in as many days.

"You're welcome. And the other part of what you were going to say I am certain was, 'Certainly, I would love a ride.'" I was a little worried that I was "pushing" it, but he sounded awful and I knew that he generally walked to classes.

He started to chuckle. "I was, was I?" he queried with a raised eyebrow, and a little smirk. "And here I thought that I would have added something about that being a very thoughtful offer."

My face felt like it was on fire. I'm sure that I was starting to blush.

He continued with a twinkle in his eyes, "But evidently, that wasn't what I had been about to say. Evidently, I am not quite as polished as I thought I was. I guess I'll just have to work on that." He said with a wink. "Let me sniff just get a few things together and sniff I'll be right with you."

"Not a problem. Let me know if I can help at all."

He started gathering up his papers, sniffling softly every so often. Then he suddenly took out his handkerchief. His breathing had started to become unsteady. He lifted the handkerchief up toward his face, and closed his eyes, and seemed to be waiting expectantly. I knew that I was. He stood frozen like that for several seconds that stretched out indefinitely for me. Then he shook his head as if to clear it, and continued to gather up papers. Suddenly, he looked over at me. "You do realize that I do appreciate this? You really don't ha... hav..." The sneeze seemed to be returning. He barely managed an "exhuse be" before four harsh, wet sneezes overtook him. "Hureitchoo, Eishoo, Eishoo, HuhReitchoo" He mumbled an apology.

"Bless you. Thank you." I said hoping that it wouldn't come out sounding odd. "It's really not a problem."

"Thanks. I'm about ready here, so if you are certain that you don't mind, I can head out whenever you are ready." He said closing his briefcase and grabbing his coat.

"I don't mind at all. Let's get you back home."

The directions to Erik's house were basic and I found the simple white colonial with hunter trim around the windows in no time.

"Well here we are. Sorry to be a Ba.. Eishoo, excuse me, bother. Thank you." He said, hurrying out of the car and scurrying into the house. I had barely gotten out "Bless you. No problem. You're welcome.", before he was ensconced inside the house.

As I drove away I felt a little deflated. I don't know what I had expected. I guess I had really been half- hoping to be invited in for a bit. I knew the chances of that were slim to nil, but still I had thought that maybe... All that I knew was that I enjoyed his wit and his company and today's visit had seemed far too short.

I decided to make some chicken soup anyway, once I had finished the rest of my classes for the day, and some studying. I thought that I'd just "drop and run". I figured that it might help, at least a little. Besides, I was sure that he wouldn't refuse it after it had already been made.

The Inner Sanctum

I drove back to the house that evening. I was a little nervous as I went up the walk and rang the doorbell. Erik answered the door. His hair was a little tousled, and he was wearing a navy cable knit sweater and a pair of khakis. Evidently this was "dressed down" for him, I thought with a smile. "Come on in." he said with a grin. I was a bit confused at the response, but delighted nonetheless. I handed him the container of soup. Erik thanked me and grabbed a couple of soup mugs. He paused to sneeze, "huh Eishoo... ah Ishoo... Eishoo" They weren't nearly as harsh as they had been earlier. At least that was good.

"Bless you."

"Thanks." He poured the soup into both mugs. "I was just sitting down to watch an old Bond flick, but I can put something else on, if that's a bit chauvinistic for you."

I thought that his voice seemed a little lilting and a little faster than normal, but I wasn't quite sure why.

"No. I'm sure it probably sets gender roles back a couple of decades, but I love to watch Bond films. Cool cars, fast chases, and nifty gizmos, what's not to love?" I grinned.

He placed a mug and spoon on either side of the coffee table. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Just point me to your glasses, and I'll grab some water. Are you going to have anything?"

Erik chuckled. "I'll just finish what I have, but thank you."

We sat down to watch the movie. I noticed that he seemed less congested. Guess the soup wasn't necessary. I was still shocked at the fact that I had been invited into the inner sanctum, let alone invited to watch a video.

As we were watching the movie, Erik started to sniff, then stifle a yawn. A little later he got up, grabbed his handkerchief and started to walk away. "Huh Reichoo, heichoo, heichoo, huh ah Reichoo" I felt bad, I knew that he only walked away to try to "keep it down" for me to be able to watch.

"Bless you" I called.

"I'm... I'm sorry." He stammered, starting to flush.

"It's all right. I've seen this one before. Besides, it's your house, and you're sick. You don't need to put yourself out for me. Honestly, don't worry about it." I said with a reassuring smile.

"All right." He meekly sat back down on the sofa.

It seemed as though Erik kept glancing over at me during the movie. Maybe gauging my reaction to see if I had been lying about liking the movie. I knew why I kept looking over toward him. But those reasons were my own. Toward the end of the movie, Erik said, "I think the movie and the drink are starting to get to me." He sighed and sniffed congestedly.

