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Episode 34: Katie's World
When we last crossed paths with Hannah's cousin Katie, she and her husband Brendan were heading off on their honeymoon after a beautiful wedding. A few months have passed now, and she's back to take us through a rather eventful day in their world. There might be some bumps along the way, but it looks like their future is bright! --The Author
It started out like just another random Friday morning at work. A few months before Brendan and I got married, I started this job as a credit card reconciler at a big petroleum company here in Houston. I didn't exactly go to school for this, but apparently there isn't a bustling job market for nutrition majors around here. Eventually I'm going to go on and become a physician assistant, but for now I'm just happy to be making a little money for a change.
So this particular day, I sleepily fumble my way into the office and find the little cubicle with my name on it. "Katie Fedorowicz": it's crazy, we've been married for almost six months now, and that name still looks like someone else's on first glance. There's something strange about spending upwards of twenty years being just another Katie Williams and then suddenly replacing your last name with one that no one else can pronounce! But hey, if that's the worst thing about being married, I'm definitely not complaining. It's not Brendan's fault that his family is Polish!
Anyway, so on my team at work there's three of us - Dawson, Shelly, and I - who pretty much spend our days talking on the phone to customers whose credit card transactions failed for one reason or another, or who have been billed in error. It's my coworkers that make this job worth showing up for every day, because as you might imagine, the customers aren't usually all that happy to talk to me. My first call of the day was a particularly vindictive woman who made it very clear that she intended to never again do business with me, my company, or possibly the entire state of Texas. By the time she hung up the phone, I was pretty much convinced that this woman was going to personally take me to court over the $16.95 that she had been accidentally double-charged. This situation clearly called for some coffee!
Since I was going to the break room, I offered to get something for Dawson too. "I'm gonna get some coffee, do you want me to get you anything?"
"I'm good," he answered. "Well actually, if you wouldn't mind getting me a refill..."
"Second cup already?" I teased. We are constantly joking with one another. It's basically how we make it through the day.
"I was here at 7, unlike some people," he retorted without missing a beat.
"Fair enough." I'm just glad that he's the one who comes in early; 8:00 is bad enough for me. As I took his coffee mug as well as mine, I instructed, "If Miss Congeniality calls back while I'm gone, she's all yours!"
"Yeah, that didn't sound too fun."
"Don't worry, she won't call back unless it's to serve me with a lawsuit, and what's she gonna take from me? My student loans?"
"Guess you're safe there," he laughed.
"All right, I'll be back in a *hic* minute. Ooh, excuse me!" I stepped away from his desk with a token apology for my random hiccup.
Someone else had already made a pot of coffee, so it only took me a minute or two to fill up our two mugs, and fix my coffee up just how I like it. Dawson likes his straight black. I'm not sure what's wrong with him.
When I got back to our desks, I hiccupped again as I was handing Dawson his coffee. "Got the hiccups?" he laughed.
"Nah, I don't think so," I started to answer. But when I said that, I realized that I had hiccupped a few times while I was in the break room, too. Maybe I did have them? No, it couldn't be. "I never get the hiccups; I can't even remember the last time I g-*huck*"
At this Dawson totally cracked up. "The last time you *hyuckkk* what?" he asked, mimicking my latest hiccup.
"Ok sooo maybe I *hic* do?" I admitted with surprise. This was really weird. I wasn't exaggerating; I seriously never get the hiccups. My cousin Hannah gets them like every day, but I definitely didn't get that gene. I'll randomly hiccup once - that's nothing unusual - but it's just one hiccup here and there. Yet here I was with a definite case of them. I didn't even know what to do about it, so I just saw down at my desk and took a sip of my coffee. And hiccupped again.
"Aren't you going to hold your breath or something?" Dawson asked.
"I don't know! What do you *huck* do for hiccups anyway?" When you never get the hiccups, you never have to figure out how to get rid of them, which, come to think of it, is pretty convenient.
"Hold your breath as long as you can," he instructed. He probably thought it was pretty silly of me to have no idea what to do.
