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Episode 14: Keep it Simple, Sarah
After all the serious stuff that's been going on in their lives, our friends really deserve a break. So tag along with them as they get ready take a trip to the beach, and as Sarah learns an important lesson. And don't worry, there's plenty of hiccups along the way! --The Author
"Just another 45 minutes," Sarah thought happily as she glanced up at the clock above the door of the noisy kitchen. She enjoyed her job as a waitress, but today she was anxious to get done; as soon as she got off work, she was meeting her sister Amanda and their friend Juliana at the mall to do some last-minute shopping for their beach trip. As she walked through the door out into the dining room, she hiccupped rather loudly. Ever since she had started giving herself hiccups using her brother's favorite hot sauce, she had been getting "natural" cases of hiccups more often, also. At first they were still pretty rare, but over time they had become increasingly frequent. In fact, now that she and Nathan were no longer dating, she rarely gave herself hiccups any more, but she still got them every three or four days, at least. Often when she got them, they would start in the morning and keep coming back throughout the day, each time lasting 30 minutes to an hour, and occasionally longer. On days like that, it seemed like anything would set her hiccups off; she really enjoyed that. Sarah had never known of a way to stop her hiccups - after all, she had never really tried! - so even when they came on at work, she blithely hiccupped away as she served her customers. Today was one of those days; this particular case had returned with no apparent reason at all!
Sue, Sarah's manager, was just approaching the door when Sarah came out. They got along well, and Sue appreciated Sarah's good work. "How are things going for y'all today?" Sue asked.
"Pretty well," Sarah responded. "It seems *hic* a little less busy than usual, bu-*huck* but not too slow. *hic-ulk*" She giggled a little after the last loud hiccup.
"Hiccups again?" the manager chuckled.
"Yeah, I think this is the *hic* fifth time I've had them t-*hic* today."
"Good grief, sweetheart, don't you get tired of them?" Sue exclaimed.
Sarah just shrugged. "Doesn't bother me *huck* at all!" Of course, by this time, everyone she worked with already knew that. Even some of the restaurant's regular customers were familiar with the waitress that had the hiccups so often!
While she walked to her next table, Sarah wiped her hands on her brown apron, getting to feel the effects of another strong hiccup as she did. The people at this table had received their food just a few minutes earlier, so she made the requisite check-up on them. "Everything all right? *hic*" she asked cheerily.
The customers nodded, and she continued by asking, "Anything else *huck* I can get y'all?"
The loud hiccup in the middle of her question got attention of one of the diners. After her husband declined Sarah's offer, she looked up from her meal to ask, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fi-*huck* I'm fine. It's just *huck* hiccups," she laughed.
The lady smiled and commented, "Gotta hate it when that happens."
Of course, Sarah didn't hate it at all, but she just smiled and moved on to her next table. That next table turned out to be an older couple, who were among the restaurant's frequent customers and were pretty well acquainted with Sarah. They chatted briefly, with Sarah's hiccups happily interrupting her every two or three seconds. After she took their orders and moved on, the older man noted to his wife, "I think she actually likes having those hiccups!" How right he was!
Finally, Sarah's work was finished, and she quickly gathered her things and said goodbye to her co-workers. "Have a great time on your trip, you lucky duck!" said her friend Ricky, who worked in the kitchen.
Sarah beamed. "I *huck* intend to!"
"And lose those hiccups already!" he teased. He knew she enjoyed them, but he liked to needle her anyway.
She just stuck out her tongue as she passed him on her way out, hiccupping very loudly. They both had a good laugh.
* * * * *
By the time Sarah met up with Juliana and Amanda at the mall, they had been there for almost an hour. Amanda had just gotten out of the car when she had suddenly gotten the hiccups herself; after unsuccessful attempts at breath-holding and water-drinking, Amanda decided she was just going to have to deal with them. As annoying as she found hiccups to be, she only got really embarrassed by them in quiet situations like school or church, so she wasn't too embarrassed about having the hiccups in the mall.
Their first stop was the music store. Juliana wanted to get Justin a CD of his favorite band as a "one month anniversary" gift, so while she looked around for it, Amanda just waited near the entrance, looking at the displays of new releases. Only a couple minutes after they entered the store, a guy who looked to be about 17 or 18 came in, and began checking out a display next to the one Amanda was at. At first Amanda hardly noticed him, but after noticing him looking at her a couple times, she began to wonder if something was up. The third time that their eyes met, they both smiled a little, and the guy asked, "Got the hiccups?" Even though she was trying to keep them quiet, the little noises they still made, the louder ones that escaped every so often, and the jerking of her body made her condition quite obvious.