"What do you mean?" I questioned anxiously  "What are you drinking? I can leave if you need me to. I don't want to be a bother."

Erik moved closer and smiled slowly. "First of all, you are not a bother. You may leave whenever you wish, but I am certainly not anxious to see you leave." His smile broadened, "And as for what I've been drinking; hot toddies, which I've just realized may not have mixed well with the cough syrup that I took earlier."

That explains a lot, I thought. I was about to say that I would go, but Erik held up his hand and said, "Don't get me wrong. I am not drunk, just a little buzzed." He sniffed and drew closer to me. His voice was husky and was it my imagination, or was he staring at my lips?

"However, I must confess that my will to resist beautiful, intelligent undergrads is fading sniff rapidly."

I had to remind myself to breathe. This couldn't be reality. His hand gently caressed the side of my face, and drew me close to him. I could feel his breath, warm and ragged on my face. Then he drew in and tenderly kissed my lips. His lips were full, warm, and sensual. He drew closer, looking to kiss me again, when suddenly he closed his eyes, threw back his head and sneezed, "heEichoo, Atchoo, huh Reichoo" he had tried to turn his head completely away, but a very light, dry mist grazed my arm.

His face was scarlet. "I'm terribly sorry. Excuse me. I didn't mean... that is... I'm really very sorry." He stammered, grabbing a towel and "drying" me off.

"Bless you. It's all right. You're sick. You couldn't help it." I thought that Erik couldn't look more adorable if he had tried. His reddish brown hair was dishelved, his blue eyes were a mix of desire and embarrassment. His cheeks were flushed and his nose was slightly pink. He was sniffing occasionally, and his breathing was rather ragged. He ran his fingers through his hair. I could tell that he was trying to pull himself together. I just wanted to pull him close and not let him go.

"I can't." he whispered; though to what he was referring to I wasn't sure. He shook his head, and then he started to shiver slightly.

"Here." Before he had realized what I was doing, I gently laid my hand on his forehead. "You're really warm. You need to lie down. Let me get you some aspirin. When's the last time you took anything?"

Erik chuckled at my concern, and ending up having a coughing spasm. When he finished, he took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. Since he hadn't had anything with aspirin in for several hours, I got him some aspirin and water. When I brought the glass and pills over to the couch where Erik was bundled up under a couple of blankets, he had already taken off his glasses and was lying back against a pillow.

When I neared the couch, he turned toward me with a smile. "Thank you."  As I went to hand him the glass, he held up a hand, the other reaching desperately into his back pocket. He shakily brought the handkerchief to his face, "Eichoo, huh.. huh Eishoo, Hatchoo huh Reitchoo." After the final harsh sneeze had rocked his body forward, Erik paused to wipe at his watery eyes and blow his nose. Then he sat back and sighed.

"Bless you! Here you are." I said, handing him first the pills, then the water. He carefully sipped at the water and gingerly swallowed the pills. I knelt down next to Erik as he lay back against the pillow.

"Thank you." He said, grabbing hold of my hand with his, "for everything."

I nodded, and swallowed hard against the lump forming in my throat. I slowly leaned over and gently kissed his still warm forehead, and went to get my coat. Erik stifled a yawn, and made a move to get up.

I shook my head. "Don't even think about it. I'll be fine, and I'll see you tomorrow. It will be my last official day as your student."

Erik looked confused; then he got a panicked look on his face. "That's right. The final is tomorrow. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to keep you from your studies." He said apologetically.

"That's all right. I figured that I'd do this for the automatic A."

The look on his face was a mix of puzzlement, hurt, and anger. He was about to say something, when he noticed my wink.

"Gotcha." I said with a smirk. "That was for the remark about lending me your gloves to keep me typing."

It took a minute, then his blue eyes cleared, and he shook his head, a bemused smirk on his face. "I suppose I deserved that. Rest assured, I will be ruthless."

I smiled, and started to leave. "Have a pleasant evening Miss Martin." He said with a wink. I almost corrected him, but instead I shook my head and walked back to the car.

I could still his lips on mine. Warm and slightly raw. How could such a brief, chaste kiss seem to elicit such a response from me, and make me warm all over. I would be glad when I was official no longer his student. I sent up a silent prayer of thanks to the gods of alcohol for providing enough leverage of Erik's inhibitions so as to make tonite possible. I knew that completely stone cold sober, this never would have happened.

Beautiful... he had said I was beautiful. And intelligent. I almost soared home, heart doing somersaults, mind replaying the events of the evening. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.

Finals and Other Things that Make One Feel Unwell

Evidently I spoke too soon. I woke up the next morning feeling horrible. I popped a couple Halls into my mouth and discovered that I needed a decongestant as well. I blew my nose and took my pills. I threw on some sweats and glanced in the mirror as I pulled back my long wavy brown hair into a ponytail. After last night I had been hoping to look nice, but the way that I was feeling, I'd settle for comfortable.