I started to take a deep breath, but hiccupped almost immediately. "Ok, this may be harder than it sounds," I giggled. I breathed in again, and quickly plugged my nose. I sat there for what seemed liked forever with my nose plugged and my cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk's. Why is it that you always feel like you have to do that to hold your breath anyway? It's not necessary and it just makes you look silly, but it's just so strangely natural.
"If you stay like that too much longer, your face is gonna explode," Dawson teased.
It was at exactly that moment, as I was trying my hardest to keep holding my breath and not to laugh - or explode - that Shelly arrived.
"I probably shouldn't even ask," she commented dryly as she passed Dawson and me to get to her own desk. Shelly is probably close to fifty and has been with the company since Dawson and I were in like, first grade, so she knows basically everything and everyone. She isn't nearly as talkative as me - or even Dawson - but she has the most awesome sense of humor. One comment from her is all it takes to get Dawson and me practically rolling with laughter.
I had pretty much exhausted my ability to hold my breath any longer, so I finally took a deep breath and explained, "I have the hiccups and he said that's how you get rid of them!"
Shelly looked at me quizzically. I just looked back at her, not sure what she expected me to do.
"Well," she finally answered, "Apparently he was right!"
At that point I realized that I hadn't hiccupped since before I started the breath-holding exercise. "Oh, I guess so! Thanks, Dawson, You're a genius!"
About that moment, our phones lit up like Christmas trees as several customers seemed to conspire to call us at once. They have a way of doing that, you know. By the time I was halfway through that next phone call, I had practically forgotten the whole incident entirely.
This customer was very nice, in marked contrast to the previous caller. There had been some mix-up with his credit card, and the bank had given him the run-around about getting the charges resolved. He was certain that his call was totally putting me out, and went to great lengths to apologize for the whole affair. I tried to convince him that this is my job, that I deal with this kind of stuff all the time, and that it would be very easy for me to fix. Still, he kept saying how sorry he was. You'd be surprised how many customers are that way. But anyway, I'm rambling, aren't I? If you had really wanted to hear all about my job you would have applied for it. From what I hear, we're hiring again. We could definitely use the help.
Anyway, that's kind of how our day goes. We banter around a bit, take a bunch of calls, and then it's quiet for a few minutes before the next batch of calls.
One of the best parts of the workday are the short breaks we get: usually one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Unless the weather is bad, I spend mine outside, taking a walk around the parking lot. Sounds exciting, right? It's just nice to get out in the fresh air for a few minutes, though. Unfortunately, since we can't all leave the phones at once, Dawson, Shelly, and I have to take our breaks separately. I usually take my walk with my friend Christy who works on the billing team, but she was on vacation, so on this particular morning I just went outside on my own. I figured that would give me a chance to give Brendan a call and see how his morning was going.
That plan was complicated somewhat by the fact that before I even made it to the door, I realized that I had the hiccups again. Apparently this was my day for hiccups! I knew Brendan wouldn't care, so I went ahead and gave him a call anyway.
"Hey beautiful," he greeted me. He's always so sweet!
"Hey! *hic* How's your morning going?" I greeted him happily, and hiccupp-ily... is that a word? If it's not, it really should be.
Brendan is still in school; he's in his last year of a master's degree in math. I'm so proud of him for all the work he is putting into his education, but it means that sometimes he's a little short on time. "It's going ok, just really busy. We have a seminar that is starting in a couple minutes, and study sessions after that." As I listened to him describe his schedule for the day, I unconsciously hiccupped a few more times. After the third or fourth one, he interrupted himself to ask, "Do you have the hiccups, honey?"
I laughed. "How could y-*hic* could you tell? Yeah, I already had them once *hic* earlier and now they're back."
"I don't think I've ever seen you with the hiccups," he chuckled. "Try drinking some water or something."
"Dawson told me to *hic* hold my breath and that worked earlier, I just have-*hic* haven't tried it again yet," I explained.
"Oh ok, well this session is about to start so I've got to go. Will you be home at the usual time?" he asked.
"I should -- no wait, today is *hic* my day to go running with Ally after w-*hic* after work. So I'll be home after *hic* that."
"Ok, I'll see you then. I love you!"
"Love yo-*huck* oh my gosh! Love you too!" I giggled.
"Good luck with that," he teased.
