Everyone at the table were already engrossed in an intense discussion when the waiters arrived with the dinner platters. Lars cursed his luck. Fortunately for him, nobody seemed to have noticed that he had suddenly gone quiet about two minutes ago. He checked his pant pockets. "Dammit", he muttered to himself. This was promising to be his most embarrassing experience, especially since this was dinner hosted by the boss and attended by the entire team. Deep in is heart, he prayed that they'd somehow just let him be till he squeezed himself out of his predicament.
He reckoned it would unnecessarily draw attention to himself if he excused himself at precisely the time when dinner had just arrived. Or maybe it'd be a tad rude. He shifted in his seat. He sat nervously, waiting for that moment when no one was looking in his direction. What moments ago was only a small precipitation had now developed into a catchment that would give way at even a slight whiff. Lars was getting increasingly panicky.
"Care for clams Lars?" his boss asked in a slightly less commanding tone than usual.
Careful not to nod or even move his face for the slightest bit, he answered in the affirmative. Lars hated seafood, but right now he wasn't in the mood to provide an explanation for his dislike. He simply wanted things to move on as quickly as possible.
"You haven't said a thing since dinner arrived. Is something wrong?" asked Deloris, as she tilted her head to take a closer look at Lars' face. The tone wasn't very discreet, and almost immediately, all heads turned in his direction. The precipitation was now a huge drop that he could no longer safely hold onto. Lars sensed they'd found out what was amiss.
Feigning ignorance, he said "Nah, all's well", before quickly dropping his table napkin on the floor, muttering a spontaneous-sounding "oops", going down to fetch it, and emerging a good three seconds later after wiping his nose with the same napkin.
Lars thought he had cleverly saved his day.
Unfortunately for him, runny noses seem to have other ideas.
P.S. - I'm down with a fever and chest congestion. Spent the entire weekend tending to a runny nose. If you want a yardstick, then I'll say it ran at the rate of 12 full (and I mean 'full' till you can take no more 'full') kerchiefs per day.
Here's something interesting about runny noses. A guy was suffering for more than 18 months from what he thought was a chronic runny nose. Eventually, he found out that his brain was leaking fluid.
Here's the link ---> CLICK HERE
Brain Drain?
Photo Credit : Keith Wright, http://www.delish.com