As I walked to his class, I wondered if I would notice if anything had changed between Erik and myself. As I walked over to him to pick up my test, I felt the tickle in my nose, intensify. I raised my hand to rub my nose, when they suddenly hit, "ishoo, huh Hitchoo, Eishoo" I didn't have time to get my tissues out of my purse, so I had sneezed into the crook of my arm. I glanced up, through slightly watery eyes to see Erik handing me the test.

"Bless you, Miss Martin." He said evenly as he handed me the paper.

"Dak you sir." I sniffed, blushing, and took my seat. I took my tissue pack out and blew my nose. Than I started on my test. It was hard to concentrate with my head as congested as it was. Either the decongestant hadn't kicked in yet, or it was pretty ineffective. I had to stop every so often to sneeze or blow my nose into one of my rapidly disappearing tissues. At least Erik seemed to be feeling a lot better. I only heard a few stifled sneezes that seemed to come from his direction. Although, I will admit to having been distracted by the test.

I sniffed as I studied the essay question. My throat was starting to feel sore. I hastily grabbed for my water bottle, managing to spill some on the few remaining tissues I had left. I shook my head in dismay, and gingerly sipped the water to ease the ache in my throat. I was almost finished with the essay when my nose started to itch again. Great! I tried scrubbing at my nose with a knuckle. No good. I tried looking through my purse in hopes of a stray tissue or two. Nothing. My breathing was ragged and my eyes were being to tear a little from trying not to sneeze. I looked down at my desk in dismay, and there was a clean, white, pressed handkerchief lying on my desk. Hurriedly I picked it up, "huh Huptchoo.. Itchoo huh.. uh Eishoo" I sighed and gently blew my nose.

I finished the essay and went to hand in my test. I was the last one done. Evidently my cold was really slowing me down. Usually I was one of the first ones done with the tests. Erik was busy grading papers. As I came forward, I started to feel a little dizzy, the room got a little blurry.

"Sit down." Erik barked out.

I looked at him in confusion.

"Sit down before you fall down." He repeated, more gently this time.

I handed him my paper and shakily took a seat at a desk.

"Better?" he quarried, looking at me intently.

I nodded, my nose itching, "huh Eishoo hit..Choo huh... ah Itshoo" I sneezed into the handkerchief.

"Bless you. Let me get you some aspirin." He said, going over to his briefcase.

"But... how...?" I questioned. How had he known?

"You've been holding your head, and squinting a little. Plus I'm sure that after that final you finished taking..." he finished with a wink, and an amused little smirk.

"Here it is." He announced pulling it out of his case. He started back toward me, then he slowed down, and blinked a couple of times. I could see it coming, and suddenly I felt a little less miserable. He grabbed for a handkerchief, but seemed to come up empty handed. He cupped his hands to his face, as his eyes closed and head titled back. "eh.Hetchoo.. HuReitchoo..Eichoo" he cleared his throat, "excuse me" he said, shaking his head.

"How are you doing?" I quarried with a sniff.

He chuckled, "Quite a question coming from someone who nearly tripped over a desk and broke her neck." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Here." He said, handing me a couple of aspirin. The warmth from his hand flooded my body.

"Thanks." I said shyly. I took out my water bottle and gingerly swallowed the aspirin.

"Throat feel raw?" he asked, sympathetically.

I was about to speak, when he said, "A nod or shake of your head will suffice."

I smiled and nodded.

"Well hopefully you're feeling a bit steadier on your feet?" he quarried.

I nodded again, and taking that as a hint that I should leave now, I started to get up and gather my things to go home.

"Where do you think your going?"

I stopped, puzzled, "Hob... " My voice started to hitch, "I been to by ca.. eh Eishoo, Eishoo Hitchoo, Itschoo, Huptchoo" I sneezed wetly into the handkerchief, partly stifling the last one. I felt my face turning red, and I turned away to blow my nose.

"Bless you. I would say that you are not in any condition to drive yourself home. Allow me. That is if you trust my driving abilities." He said with a little grin.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" I said in a small voice. All I really felt like doing was taking more cold medicine and sleeping- for a very long time.

"Not at all." He assured me. "Just wait here for a minute, I'll grab my coat, and take you home."

I nodded.

He quickly came back and we were on our way. Erik was very quiet on the way to my apartment, but I noticed that he would glance over at me every so often. As we were pulling into the driveway, I felt another sneeze coming. I blinked a couple of times; it was still there. I couldn't pull out the handkerchief in time, so I just threw my head back and sneezed into the crook of my arm. "Heishoo, HEHeishoo, HITchoo, Eishoo" I sighed. And leaned my head against the coolness of the windowpane.