"Oh thanks, I seem to *hic* need it! Bye!" It was a little disappointing that he had to run to class, but that happens a lot. At least we got to talk!
It was such a pretty day outside; the warm rays of the sun were still working on dispelling the chill of the morning air. A few fallen leaves fluttered around in a gentle breeze. We don't get much of a winter here, but the little that we do get is clearly on its way!
There isn't a walking path around our office, so people generally just walk around in the sprawling parking area. Usually that isn't a problem, although today I almost had to dodge one car whose driver was a little too intent on looking for a parking space rather than looking out for credit card reconcilers who might be wandering around! Seriously, for all the parking we have, it still never seems like enough. If you get here after 9:00 for any reason, it's pretty much impossible to find a parking spot in our area. I guess it's a sign that we're growing and doing well, but it still gets a bit annoying; especially when they periodically email the whole company lecturing us about not parking on the curbs or in the grass! I mean, what are you supposed to do? Park across the street at Wendy's? But here I am rambling again. Basically, if you do apply for that job here, plan on getting to work early if you want a parking spot!
To be honest, I had pretty much forgotten about my hiccups by the time I reluctantly headed back inside. Of course, Dawson didn't waste any time reminding me. "I thought you got rid of those?" he asked as I returned to my desk.
"Got rid of wh-*hic*? Oh, the hiccups? Yeah, they ca-*huck* came back while I was outside."
"I don't usually get hiccups," Shelly commented, "But when I do --"
"I prefer Dos Equis," Dawson interrupted in a gravelly voice, trying to look serious. He mimics that silly beer commercial literally every time someone says "but when I do", but I still can't help busting out laughing!
"No, no," Shelly corrected him. "That's what gives me the hiccups! But no, if I get them once they keep coming back all day."
"Well then I guess that's *huck* me today," I admitted. I had joked about today being my day for hiccups, but I guess that really is a thing?
"Yeah, you're really going to be a blast to hang out with today," Dawson said with a mocking groan.
"Ok, let's try this again," I said, taking a deep breath and plugging my nose.
Dawson leaned over towards Shelly's desk and whispered loudly, "Whatever you do, don't make her laugh!"
Even that was enough to make me crack up. "Oh thanks, you're all *huck* heart," I giggled.
"Any time," he grinned.
I tried holding my breath again, but even after holding it until I started to feel lightheaded, I still had the hiccups. "I guess they're *hic* serious this time," I commented. I was about to give it another try when my phone started to ring.
"Do you want me to get that for you?" Shelly offered thoughtfully.
That was sweet of her but I couldn't really ask her to do my job for me! "It's ok, you don't have to do that. I'll *hic* manage!" Picking up the phone, I answered, "Credit department, this is Katie."
This customer was all business. She didn't yell and complain; she didn't make small talk; she didn't even acknowledge my hiccups. She simply wanted to get her charges corrected and get off the phone. Dawson and Shelly were snickering at me practically the whole time as I hiccupped my way through the phone call, but the customer didn't say a word about it, even when I apologized for having them! It's more fun if the customer is friendly and engaging, but at least this call was a quick one.
"You'll get two hundred and fifty dollars back on your *hyuckk!* MasterCard," Dawson mimicked as soon as I had hung up the phone.
"She didn't even *hic* say anything about it!" I protested. "Now don't you have, like, *huck* work to do?" I said as sternly as I could manage. I took the last few sips of my now-cold coffee and then figured I'd try holding my breath one more time.
"I do, but this is a lot more fun," he teased.
I rolled my eyes, keeping my nose plugged and cheeks puffed. This time it worked!
I got the hiccups again not even thirty minutes later. Naturally, I was right in the middle of a phone call when I was surprised by two hard hiccups, one right after the other. And just like that, they were back! I apologized to the co-worker I was on the phone with, and she didn't say much about it. It didn't take long to finish that conversation, but hardly had I put the phone down, taken a long, deep breath, and started to hold it, when the phone rang again and I had to give up on trying to cure them right away.
Overall it wasn't a very busy day, but this case came during one of the busier periods; I ended up taking a few phone calls with the hiccups. Aside from the occasional sympathetic comment and a couple suggested cures, most of my customers didn't pay them too much mind, and I tried not to either. Sometimes that was hard, though! Probably the funniest moment was when I got a call from Dwight Backman, one of my favorite customers.