Amanda blushed a little - this guy seemed to be interested in her, and here she was hiccupping away! "Yeah, *hmk* sorry, they pretty much *hmk* suck."
"Aw..." he sympathized, "have you tried holding your breath?"
She had tried that outside, so she told him, "Yep, several *hic* times. I drank *hmk* tons of water, too." Even though his suggestion wasn't particularly useful, she liked how he seemed to want to help. She smiled and said, "Thanks for trying, *huck* though! What's your n-*hulk* name?"
"I'm Brandon," he responded. "What's yours?"
"My name's *hic-ulk*..." they both laughed when an extra-hard hiccup interrupted her. Finally she giggled, "Sorry, *huck* my name's Amanda."
"Nice to meet you, Amanda," he responded good-naturedly. "You a big fan of Rascal Flatts?"
"Um..." Amanda was confused for a moment. Then she looked again at the display they were both standing in front of, and understood his question. "Oh! No, I *huck* was just kinda looking around. *hic* My friend Juliana is g-*hic* getting a CD for her boy-*huck* her boyfriend, so I'm just *hic-cup* waiting for her. *huck* And Rascal Flatts is ok, *hic* but for country music, I *hulk* like Tim McGraw better."
"Oh cool," Brandon said. "He's one of my favorites, too."
About that time, Juliana returned, CD in hand. "They had it!" she announced excitedly.
Amanda smiled. "Awesome! Oh, and Juliana, *hic* meet Brandon."
"Hi Brandon, nice to meet you. Do you know Amanda from school?" Juliana asked tentatively.
"No, we actually just met like, two minutes ago," Brandon admitted.
They all laughed. Then Amanda quickly offered, "We're going upstairs *hic* to meet up with my *huck* sister; you can come with us *hulk* if you want to."
"I'd love to!" Brandon accepted, clearly excited.
Brandon had come to the mall somewhat grudgingly, at the insistence of some friends who, once they arrived, had promptly left him behind. So he had roamed the mall as he always did, just watching all the different people milling around. Sometimes he would strike up a short conversation with a random person, other times he would just watch. He actually found it pretty interesting; there was such a variety of people there. Yet as contented as he was people-watching, he was always on the lookout for the one thing that could totally make his day: a cute girl with the hiccups. There were girls with the hiccups in the mall surprisingly often, but this was the first time he had ever gotten up the courage to start up a full-fledged conversation with one! His whole body had felt like Jell-O as they had begun talking, but he felt better when he noticed how nervous she seemed, too. At least he wasn't the only one! He was also relieved that her hiccups hadn't stopped - he knew all too well how often hiccups disappear as soon as they are pointed out. Now he had to pinch himself to be sure it was real; hanging out with a cute, hiccupping girl had been his dream for years! Could it really be happening now?
It really was happening now. Since Sarah hadn't arrived yet, they went into several different stores, with Amanda and Brandon chatting - and Amanda hiccupping - the whole time. Juliana would have felt a little left out if she hadn't found it so cute how the two of them were hitting it off!
They were in the pet store when Sarah finally joined them. After spending a few minutes adoring the puppies, the four of them got to the main purpose of their visit: finding a new swimsuit for Sarah. At least, Sarah and Juliana did; Amanda and Brandon weren't much help! Sarah's hiccups had stopped while she was driving over, but that was just as well. If she had still had the hiccups, too, Brandon might well have gone into complete sensory overload!
Getting a little bold, with it being clear by now that Amanda liked him, Brandon ventured a suggestion. "Why don't you try on a couple of these swimsuits yourself while we wait?" Getting Amanda and her hiccups into a bathing suit was just too good of an opportunity to pass up! And to his surprise, Amanda agreed! She picked out three that she really liked, and disappeared into the changing room next to Sarah's.
When they came out at the same time, Sarah asked, "I thought those hiccups sounded close by! Are you gonna get one too?"
Amanda giggled, "No, *huck* I'm just having some fun while we wait."
"Oh ok, well that does look really nice," Sarah complimented.
"Yours too! *hic*" Amanda returned. "I like the colors *huck* on it."
"Thanks," Sarah said. "I still think I like this other one better, though."
Leaving Sarah to her dilemma, Amanda showed off her first selection to Brandon. A pink one-piece type, it was the most conservative of the three she had taken in, but Brandon still thought she looked incredible. Even if she hadn't been hiccupping, he still would have been in awe. Amanda's hiccups, the effects of which were now very obvious through the tight bathing-suit fabric, only made it better! He told her it looked great, trying not to sound too excited!