"Bless you. Well, I think we're here. Get some sleep, all right?" he said. He looked at my intently, some unreadable emotion in his gaze. He swallowed and cleared his throat. Then handed me back the keys.

"Thank you." I said, "I really appreciated this." I said looking over at Erik, who was fiddling with his seat belt.

He coughed, then said, "Not a problem in the least. Now you had better rest up, all right?"

I nodded. "ok."

Secret Admirers

I took some cold medicine and slept for four hours straight. And woke up completely congested. I went to go get some more, when my roommate called me over. "Theresa, you got mail." She said with a wink. I looked on the table for a letter. I didn't see any. "Hon, the flowers in the center of the table- they are for you." She said, and chuckled.

I blushed, "Sorry. Sniff I dess I can't tik rid wid dis sniff cold"

"I figured. Open the card though- I am dying to find out who they are from."

The flowers were gorgeous. A beautiful display of lilies and roses. My two absolute favorite flowers. The lilies were a deep burgundy and the roses were a pure white. I would have to try to smell them after I took some more medicine, as I couldn't smell a thing.

My hand shakily went to the card. A bold masculine script. "Hope these will serve as a pick-me-up. Get well soon." There was no signature. But I had a fairly good idea.

"Who are they from?" questioned by roommate.

"I'm not sure." I answered truthfully, "the card wasn't signed."

She sighed. "That is so romantic. You have a secret admirer."

I figured that it would be best to leave the subject there. Technically, there is nothing wrong with a former (as of today) prof. Sending flowers (if it was him), but I knew that there would be questions and raised eyebrows and I didn't feel like dealing with either, especially as I felt miserable.

She went over to do some chores and I took more medicine. Then I decided to look up one of my papers for Erik's class. Yup. Identical. I started to feel much better; I hadn't been sure how he felt before, or if things were completely in my imagination. I couldn't wait to go into his office tomorrow. Maybe I'd bring in the flowers and not say anything about them. See if he says anything. I know... I am bad. I suppose that I have to own up to the fact that I am a hopeless romantic.

Mysteries Revealed

I went into the office the next day- I was still a little congested but I felt a lot better than I did the other day. I started working on correcting papers. I had a question about a few things though- so I opened the connecting door to see if Erik was in. He was sitting at his desk, nose in a book, completely absorbed. I hesitated. "Hmmm..... Sir" I managed weakly. I left the door open, thinking that it would just be a minute.

He started a bit and gazed up at me. He smiled, shoved a piece of paper in the book and gestured to a chair. "Yes?" he questioned. I showed him what I had questions on and he nodded, but then said, "Before I give you any answers, I need one from you. How are you feeling? Am I going to have the student union down my throat?" he quipped.

I flushed a little, and looked down towards my shoes. Suddenly my nose started to itch. Talk about horrible timing. "I'm fi... huh fine" I managed. He continued to look at me with a raised eyebrow. "Now, can we get bah ck to... eishoo, Itschoo, huh.. hitchoo" I quickly turned and sneezed into the crook of my arm.

"Bless you."

"Thank you. I really do feel better" I protested.

"I'm sure that you do, but you are still leaving at noon." He chuckled, and came around to the other side of the desk to look at the problems.

As he was going through the process of explaining to me his criteria for essay questions- I noticed that he started to sniff. Then he scrubbed at his nose a few times. I kept watching. His eyes started to close and he held up a hand and grabbed his handkerchief. "Ratchoo, Atchoo, huh Hatchoo, Eishoo" and he continued. I waited for him to finish, but I needed to sneeze. I took in a shaky breath just as I heard him take in another shaky breath. "Eishoo, huhEishoo" I sneezed, almost at the same time as his last two harsh sneezes "Heishoo, HuhRetchoo".

He sighed a little and wiped his eyes with his handkerchief. "Bless you." He said.

"Bless you." I responded. "Are you all right?" I questioned.

He nodded and tried to go back to work, but soon had the "pre-sneeze" expression on his face. He wrinkled his nose slightly. "There's some... thing huh Eischoo, HitChoo, Heischoo ugh... excuse be." He said congestedly, his face turning pink.

"Bless you." I walked over and laid my hand against his forehead. It was cool.

"I know that I'b nod sick. " he insisted as he blew his nose, and walked closer to the open doorway. "There just something that is bu... huh..." his beautiful blue eyes started to tear slightly and he blinked. His breathing was ragged and he hovered on the edge of a sneeze until I thought that I would collapse. He shook his head, "gone. Or.... N..ah tshoo, Heishoo, Retchoo, Heishoo, hitchmf" he managed to stifle the last in the folds of his handkerchief. "I'm sorry. I'm not sure what the problem is," he said with a rueful smile.

"Are you allergic to anything?" I quarried.