Dwight and his wife have run a fuel hauling company out in West Texas for years, and while they're not a big customer, they've had a long relationship with our company. Sadly, Mrs. Backman passed away a few months ago, and rather than hire someone to keep the books, Dwight has taken that on himself. He's a pretty smart guy, but he's almost 80 now, so it's been a little bit of a challenge for him. I must have given his wife my direct phone extension at some point because any time Dwight has a question about billing, he'll call me directly. Half the time, it's not even problems that I need to fix, he'll just have general questions or be a little confused about pricing. I don't mind helping him out; he's the sweetest old man you could ever imagine!
I hadn't even noticed that the call was to my direct line, so I answered with my typical "Credit department, this is *huck* Katie." Well, typical other than the huge hiccup in the middle.
"Hi Katie, this is Dwight Backman from Mustang Hauling," he greeted me.
I brightened at hearing his familiar raspy West Texas twang. He's not Dwight, it's more like 'Dwahht'. I guess I kinda talk that way too, but with him it seems a lot more obvious! "Oh hey, Mr. Dwight! How a-*hic* How are you?"
"Well-blessed in spite of myself! How about you, darling?" he asked. He always calls me darling. That's just what we do around here.
"I'm doing pretty *hic* good," I concurred, "I've got the hiccups though, so I'm *hic* sorry in advance!"
Dwight chuckled. "You do? I coulda sworn that was just a frog in your throat."
"If so, it's the most stub-*huck* stubborn frog I've ever *hic* come across," I giggled. Talking to Dwight always makes me laugh; he's just so cute.
We chatted for a few minutes the weather, football, and life in general. He made a point, as he usually does, to ask about Brendan. "How's that young cowboy of yours doing?"
"School is cr-*huck* crazy busy for him," I answered. "He's so ready to *hic* be done. He's doing a gr-*huck* great job with it, though!"
"How you kids these days learn all this stuff in school is beyond me," he admitted. "Nine grades was as far as I got. Then again maybe if I'd made it to college I wouldn't have to call you with the same questions every week or two!"
I laughed. "I don't know, I w-*hic* went to college and I don't *hic* understand pretty much anything Brendan d-*huck* does for school. Get much beyond *hic* Algebra 1 and I'm totally lost!"
"You just be sure to keep feeding him well! That stuff is hard work on the brain," he counseled.
Eventually we got to the question he had called about. Sure enough, he once again wasn't quite understanding the complicated way that some of our products are priced and billed. I tried to talk him through it, but I don't know if it was from laughing so much or what but my hiccups had gotten really bad. Halfway through my explanation, I was having a hard time just making it through a sentence!
"So the load from Albu-*huck* the Albuquerque lo-*hic*..." I paused and took a deep, but mistimed breath. "Albuquer-*mk*-que!" I attempted again.
"You ain't talking about the load from Albuquerque, are you?" he joked.
"Yes!!" I exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, *hic* Mr. Dwight. I don't *hic* know why I have the hic-*uck*-cups so bad today!"
"It's ok, darling. How about this," he suggested. "How about I go lie down and take a nap for a couple hours, then you call me back when your hiccups are gone."
I laughed. "Hey, a nap sounds *hic* good right now!"
"Yeah, but the problem with naps is, at my age, if I lie down for a nap I may never get back up!" he joked.
In spite of the hiccups, I was finally able to explain to him why the load that went to Albuquerque was priced differently from the others. "It's all coming back to me now," he said once he understood. "Thank you for being so patient with old Mr. Dwight."
"Hey, thank *hic* you for being so patient with m-*uck* me and my hiccups!" I responded sheepishly.
When I hung up the phone, Dawson looked over at me. "Someone really should have gotten that conversation on tape," he teased.
"You'd have to g-*huck* get his side of it too, though!" I pointed out. "He's *hic* so hilarious!"
After nearly an hour with this particular case of the hiccups, I decided to take a lull in the phone calls as an opportunity for a bathroom break. On the way, I took another try at holding my breath. After turning a corner in the hallway, I stood to the side to let one of the computer support guys pass me. He momentarily stopped pushing his cart loaded with computer parts and office phones to give me a quizzical look. Realizing that I was still standing there plugging my nose and holding my breath, I took a quick breath and explained, "Just trying to get r-*hic* rid of my hiccups!"
