Jim stopped abruptly. He had been so itchy, the scratching had practically been on autopilot. “I don’t know what it is but my stomach has been itching for hours."
Blair approached his friend and reached for the hem of his shirt. “Let’s have a look.” Jim started to protest but Blair got the shirt raised. He cringed when he saw Jim’s abdomen was covered in angry red welts. “This is why you’re so itchy, big guy.”
Jim glanced down at his own stomach, surprised by how bad it really looked. “Must be a reaction to something. But I don’t think I’ve ingested anything out of the ordinary today. Laundry products are the same….”
Blair raised his hands. “Big guy, we can figure all that out later. Right now what say we concentrate on getting you some relief.” He reached for the phone.”
“I don’t need a doctor, “ Jim protested.
Blair laughed. “No doctor, man. But we need to get you into a tub with some colloidal oatmeal and epsom salts.”
“Sounds good, but our tub is too shallow for a decent soak.”
“I know. But Michelle has that great big deep soaking tub in that master bath of hers.”
“So call her.”
Blair rolled his eyes, “What do you think I’m doing?”
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Fifteen minutes later the two arrived at Michelle’s apartment. The three then made their way through the bedroom into the en suite. The tub was spectacular. Big lengthwise and deep. It was one of those tubs where one had to go up two steps to climb in. Jim eyed it. “That’s some tub.” Then he turned sharply to Blair. “Hey, how do you know about this and I don’t?”
Blair laughed as he started to run the water. “Man, I was borrowing this tub for P.T. while you were still in the jungles of Peru. It even has massage jets.” Blair started to add the epsom salts and oatmeal to the water. He put the jets on low. “This will distribute this stuff better,” he told Jim.
It was then Michelle entered with a large mat. “Here, don’t forget the soaking mat.” She handed it to Blair who set it in the tub and watched the water fill over it. He turned to Jim. “It’s almost ready. Better get your clothes off.”
Jim removed his shirt and undershirt. He stripped off his jeans and socks, then just stood there in his boxers like he didn’t know what to do next.
Blair shut off the water. “You gonna get in the tub like that,” the younger man inquired.
“Look, Chief,” Jim began, slightly embarrassed. “Only two of us here have ever seen me completely naked…”
Blair and Michelle laughed and she said, “Okay, I’m leaving.” She bent to pick up the clothes that Jim had discarded.
Jim put up his hand. “No. Wait. One of us has to make this first move.” He put his thumbs in the waistband of the boxers and with almost a “ta da” he pushed them down and stepped out of them. He gave Michelle a look. “If I wasn’t so itchy and miserable right now I’d strut.”
Michelle shook her head. “If I didn’t feel so sorry for you right now I’d laugh.” Jim pelted her with the boxers he still held in his hand. She snagged them. “I’ll get these into the washer. I’m going to run them on the sanitizing cycle.”
Jim ascended the two steps and stepped down into the tub. “That’ll take three hours,” he said as he settled in and let Blair help him into more of a reclining position on the mat.
“I brought a change of clothes for you, big guy. Fresh underwear and sweats, nice and soft.”
Michelle and Blair exchanged a look before she exited the bathroom.
Blair turned his attention to Jim. “You comfortable?”
“I guess.”
“Water temperature okay?”
Jim thought about it. “Yeah.”
“What’s wrong, Jim?”
“I’m still itching, Chief.”
“You just got in the tub, man. Be patient.”
Jim shifted slightly, “How long do I have to sit in this thing?”
Blair shrugged. “About half an hour. Jim, why don’t you just lie back and relax. Give it a chance.”
“I suppose,” he relented. “You’re not planning to sit here watching me this whole time?”
“No. Actually, Michelle and I are going to try to identify the culprit.” As if on cue Michelle walked in, handed Blair a notepad and pen, then slipped out of the room again. “Now starting with last night, everything you ate or drank…”
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Blair entered the kitchen to find Michelle at the stove. “I got the list,” he announced.
Michelle turned. “Great.” She handed him a mug. “Here, I made you some lemon balm tea.”
The two sat at the table and they began to go over the list. “I’m pretty sure I can rule out anything from dinner last night,” Blair began. “I cooked, didn’t use any new herbs or spices or anything.”
“Did you buy anything from a different source than usual?”
Blair shook his head and continued. “I can probably rule out the mini donuts he had as well. He’d been eating from that bag for days.” Blair absently tapped the pen on the table. “He ate bagels this morning. I wonder if the bakery used something different.” He grabbed his cell phone while Michelle looked up the number on her laptop. They continued this process with everything Jim had ingested with no success. “Last item on the list,” he declared. “I hope this is it or we’re back to square one.”
“What is it?”
Tiredly, Blair read, “It says ‘cookies that were on Rafe’s desk.’” Blair perked up for a moment, “You know, Rafe’s girlfriend is always baking something or other. I wonder…”
“Well, call him,” Michelle implored.
Blair grinned mischievously. “Why don’t you do it?”
“You know him far better than I do.”
“Yeah, “ Blair laughed. “But he has a crush on you. He might get a kick out of you calling him.”
“Why don’t you do it?”
Blair nodded. “Why don’t I do it.”
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Jim was resting comfortably when Michelle entered the bathroom. Hearing someone approach Jim peeled one eye. When he saw her he opened the other eye and smiled.