"Flowers can do me in pretty good. " he admitted with a blush and shake of his head, "But as it is winter.... and.... Huh dere's " his breath came in short little pants, I just wanted to take him and kiss him until his lips were as flushed as his nose. "Eichoo, Hitchoo, Eishoo"

Then I had a thought. "Bless you. Oh no!" I ran over to the connecting door and shut it, and took him by the arm- down the hall- "Is that better" I questioned.

He looked at me with a puzzled look, then tested the air- "Yeah, I think so... Yes that is better. Thank you."

"I'm sorry." I murmured and am sure that I turned bright red.

"For what?" he questioned.

"I received some flowers the other day and I brought them in to sit on my desk- I left the connecting door open- I'm sorry." I said hurriedly, afraid to look at him.

He chuckled, a deep, rich sound that made me feel warm all over. "I see. Well, you didn't know. " He began to study the floor. "So I take it that the flowers made a good impression?"

Well even though it wasn't an affirmative answer that he had sent them- I figured it was close enough. What happened next, I still can't explain. Maybe I was running a slight fever; maybe I was addled by the combination all the feelings that he had stirred up in me. I'm not sure. But I drew in close, and said, "They made a great impression, thank you." Then I stood on tiptoes next to him and gently kissed his lips.

What Have I Done

Immediately I came to my senses and realized what I had done, and ran back into my little office and locked the door. I was humiliated. I can't believe that I had actually kissed him. I put my head in my hands and waited for the ground to open up and swallow me.

Tears started to roll down my cheeks and I knew that I was blushing furiously. I hastily scrubbed at my cheeks with my hands, and sniffed. My nose was starting to tickle again. I quickly reached for a tissue from the box on my desk, "eishoo, huh.... EhHishoo, HutCHoo, Ishoo." I sighed and blew my nose. I felt miserable, depressed, and foolish all at the same time.

I heard tentative knocking at the door. "Umm... Miss Martin?" I ignored him, hoping that maybe he'd go away. I couldn't deal with a speel about how he was flattered but didn't feel the same way, etc, etc. I put my coat on- the room was freezing.

I must have been focused on my papers, because I didn't hear him unlock the door. He cleared his throat and I spun around. I tried for nonchalance. "Did you need sombthing." I turned to blow my nose, it was hard to keep up the act while congested.

His blue eyes flashed. He knew exactly what I was up to and he wasn't going to let me get away with it. "Yes, we need to re.... Resolve sob things, huh... Eishoo, Hatchoo, Ishoo, HuRetchoo" he sneezed forcefully into his handkerchief, having stretched out one arm to lean against the wall to support himself. The flowers were already starting to bother him. I felt bad, but I really didn't know that I was up to discussing things.

"Bless you. I don't know that we do. I apologize. I made a mistake. It won't happen again" I said as my teeth started to chatter slightly. I turned back to my work.

"Yes we do." He said spinning my chair around so that I was facing him. The movement drew him even closer to the flowers, and his breathing immediately started to become shaky. He didn't even have time to grab his handkerchief- just sneezed quickly into the crook of his arm, "Ratchoo, hahATchoo, Atchoo, Eishoo." His eyes were starting to water and they looked miserable and tired, but determined nonetheless.

"Bless you." I whispered.

He ignored the remark, and "cut to the chase". "I want you to hear be oud sniff.... Whad ha... Eishoo... Eishoo, happened back dere... Itshoo, HahTshoo was a mistade?" He struggled to maintain his composure, but the flowers were really irritating him. His face was flushed and he didn't seem to care about the fact that he was all congested. He was intent on presenting his "case" and finding out what was going on.

"Yes" I said with a sniff.

I could have sworn that disappointment flashed briefly in his eyes before the "in control" mask took over. "I see." He looked over at me, and his mouth opened, as if to ask me something, but instead he started sneezing again. After a huge fit of about 11 in a row with barely time to breathe, he wiped his eyes and came closer. Before I knew what he was up to he had placed his hand on my forehead. "Just whad I thoud." He murmured. "Comb on." He said, dragging me by the hand, out of the room.

"What are you do.. ing ishoo, huh eishoo, hitchoo, hitchoo" I paused to sneeze into my cupped hands.

"Bless you. Regardless of what you think of me, you are burning up. You need to be home. Hutchoo, Eishoo. Excuse me. Now." His tone was completely "in charge" and I knew that he would book no arguments about it.

"Y-yes sir." I said, my eyes lowered.

"Do you have someone to give you a ride, or shall I take you home?" he asked crisply.

"I can try my roomate" After everything that had happened I didn't want to feel more in his debt.

I tried... just my luck, she wasn't there. I called a few more friends. Where was everybody? "I c-can wait." I said, hanging my head, trying to avoid looking at him.

"No. Waiting is not an option." Then more gently, "here take these." He said, handing me a couple of aspirin.