The second swimsuit was a light green two-piece one, the kind where the straps go over your shoulders instead of tying behind your neck. Amanda may have just barely turned fifteen, but she already had a very nice figure. Each hiccup made her bare tummy pop out, bounced her chest, and threw her head back just a little. Brandon just stared, helplessly enthralled.
"Soooo... *hilk!* what do you think?" Amanda finally asked.
Brandon tried to say something coherent. "Oh my God Amanda, you um... gosh, you look... amazing!" Regaining at least a little composure, he continued, "Seriously, I don't think you could be any hotter!"
Amanda laughed, cut off by a embarrassingly loud hiccup. Then she frowned a little. "Well, maybe if *hic* if I didn't have the *huck* hiccups. I'm sorry I *huck* can't get rid of them."
"No, don't be sorry," Brandon quickly assured her. He thought for a moment of telling her how much he liked her hiccups, but settled for just saying, "There's nothing wrong with having the hiccups. And I really do love that swimsuit, it looks great on you."
"I'm glad you *hic-ulk* think so!" Amanda giggled. "I like it too; it's cute. *huck* I think I'd buy it now if I had *huck* the money!"
But it was Sarah who was buying, and she had finally made her choice. Coming over to tell Amanda and Brandon that she was ready, she also commented on how good Amanda looked in the green swimsuit. "Wow, that looks really good on you, sis."
"Thanks! *huck* Did you decide on *hic* one?"
"Yeah I did; it actually looks a little like the one you've got on. I'll show it to you later though, we'd better get going," Sarah said.
"Ok, let me *hulk* change out of this real *huck* quick." With that, Amanda disappeared into the changing room. Just as she finished changing back into her normal clothes, her cell phone rang. Seeing that it was Hannah, she quickly answered, "Hey Hannah, what's up?"
"Just getting *hic* the last couple things *hic* packed," Hannah answered cheerily. "Are y'all *hic* almost done at the mall?"
"Yeah, we're about to leave. Oh, and I've had the hiccups for the past, like, two hours!" Amanda exclaimed.
"Aww," Hannah sympathized. "Me *hic* too!"
"And I've got something to tell you about, but it will have to wait until later!" Amanda announced excitedly.
Hannah laughed. "Ok, well *hic* I just wanted to *hic* see how soon y'all *huck* would be back."
"Yeah, it should only be as long as it takes to drive home," Amanda said. "You're coming to our house, right?"
"Yep, I'll *hic* be heading over there *hic* very soon," Hannah answered.
"All right, sounds good! See you then!"
"OK, *hic* Bye!"
Back in her normal clothes and heading back through the mall towards the car, Amanda had to say good-bye to Brandon. She had told him that they were going to be out of town for a few days, and they had both promised to call each other when they could, before Brandon suddenly noticed, "Hey Amanda, your hiccups are gone!"
Amanda stopped for a moment, not having realized that they had stopped as soon as she answered Hannah's phone call. "They are! They must have stopped while I was changing, or something!"
Even though he had loved Amanda's hour and a half of hiccups while they were together - and indeed he probably wouldn't have talked to her in the first place had she not had them - he still found himself very attracted to her even now that the hiccups were gone. After they parted with a little hug, he still couldn't shake the tingling of excitement that just being with her had given him. But even if he never saw Amanda again, his dream had come true; and it had been more incredible than he ever could have imagined.
On the drive home, Sarah had to chuckle as Amanda talked excitedly about this guy that she hadn't even met just two hours before. It was cute the way that the two of them had hit it off so quickly, so innocently. If only relationships stayed so cute and simple! At eighteen, she wasn't that much older than her sister, yet Sarah felt like she could never have an experience herself like Amanda just did. All that had happened between her and Nathan seemed to prove that. In fact, ever since then, her interactions with other guys had also been strained. "It's so much more complicated when you're a little older," she thought, sighing.
* * * * *
Late the next day, Sarah wandered across the pool area of their beachfront hotel, enjoying the sea breeze as it blew gently across her face. The slightly sharp smell of chlorine from the pool tickled her nose, and the sun warmed her back with its bright rays. The beach was such a relaxing place! There was something about the sun and the water that always made her tired after a while, so she found one of the few unoccupied lounge chairs, and lay back to rest.
She hadn't even finished getting comfortable when she hiccupped sharply. Apparently just sitting down brought her hiccups back this time! Usually after a day of recurring hiccups, like yesterday, she would go a few days without them, or with only one or two short, isolated cases; but today's hiccups had begun right where yesterday's had left off - with the first case starting up even before she had gotten out of bed. This latest case was her fourth of the day, and only once had they lasted less than an hour. That first case, in fact, starting when she first woke up around 8:30, had itself lasted until almost noon.