He laughed. "My girlfriend gets those a lot; she uses this essential oil stuff to cure them. Seems weird to me but she swears by it."
"I may *hic* need to borrow some today," I joked. Not that I have a lot of experience with hiccup cures, but I'd definitely never heard of that one. I vaguely know what essential oils are; a couple of my friends are in one of those pyramid scheme things where they try to sign you up you to sell essential oils with them. Maybe I'd know more about it if I hadn't unfollowed them both on Facebook because they're incessantly posting about their oil business!
As it turned out, no essential oils were needed because after a quick stop at the water fountain, I held my breath one more time and the hiccups finally went away: at least temporarily.
My hiccups were back again at lunch time. I got them while the food I'd brought was warming up in the microwave. The man waiting beside the other microwave chuckled at my first few, extra-loud hiccups. "Got hiccups?" he asked.
"Yes! I've been getting them all *huck* day!" I exclaimed. Fortunately, a couple bites of my leftover lasagna seemed to do the trick, and I was able to eat in peace.
Halfway through the afternoon, the hiccups had just returned for a fifth time when Nicole came by our area. Nicole is one of the two managers over our department; there's twenty or thirty people who report to her, including my team. She's pretty new to the department, and it's quite a change working for her. The old boss was a pretty laid back, "do it the way you've always done it" type of guy. Not so with Nicole. She questions everything and everyone. To be honest, for the first couple months I was seriously afraid of her, but I think I mostly understand the way she operates now. We definitely needed the changes she's been making, but her abrupt, sometime tactless approach can still be a bit overwhelming.
"Hey Katie, do you have a minute?" she asked.
"Sure, can I finish *hic* documenting this adjustment first?"
"Yeah, go ahead," she agreed. "How has it been going over here today?"
"A little slower than usual, actually," Shelly answered. "Judy from Mid-States called again, apparently they're still seeing those charges we tried to reverse last week. But other than that, it's been pretty quiet."
"We already sent the money back; what else does she want us to do?" Nicole sighed.
I looked up momentarily from my work to add, "Oh, and I'm pretty sure my *hic* first customer this morning is going to sue *huck* me for emotional distress over the $16.95 we *hic* -- the $16.95 we overcharged them."
Nicole just shook her head.
"And if they don't, I'm going to sue Katie for the emotional distress of having to endure her hiccups all day today," Dawson joked.
"Don't you hate those?" Nicole commented.
"Ok, I'm ready," I said, finished with the documentation I had been working on.
"Let's go to my office," Nicole suggested. Shelly gave me a questioning look as I passed her desk. I just shrugged; I had no idea what this was about.
On the way I tried to hold my breath again. The last couple times, holding my breath hadn't worked so I had just waited until the hiccups subsided on their own, but I was hoping that this time I could get rid of them before we made it to Nicole's office. Halfway there, someone stopped Nicole to ask her a question, so I just stood there awkwardly trying to hold my breath while they talked. It still wasn't working, though. What was I doing wrong? It had worked so well the first couple times!
We finally made it to Nicole's office and she pushed the door closed. Along the way we had picked up Steve, the other manager in our department. He manages the billing team. I was puzzled and a little nervous: I was pretty sure Nicole liked my work but I didn't know what she and Steve would want to talk to me privately about! Fortunately, they didn't waste much time getting to the point.
"Katie, you know Steve, right?" Nicole asked.
"Yeah, we've *hic* worked together a few times on billing qu-*huck* billing questions," I answered. "Sorry; I've got hiccups." I added simply.
Steve chuckled. "No problem."
Nicole continued. "So as you know, we've been expanding our analyst team the past few months."
"And by expanding, she means expanding from zero to one," Steve pointed out.
"That's Christy, right?" I clarified.
Steve nodded. "Yes, she's been pretty swamped as I'm sure you can imagine."
"Yeah, I *huck* hear that from her every now and th-*hic* then," I laughed.