"Thank you." I murmured, and gingerly swallowed the pills with some water.

"I had a meeting in another town earlier today, so I actually have my car on campus. Come on."

I felt too sick to protest. I just nodded my head wearily, and got in his car.

Tea and Sympathy

I must have fallen asleep. The next thing that I know, I was lying on the sofa under some blankets at my apartment. "Whad dis going od?" I asked, and struggled to get out from under the covers.

A pair of strong, masculine hands, held my shoulders. "Not so fast." It was Erik. He was still here.

"Bud whad???" then my nose started to tickle, I didn't know where the tissues were. Suddenly, there I had a small handful. "Eishoo, Eischoo, Hitchoo, huh... ah... " it was stuck. I lay back against the pillow.

"You aren't going anywhere; you are far too sick. I brought you in, using the keys in your purse. And since your roommate isn't in. I am staying till she gets back." He explained matter-of-factly.

"You brought me in and got everything set for me?" I quarried in amazement. There were tissues, cough drops, cold medicine, a mug with a tea bag in. They were all neatly organized on the coffee table.

"Ummm... yes, it needed to get done, and nobody else was around." He said looking at the floor. Then quickly changing the subject, "would you like some tea- I managed to find the honey and can put some in if you'd like."

"That wou... EISHOO, huh Ishoo, Ishoo" there it came, along with two more. I didn't have time to get out a tissue, so I turned my head quickly into my elbow.

"Bless you."

I started to blush. "Thank you. That would be wonderful."

He started to walk away. My heart was once again full of warmth and happiness. Even if he didn't feel the same way--he deserved better than how I had reacted earlier. I needed to tell him the truth. I owed him that much. "Erik?" I said in a horse whisper.

He turned around, and came over to the sofa. "Yes?" he asked, looking at me intently.

"I didn't mean what I said before...."

Before I could finish, he had pressed a finger to my lips. "Shhh.... Don't talk unless you need to. You need to rest."

I nodded- my eyes filling up with tears. I watched him look at me, with almost a frightened look in his eye. He wasn't sure what to do. Finally he made up his mind. He gently put his arms around me and held me close. "It's alright. Everything will be fine." He told me in a calm and soothing tone, as he gently rubbed my back. After a little while- he pulled away and looked at my face, streaked with tears. He grabbed a tissue and wiped them away. "Please don't cry." He said in a "choked" voice. Then he cleared his throat and lightly patted me on the back. "Everything will be alright. I'll go make your tea. It will help you feel better."

He came back with the tea. I gave him a grateful smile and started to drink it. It felt smooth, warm, and good on my sore throat. I looked over at Erik who was looking at me with a mixture of concern and uncertainty. I wasn't quite certain what to do either.

"Would you like anything to drink, or anything", I asked. That seemed to relax him and he laughingly shook his head.

"Tsk, Tsk, I don't think so ... you are not allowed to "play hostess"- at least till you're feeling better."

I nodded and sniffed. I wondered to myself if there would ever be a time in the future where I would be able to "play hotess" to him. I sneezed twice, "eischoo, heh.. eischoo" and shivered a little.

"Bless you." He said as he came over to the couch. He laid a gentle hand on my back. "Are you sure that you are warm enough?"

I nodded and stifled a yawn. "Come on" he prodded- "you need to sleep. I could try lecturing you about post WWI American Isolationism?" he said with a little smirk, blue eyes twinkling merrily.

I smiled in return. "But I might think that that was interesting, then I'd have to ask you plenty of questions and I'd never get to sleep. Besides, how could anyone refuse a personal lecture?" I countered with a grin and a couple of sniffs.

"You'd be surprised.... Huh Hutchoo, Heischoo, HuptChoo, Hptmf" he turned away suddenly as he sneezed into his cupped hands, managing to stifle the last one.

"Bless you. Are you sure that you are feeling better?" I quarried skeptically.

He blushed and nodded. "I'm fine" but a little shiver betrayed him.

I doubted that. After all it hadn't been that long ago that he had definitely not be well, and running around trying to make sure that I was alright wasn't necessarily going to help. I figured that if I could get him to take it easy things would be better all the way around.

"Sometimes watching a movie helps me sleep." I offered.

Erik brightened. "Where do you keep them? Anything that you feel like watching in particular?"

I blushed and said slowly, "I know that this might sound silly, but I'd love to see "The Princess Bride"."

"Not a problem. That's fine. As long as you get some sleep." He got it out and put the tape in the VCR and started it for me.

My nose was tickling again. I scrubbed at nose, but it didn't go away. Erik handed me a couple of tissues, I nodded my thanks, and gave in to four harsh sneezes.

"Bless you. Do you need an extra blanket or anything else?"

I shook my head, and Erik went over to the table and started working on papers. I really wanted him to come over and lie with me on the couch, but I couldn't think of how to ask him. Somehow the couch felt a little empty without him.