Even Sarah would have had to admit that having the hiccups most of the day could get pretty exhausting, especially considering how strong hers always were. Yet she had still relished every case - with no pressures and no need to keep quiet, the beach was the perfect place to sit back and enjoy life, especially with the hiccups. And that is exactly what she did as this most recent case quickly ramped up into full swing.
With her hiccups becoming increasingly frequent over the past several weeks, Sarah had begun to notice more distinctly how different they could sound. Usually her hiccups simply sounded even and measured, with a sharp *huck* or *hic* coming very regularly every 3 or 4 seconds. Right before stopping, they would usually begin sounding tentative and shy, as they faded to a quiet and increasingly infrequent *hup*. Occasionally they would become violent and rough - then they would be an almost yelping *hilk* or two-syllable *hic-ulk*, at the usually 3-4 second pace. Finally there were the times when they sounded insistent and rushed: these were the times that they had their normal sound, but at two or three times their usual rate. A few times over the past month, they had even exceeded one hiccup a second, at which point it was difficult to even talk. At those times, she just let them race away, just sneaking in a breath every now and then.
That last, insistent type of hiccups was what this case was quickly becoming. Barely two minutes after she had sat down, her hiccups were coming at nearly one a second, and as sharp and loud as always. Sarah looked down at her body as it constantly jerked and bounced; that new bathing suit she had bought, similar to the one Amanda had liked so well, but in black with a white decorative "belt", left her stomach - the part of her that reacted most strongly to each hiccup - completely open to view. She couldn't understand why, but she loved watching herself hiccup.
"Geez girl, you've got the hiccups bad!" The comment from the person in the lounge chair next to her startled her a bit.
"Yeah, *huck* you c-*huck* ca-*huck* can say *huck* tha-*huck* *huck* that aga-*huck* again!" she struggled to reply, turning to look at the guy next to her. When the hiccups were like this, talking usually made them even worse. "Sorry, *huck* it *huck* it's r-*huck* real-*huck* *huck* really *huck* ha-*hulk*-rd *huck* to *huck* talk when *huck* th-*huck* they *huck* are like th-*huck* this."
He laughed, almost a little nervously, and said, "I can see that! I'm sorry, they look like they must hurt."
Sarah just shook her head and smiled. Still not able to talk much, she held up a finger as if to say "Just wait a minute." She then struggled through saying, "They *huck* they'll *huck* sl-*huck* slow d-*huck* down *huck* soon."
"OK," he said, once he understood. "Oh, and my name's Ben," he introduced himself.
She smiled again. "I'm *huck* Sa-*huck* *huck* Sarah! *huck*" she forced out.
He had to chuckle at how hard it was for her to talk with those hiccups. "Would you like me to get you a cup of water or something?" he offered.
She shook her head. She knew that when her hiccups had gotten like this before, they had always slowed down at least a little bit within five minutes, and figuring it had been three or four minutes already, she pointed to her wrist and then held up two fingers.
"A couple minutes?" he guessed, correctly.
She nodded, saying only, "S-*huck* sorry! *huck*" Lying back a little more on her chair, she closed her eyes and just waited as the hiccups raced away. She would have enjoyed it more she hadn't been making that nice guy wait, but she certainly couldn't hold a conversation in this state, and it really was fun to sit there, eyes closed, just hearing and feeling her insanely fast hiccups. A couple times she opened her eyes and shot a glance at the guy next to her. He looked to be college-age and tall, with dark hair and slightly sunburned skin.
As Sarah had expected, after a minute or two the hiccups rather abruptly slowed to a more manageable 2-second pace, and she turned again to the guy next to her. "Sorry *huck* Ben, I just *hic* can't talk when *huck* they're l-*huck* like that. *huck* It's ok *huck* now, I th-*hilk* I think," she apologized.
He didn't seem bothered at all. "No problem! They can get pretty rough, huh?"
Sarah shrugged. "Yeah, *huck* they g-*huck* get pretty crazy *huck* some-*huck* sometimes, especially *huck* since I've been g-*hic* getting them so *huck* much lately," she explained. "But *hic* I don't mind, *huck* having the hi-*huck* hiccups has *hic* always been fun *huck* for me."
"Oh really?" he asked with surprise.
"Yep, *huck*" she replied. "I *huck* don't know w-*hic* why."
He still looked surprised. But then he reasoned, "I guess you didn't seem that upset about them."
Sarah nodded. "Why *hic* should I be, *huck* you know? *huck* For me, they d-*huck* don't hurt, and *huck* they're just cute *hic* and, um, *huck* bouncy?"
They both laughed a little at that. But Ben agreed with her. "Yeah, I know what you mean. And you are really cute with them," he added.