"Well as you also know, we've been trying to hire another person to work on the reconciler team with you and Dawson and Shelly. We have made an offer to a candidate and she's accepted, so she should be starting next week," Nicole explained.
"That's great!" I said with a smile.
"We've both seen the quality work you do and your attention to detail, and we think you'd be a great fit for an analyst position," Nicole offered.
Steve added, "It wouldn't be right away because we'd like you to help get the new girl onboarded first, but within the next several weeks we'd work on transitioning you to working more with Christy and doing some of the stuff that I've been handling myself."
"Is that something you'd be interested in?" Nicole asked.
"Wow, that's..." I trailed off. I hadn't been expecting a new position! Billing analyst is definitely a step up from answering phones, and from what Christy tells me, the pay is a little better, too! "That sounds *hic* great!" I finally answered. "But what about Dawson and Sh-*hic* Shelly? They've been here way longer than I *huck* have."
"Dawson will be serving as a team lead for the reconciling team, and to be honest, Shelly wants to stay where she's at. Their experience will also help with getting the new employee up to speed quickly," Nicole explained. "And we think you'd do a great job with all the analysis work we're getting."
"Thanks, I hope I will. *hic* I'll definitely try! Does Christy know about *huck* this yet?"
"Yes, she and I talked last week about the possibility of bringing you over," Steve answered. "She's pretty excited about it."
"Aww, *hic* I'm excited too!" I beamed. "Thank y'all so mu-*uck* much!"
"Now go get rid of those hiccups!" Steve laughed.
"I'll try!" I promised. "I seriously never *hic* get the hiccups, this is so weird."
I practically floated back to my desk. I would miss working so much with Dawson and Shelly, but I'd still be helping them dig into more complicated issues, and it would definitely be more interesting work. Fewer angry phone calls, too! Steve would be a bit less intimidating of a boss, and of course, I was excited about working with one of my best friends! Christy and I have been best friends since high school; she and her twin sister Cassie were in my wedding. At least, Cassie was supposed to be, but then she was in a car accident and, well, that's another whole story.
I pulled out my phone and sent Christy a text. "How could you and Steve talk about me behind my back?!?" I joked.
To my surprise, she texted back almost immediately. "Omg they offered you the job?"
I grinned. "Yesss! You better teach me everything you know when you get back!"
"That won't take long," she answered.
"I know, we're in it together now!" I typed.
Dawson had seen the big smile on my face when I returned to my desk, and didn't take long to comment on it. "What are you all smiles about?"
"They *hic* offered me an analyst job working with Christy! I was just texting her *huck* about it," I explained, still standing by my desk chair, beaming.
"Where did she go on vacation, anyway?" Dawson asked indifferently, not even turning from his computer screen.
"She and Cassie *hic* went to visit their older sister in Arizona; they were at the Grand Canyon yes-*hic* yesterday, and I think today they're --"
"You know," he interrupted, "It's really hard to tease you when you don't even notice. Congratulations, Katie!" He came over and gave me a big hug.
"Oh my gosh, so did *hic* everyone know except me?" I asked.
Shelly had just finished with a phone call, so she came over to my desk too. "Did everyone know what?"
"She's leaving us for Steve and Christy," Dawson said with a frown.
"What?" Shelly obviously didn't know.
"They offered me an *hic* analyst job," I explained. "But I won't start right away, they're *huck* bringing someone in to take my place here so we *hic* have to get her trained first."
"So don't teach the new person anything," Dawson ordered, looking at Shelly. "We can drag it out for a few months, at least!"
Shelly laughed. "We're going to miss working with you, Katie!" She gave me a hug too.
"I'll just be on the *hic* other side of the room!" I consoled. "I might even come v-*huck* visit once in a while!"
Eventually, 5:00 arrived and I gathered my things to head out. Dawson had left at 4 as usual, so things were much quieter for the last hour! I still had the hiccups, but Shelly didn't bother me about it and I only really paid attention to them when I was apologizing for them to customers on the phone. That part had definitely gotten a little old.
"Have a great weekend! I'll see you *hic* on Monday," I said to Shelly as I stood to leave.
"You have a good weekend too, sweetheart," Shelly replied. "Hope you can get rid of those hiccups."