A Comfortable Place on the Couch

I watched the movie, but my eyes kept straying over to the table. I caught a few glimpses that told me that despite what he might assert that Erik was not feeling up to par. Little sniffs and shivers, and the occasional messaging of his temples.

I looked down at my mug of tea. It was almost gone. I was still a little thirsty. Since Erik was still correcting papers, and I didn't want to bother him, I got up and started toward the kitchen. I was a little unsteady on my feet, but I could manage. I slunk by Erik on the way toward the kitchen, fortunately he was too absorbed to notice. There was still enough water in the kettle, and I was able to warm it up enough without setting off the kettle to whistling. I was carrying it back to the couch when I started to get a little dizzy. I swayed a bit, then before I knew what was happening my mug was placed on the table, and I was scooped up and brought over to the couch.

My long, wavy hair must have been brushing too much into his face, irritating his already pinkened nostrils. He turned his head and sneezed twice, "heh... Eckshoo... HuTchoo".

He placed me on the couch, then caught my chin in his hand, and turned my face to his. Anger, concern, and some other hidden emotion blazed within the depths of his blue eyes- which had turned dark and cloudy.

"Why did you get up?" he ground out, as if talking to a recalcitrant student. Before I could respond, he stated, "You are running a fever. You need to stay on the couch. Do you understand?"

Being sick tends to make me a bit overemotional. I bit my lip and nodded as my eyes started to prick and fill with tears. Then suddenly I sneezed. Three quick little "chuh's " in a row, and a couple of tears managed to spill down my cheeks. I turned and angrily wiped at my eyes- I hated to get like this.

"Bless you" suddenly his voice became soft and gentle. "There now, drink up." I obediently took a few sips. I didn't know how to ask him to stay by me without sounding overly demanding, whiny, and/or pathetic. Thankfully, he spared me the trouble.

"Do you just need someone to sit with for a while?" he asked.

I nodded my head, but then added, "If it'd be alright. I know that you have work to do."

"It's alright; I needed a break anyway. This just provides me with an excuse." He stretched, then his nose started to wrinkle a bit. He sniffed twice as he reached for his handkerchief, then drew it up to his face. He drew in a shaky breath, "hehhh " Then he froze, eyes blinking, nose wrinkling furiously. Suddenly he threw back his head and succumbed. "Eikchoo, uh eikchoo, huRetchoo chmpt." His face started to get a bit pink.

"Bless you. You sound like you might be able to use a rest."

"Well... perhaps." He slightly conceded. Wanting to change the subject, he asked, "Would you like another blanket- it seems a bit chilly. I'm sure that you must be cold."

I could tell that he was running a fever by what he had asked, and by the little beads of sweat on his forehead.

I shook my head a little. "I'm not too bad. This blanket is really big. Would you mind sharing with me- I'm sure that we'll be warm enough." I couldn't resist adding "I promise not to get you sick." But ruined the effect by sneezing twice into my cupped hands. "Ishoo, huh Ishoo"

He flushed, but grabbed at the covers. I decided to stop teasing and change the subject so that he'd feel more comfortable. "I've always been curious. What brought you out here?"

Let's Start At the Very Beginning

The embarrassed and flustered look gave way to a little grin, and lightened his whole countenance. "Now we are going back to the days of my youth" he chuckled. I knew that was in part a tease since Erik had been out here teaching only 5 years to my 3 years here as a student.

"The trials of those soon to be thirty. Having to reach back into the memory banks." I said with a grin. Of the history department, he was the youngest by quite a few years. Last week one of the other professors stopped by at the end of class to confer with Erik and made a comment to the class about Erik having to spend the last week of his youth wisely prior to reaching the ripe old age of thirty.

He nodded gravely, but the spark was certainly back in his blue eyes. "Well way back in ye olden days...." He cleared his throat. "Actually I've known that I wanted to be a teacher most of my life. I guess part of that stems from an enjoyment of the process of learning. I really love to see the moment when I know that someone has finally "gotten it". After completing my Masters program and having put in a couple of years on my doctorate- I got a call from a friend about a position that had opened up at this school. I talked to the dean and the board of directors and they were fine with my finishing the rest of my doctoral work while teaching. So, for three years I had a pared down class load. The rest of the faculty was terrific about taking on the extra classes while I finished."

A sneeze had crept up on me, and although I was vastly enjoying the conversation- my thoughts must have appeared to be elsewhere. Erik stopped, looked over at me and flushed a bit. "Sorry, didn't mean to ramble on like that."