She just giggled. Continuing, he asked, "And you get hiccups like this a lot?"
"Oh yeah! *huck* At least, *huck* the past m-*huck* month or two. *hic* It's been so *huck* much fun!" she laughed. "I've had them *huck* four times al-*huck* already today."
"Wow," he exclaimed. "But you don't get tired of it?"
"Well, *hic* sometimes they do *huck* tire me, but *huck* not bad, and *huck* I still enjoy th-*hic* them," she tried to explain. It was strange that this guy was asking so many questions about her hiccups. She was coming to the conclusion that he must like hiccups, like Chris and Nathan did. But then again, maybe it was just curiosity. After all, she had to look pretty ridiculous hiccupping as crazily as she was! So she asked, "Do *huck* you like hi-*huck* hiccups, too?"
He blushed, and stammered a little.
"Don't *huck* be embarrassed, *huck* it's not weird. *hic* My ex loves the *huck* hiccups. So does *huck* my brother," she encouraged.
"Well, yeah, actually I do," he finally said. "I've been attracted to them as long as I can remember."
Sarah smiled. "See, *huck* that wasn't so h-*hic* hard!"
The two chatted for a while, talking about everything from their enjoyment of the hiccups to their lives back at their respective homes. It turned out that he was indeed in college, at a school a couple hours away. After what must have been close to an hour, Ben suggested that they go for a walk on the beach. Sarah liked the idea, and soon they were walking, barefoot on the warm, white sand. It felt good to be able to relax and chat comfortably.
Ben was in heaven, walking as he was with a hot, bikini-clad teenage girl with the hiccups! He enjoyed their conversation a lot, too, but honestly, he sometimes found it hard to concentrate on what they were talking about! But when the conversation turned to Sarah's hiccups again, he had a suggestion to make. "Hey Sarah," he asked. "Would you like me to try to give myself the hiccups, too?"
For a moment, Sarah was silent, thinking of the last time she and a guy had gotten the hiccups together. But this was different; there was nothing to worry about now. There were no expectations or complicated issues, just a friendly chat and maybe some innocent flirting. So she gave him a little wink and said, "Why not? *huck* It would be *huck* fun, having them *hic* together! What *huck* do you do to *hic* make yourself g-*huck* get them?"
"Well, forgive me in advance, cause it takes some burping," he warned. Then he began swallowing air, burping it out when he had swallowed enough. He must have repeated the process ten or fifteen times before his last burp was - finally! - followed by a deep hiccup. "There we go, now I have *ulp* the hiccups, too!" he announced. "It takes a *hup* while sometimes."
"No kidding! *huck*" Sarah teased.
"Enjoy it while *hup* you can, though," he warned. "Mine never *hup* last long, and I can't make them come b-*ulp* back."
Enjoy it they both did. They sat down on the sand, watching each other's hiccups and soon breaking out into helpless laughter. Sarah's hiccups were at least three times faster than Ben's, but each of his always seemed to come at almost the exact same time as one of hers, making them laugh even more. "What *huck* nuts we are!" Sarah exclaimed.
Ben's deep, body-shaking hiccups stopped after just a few minutes. Shortly after they stopped, he suggested that the two of them go out for an ice cream. "There's a great place just across the street," he said.
At the ice cream stand, practically everyone gave Sarah strange looks, thanks to her loud, exuberant hiccups. A few people suggested cures, but she always answered that she was fine with them. "I hate it *huck* when people try to c-*huck* cure me!" she whispered to Ben after the girl at the counter suggested yet another of the usual hiccup cures. To her surprise, the only cure she ended up needing was the ice cream. She had taken only a couple bites when her hiccups abruptly stopped.
A little disappointed but still very satisfied with the incredible experience he had enjoyed already, Ben commented, "I guess cold just isn't their thing!"
* * * * *
Back in the hotel room that night, after Amanda's barrage of excited questions about her "date", Sarah sat out on the balcony a while, listening to the crashing of the waves, and thinking about the evening. Plus, she had the hiccups again and Mom was inside trying to sleep! She'd had a wonderful time with Ben. She really liked him, and he had obviously liked her. He had been sure to get her number before they parted, and they planned to hang out together again tomorrow. Yet it didn't feel like she had gone on a date, and she didn't view him as a would-be boyfriend. Even though he could be, it just felt - different somehow. Finally it hit her: this was what had happened with Amanda and that guy in the mall: this was that cute, innocent connection she had seen in them. She had thought it could never happen to her, and now, it had!
Sarah smiled and sighed happily as she understood how wrong she had been. Now she realized that all she had needed to do was relax a little, because relationships can be simple. Even when you're eighteen.