"Aw thanks, I'm sure I *huck* will!" I replied cheerily. "Nothing cures hiccups like a *hic* five-mile run, right?"
Shelly chuckled. "Is that where you're going now?"
"Yep!"
"Bless your heart," she cooed. "You kids and your running!"
I'm definitely not a gym rat, but I do like to try to stay fit. Ally and I usually go running a couple times a week, and we go to the gym two or three times, too. Brendan joins us at the gym when he can, but running isn't his thing at all. Ally is pretty much the one who keeps me motivated. I'm not at all big - I'm 5'6 and I guess I'm a little skinnier than average, although I feel like I've been gaining weight lately - but next to her I feel like a giant. She's a fiery little brunette, barely five feet tall and like perfectly toned. She's patient with me, though, and we have a lot of fun together.
Fortunately, I somehow got rid of my hiccups on my way to meet with Ally, and they didn't come back for the duration of our run. But while we were cooling down in the parking area, they started back up. "Oh no," I groaned after I felt the first one quietly jerk my body.
"What is it?" Ally asked, looking toward me.
"Hiccups again," I confessed. "I've been get-*huck* getting them all day."
"Aww, drink some water!" she suggested.
"Holding my *hic* breath actually worked this morning but I *hic* don't think I can do that right now!" I explained, still a bit out-of-breath from the exercise.
"Try drinking water upside-down, that always works when I get the hiccups," she pressed.
I took a big gulp from my water bottle, but immediately hiccupped, even louder than before.
"No, no!" Ally corrected. "Upside-down!"
I was confused. "How do you even -- *hic*"
Ally laughed. "Here, watch," she instructed. She put the bottle to her lips, bent over upside-down, and took several sips. "You can do it with a cup too but it's kinda tricky that way."
"I think I would *hic* make a big mess," I concurred. Drinking from my bottle didn't seem too difficult, though, so I put it to my lips and hesitantly bent over. I promptly choked on the first sip and came up sputtering and hiccupping.
Ally just laughed.
"I hiccupped ri-*hic* right when I drank it!" I explained hoarsely.
Recovering from that miscue, I bent over again, and successfully took several long upside-down sips from the bottle.
"That's all?" I asked as I stood upright again. "And then they're g--*huck*"
Ally giggled. "Aww Katie! It always works for me!"
Clearly still hiccupping, I just shrugged. "So m-*huck* much for that!"
We chatted for a few more minutes but soon said good-bye and headed home. I guess I was too tired to even think about getting rid of my hiccups, because I still had them when I stumbled into our apartment with my purse and gym bag in tow. Brendan appeared from the kitchen to greet me. "Hey beautiful, welcome home!"
I normally wouldn't have felt particularly beautiful standing there in my running tights with shorts over them, a sports bra, tank top, and my hair starting to fall out of the ponytail I had put it into before running. But somehow when Brendan says that it makes me feel like the prettiest, most loved girl in the world! "Thanks," I beamed, putting my things down and giving him a long hug. "How w-- how was your day?"
"It was busy but productive," he began, still holding me close. "Got some time this afternoon to work on my thesis so that was helpful. What about you? Do you have the hiccups again?" he asked, noticing my body's periodic convulsions.
"Oh my gosh, Brendan, I have *hic* had the hiccups all day! It's the weirdest th-*hic* thing. Every time I'd get rid of them they'd *huck* come right back. But guess what!"
"Um, you won the lottery?" We don't even play the lottery, but that's still what he says every time. You'd think he could come up with something more creative, but now that I think about it, I introduce a lot of things with "guess what" so maybe he's just given up on more creative guessing.
"Nooo," I answered. This time he was going to have to actually guess!
"You... set a personal record running tonight?" Hey, now he's trying at least!
"With the hiccups? *hmk* I'm lucky I made it back to the car!" I laughed.
"You're getting a Christmas bonus a month early?"
"Well, that's clo-*huck* closer at least!" I conceded. "I got offered a new *hic* position, working with Christy and her boss."
"That's awesome!" he congratulated me. "Better pay, more responsibility?"
"Well, more inter-*hmk* interesting work at least, and I think I'll get *hic* paid a little more too!"
"I'm so proud of you, honey; that's great! You haven't even been there that long!"