I shook my head, trying to tell him that it had nothing to do with him, when it struck- followed by a few more in rapid succession. "Eichoo....huh uh ishoo ishoo choo". He reached over and handed me a couple of tissues. "Bless you"

I blushed. "Thanks. I was Trying to say that it wasn't you. I'm been enjoying myself very much. I did want to ask you though- why here per sey? I think that it is fabulous that they allowed you to teach and finish up your doctorate, but to come in here in the first place? And to stay after you'd gotten your PhD. You've had it for two years. Is it gratitude or something else?" Then suddenly I remembered myself, and who I was speaking with and how presumptuous I must be sounding. I turned red and stammered. "Sorry for being so nosy. You really don't have to indulge my curiosity if I am getting too personal. It's bad enough that you've been so helpful, I shouldn't repay you by harassing you."

He chuckled and shook his head. "No you don't. There is no way that I'm going to let you feel sorry for showing an interest. You know, this is the first time that anyone has asked me about why I'm out here, and actually wanted to know." His breathing had started to get a bit shallow, and I could tell that he was trying to fight off another sneeze. I tried to get him back involved in conversation.

"What do you mean, someone asked you, but didn't want to know?" I asked with a chuckle.

He nodded, "The dean. He was juh... uh.." he wrinkled his nose and sniffed, it seemed to back off... "just trying to be polite. Found that out when I started to explain and noticed that he was glancing at his watch on the sly. Huh- Etschoo, HutRetchoo, Eichoo, hitchmft" he sighed and mumbled "'cuse be" .

I noticed that this time he had turned away slightly and brought his cupped hands to his face. I picked out a few tissues and handed them to him.

"Trust me, I'm not even wearing a watch" I held up my bare wrists as proof. "So what made you decide to stay?"

"No peeking at the clock?"

"No peeking."

"Alright, well I have actually received a couple of other offers, and at one point I was very tempted."

My mind was spinning. I was sure that Erik had received others offers- but actually hearing him say it- and that he had been "very tempted" gave me an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I didn't want to interrupt. I just nodded.

"The thing is" and here he started to look a bit embarrassed, "this might sound strange, but..."

Here I interrupt with a small fit of nine sneezes. Three sets of three back to back (chuh, chuh, Eichoo), then a brief pause while I gear up for the next three. The last of the nine I manage to stifle in the tissues that I pulled out.

"Bless you"

"Excuse me." I said sheepishly, "Go on, really"

Erik cleared his throat and continued, "Well I had discovered something that I could do here that I couldn't necessarily do in those other places- really teach. Not just lecture- though I suppose I do enough of that, too." He said with a rueful grin. "I hope this doesn't sound overly conceited- I feel like I can make some small sort of a difference. Part of it is the much smaller class sizes. Our biggest classes here would be considered "small" and "intimate" at those schools. The other part is confusing. It's a big part of why I stay, and why I really want to leave sometimes." Erik stopped and stared blankly ahead. At first he appeared lost in thought, but then, a shaky hand grabbed at a couple of tissues and trembling a bit, held them up "heh...huh.. HuTshoo, eichoo, Eichoo, huRetchoo, huRetchoo eh... heh.... Eichoo, Hutchmpt, eh.... Chmpt"

"Bless you. What, your allergies?" I questioned teasingly, considering where he had left off.

This drew a chuckle and shake of the head. "No, but remind me, if you don't get bored out of your skull before then, to tell you about Tulip Festival the week of the year I got my Ph D." he said with a laugh.

"Alright." I said with a grin, "but I'm warning you, I'm going to remember to ask you, so you'd better be prepared to tell me. Can't give me a teaser about the Infamous Tulip Festival and then not tell."

"I won't let you down." He said with a wink and a grin.

"So what is the part that is confusing for you?"

Sobering up he said, "The part that is confusing is that it feels so different out here. Almost everyone that goes to this school has been brought up isolated and sheltered. The town is the same way- if not more so. People grow up having things set in black and white, sarcasm seems to elude most of them. I do admit that it can be a refreshing change from the darkness and cynicism, but it certainly presents it's challenges in regards to teaching. Sometimes I feel like I need to stay- that I bring a different point of view to the table and that is valuable, and that it is just as valuable for me to be forced into articulating my world view and thinking about other points of view." He sighed, and slowly rubbed his temples, "Sometimes though- it can get to be a bit wearying to feel...." He trailed off, head in his hands.

I spontaneously reached for his hand. "Like the stranger in a strange land?" I whispered.

He turned his head toward me, and nodded slowly, looking down at our hands. Then his blue eyes looked up to meet my hazel. I felt as though I was drowning. Like there had finally been a release of some previously unknown walls, and now I could gaze into his eyes and feel him right down to his soul. The journeys that we have experienced have been different, but something told me that in the core we are amazingly similar. Kindred spirits.

"Theresa?" he said with a raspy quality to his voice. My name came out in part as a question, in part a statement, in part a plea.

All that I could do was nod. Then slowly, and yet suddenly feelings took. We leaned forward and our lips met.

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