"I know, I'm so e-*huck* excited!" I gushed.
"In celebration," Brendan began, walking me back into the kitchen, "How about some pierogi?"
"Awww, honey, that s-*hmk* sounds amazing!" Brendan is such a good cook!
I helped him finish getting supper ready, and we sat down to eat. I wasn't sure how eating with the hiccups was going to work out, but fortunately they again went away only a few bites into the meal. The food was delicious! That's one thing I really like about exercise: it makes a good meal feel so much more satisfying!
"So I heard back from someone at MIT today," Brendan stated nonchalantly between bites of pierogi. Now that he's almost done with his master's degree, he's been applying to various schools' doctoral programs. While I kind of hope he stays at the University of Houston, it's good for him to have options to choose from; and there aren't many options more prestigious than the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology!
"You did?" I asked excitedly. "What did they say?"
"They want me to go up there for an interview within the next few weeks," he announced.
"That's wonderful! You are amazing!" Now it was my turn to congratulate him!
"Thanks, it's just an interview though," he reminded me.
"Still," I pressed. "That's one of the most famous schools in the world! It's not like they accept just anyone's application. And you have, what, three or four other interviews too?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty excited," he conceded. "Plus, I know I'll get one here at UH, they just haven't scheduled it yet."
"You're probably going to end up accepted to more than one place!"
He smiled. "That would be a good problem to have, wouldn't it?"
Brendan had a lot of work to do on his thesis that evening, but finally he joined me in our room and we got ready for bed. My hiccups had come back - again! - shortly after dinner, and I'd had them all evening as I cleaned up around the house, paid some bills, took a shower, and watched a little TV. With Brendan working in the second bedroom that we use as an office, there was no one around to notice the hiccups, and I had pretty much ignored them too. It was pretty funny having them in the shower, though; our bathroom has a lot of tile and it seemed like my hiccups were twice as loud in there! Seeing myself in the mirror with them was kind of strange, too. I hadn't noticed how much they make me jump!
Still, it wasn't until we were finishing getting ready for bed that I decided to try to get rid of them again. As I hiccupped my way through brushing my teeth, Brendan asked, "Did you have those hiccups this whole time?"
"I thuhn--*uck*" Between the hiccups and a mouthful of toothpaste there was no way I could make a coherent answer! I motioned for him to wait.
Once I was finished, I answered him. "I think they came back *hic* right after you went into the office."
"That was like three hours ago. You must be so tired of it!" He gave me a sympathetic look.
"I'm ok, *hic* I guess now I know what my cousin Hannah f-*hic* feels like!"
"She's the one that had the hiccups at our wedding, right?" he asked.
I nodded. "She'll have them for *hic* hours like this, but it's every day, not just one ti-*hic* time in years!"
"Do you want me to help you try to get rid of them?" he offered.
"It would be nice to *hic* get rid of them before bed," I agreed. "I'll try *huck* holding my breath again."
As I had done so many times already that day, I took a deep breath, plugged my nose, and waited. Brendan came over and playfully planted a kiss on my puffed cheek.
I giggled, "Thanks but that's n-*hic* that's not helping!" Nonetheless, I turned and gave him a kiss on the lips, punctuated by another hiccup.
"I hope you're not contagious!" Brendan teased.
"Okay, let me *huck* try again," I said. Remembering how I had cured them before running with Ally, I added, "Wait, it was easier before if I took a drink of water first."
After a few sips of water, I tried holding my breath again as Brendan looked on with a sympathetic, if a bit bemused, look. Finally I took a deep breath after I could hold it no longer.
"Did it work?" he asked.
"I don't know; we'll see," I said, walking back into the bedroom.
Somehow it must have worked because the hiccups really were gone. "I think my hiccups are gone," I finally proclaimed as Brendan and I climbed into bed. That was a relief because trying to sleep with the hiccups doesn't sound like my idea of a good time!
"I guess you better get to sleep before they come back!"
I just laughed. I don't think I'll have any trouble with that! Cuddled up in bed next to my husband, I was asleep within minutes. It had been a great day. A long one, and kind of a strange one, but a great one. Our future is bright, and I can't wait to find out what it surprises us with next!