Michelle sat on the edge of the tub. “Feeling any better?”
“Doesn’t itch so much. But I’m starting to feel water logged.”
“Well, Blair and I think we figured it out.” Jim gave her a ‘don’t keep me hanging’ look. “You ate some cookies that were on Rafe’s desk. He had his girlfriend use Brazil nuts in the cookies because he said everyone in major crimes kept eating the cookies before he could get to them and most people in major crimes don’t like Brazil nuts…”
“Is that what those nuts were?”
“Apparently. Now it could have been the nuts themselves or the fact that they are extremely high in selenium. Most people in general can’t tolerate more than two.”
Jim chuckled. “Is that why in a whole can of mixed nuts there are usually only three?”
“Could be. How many cookies did you eat?”
Jim shrugged.
“That many, huh?" Jim flicked her with some water. "Well, for now that seems to be the cause of your discomfort.” Michelle dipped her hand in the water. “Is it still warm enough?’
Jim took hold of her hand and nodded. “I do like this tub, though. It’s big enough for two people in here.”
Michelle straightened. “Don’t get any ideas.”
“Don’t worry.” Jim suddenly grew serious, “Chelle?” She answered with her eyes. “Chelle… what happened that night. I know Blair explained it all to you. I know it doesn’t really excuse anything.” She was now looking at him intently. He gently stroked the hand he held. “I know you’ve forgiven me, even if I’m not sure I’ve forgiven myself. But, I’ve got to know. Did what happened ruin… ruin there ever being a chance of, well, you know?”
Michelle studied his face. “What if I tell you it had?”
Jim sighed, “I guess I’d have to accept it. And I’d only have myself to blame.”
“Would you want to stop seeing me?”
“Oh, dear God, no,” Jim confessed.
Michelle paused. “Well, no, it didn’t. Now I don't know what the timeline would have been but I suspect we’re on a delay.”
“I can live with that.”
Michelle rose then sat back down. “Jim, it’s not that I don’t trust you…”
“I know.”
“It’s just that what happened… Blair said you don’t even remember it clearly, that something took over…” Jim nodded. “I just want to be sure, I want us both to be sure that it can’t happen again. That when we are…” She paused searching for the right word. “Intimate,” she finally chose. “That we are both present, that you aren’t being controlled by some primitive drive. I want to be with you, not it. Does that make sense?”
“Perfect sense,” Jim told her. Then deciding it was getting too serious he opted to change the subject. “I really can’t get over the size of this tub. But it’s so relaxing I just might zone in here.”
Michelle reacted with concern, “Maybe you’d better….”
Jim didn’t let her finish. “No problem. You can just bring me out of it.” With that he plunged the hand he still held under the water and directly onto his most private part.
Feigning annoyance Michelle yanked her hand from the water. “What am I going to do with you?” Jim gave her a look. “No,” she told him jokingly. There was a part of her that actually understood the demonstration he had just given, basically what did not happen as a result.
“Well, how about this then?” Jim pulled away from the soaking mat and leaned over the edge of the tub kissing her as one would say, ‘decently.’
“Ahem.” Blair’s entrance caused them to break the kiss. “I can’t leave you two alone for a minute,” he joked.
“Sandburg,” Jim said with mock exasperation. “Your timing is impeccable as always.”
Blair chuckled. “Not my timing, big guy. Your thirty minutes is up. Time to get out.”
Jim glanced down at his abdomen. “The hives are still here.”
Michelle spoke before Blair could answer. “The soak only relieves the itching and removes some of the histamine.”
“Then what was the point of me doing this.”
“So Michelle could see you in your birthday suit,” Blair couldn’t resist saying, trying unsuccessfully to suppress laughter.
Michelle rose from where she was sitting. “You’re worse than he is,” she teased as she left the room.
Jim climbed from the tub accepting a towel Blair handed him. “What can I do for these things?”
Blair was prepared. “I have some cream here that should help.” He started to squeeze some onto his fingers and apply it to Jim’s skin.
Jim liberated the tube from the younger man. “I can manage this myself.”
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Clad in the sweats that Blair had thought to bring, Jim entered the living-room to find him chattering to Michelle. Whatever he was telling her seemed to have her head swimming. “What am I missing? Or do I want to know?”
Blair handed a photograph to Jim. It was a picture from 1978. It showed Naomi, Michelle’s mother Betty, a fifteen-year- old Michelle and a five-year-old Blair. Betty was proudly displaying her new PhD in Ethology.
Jim pinched Blair’s cheek. “Oh, you were so cute,” he teased. He looked at the picture again then turned to Michelle. “Full grown already. You haven’t changed."
Michelle swiped the picture away from him. “I knew I shouldn’t have displayed this. My mom just found it and sent it to me.”
“Yeah, just reminiscing about growing up with Miss Bossy Britches here,” Blair said only partly joking.
“Well, somebody had to take charge,” Michelle explained. “Our mothers didn’t.”
Jim smiled. “Be grateful, Chief.” Blair gave him a puzzled look. “If you hadn’t grown up with Michelle she wouldn’t have been here to help get you into Rainier. You wouldn’t have found me. I never would have met her and we wouldn’t be one big happy family.”
Blair laughed. "Jim, I think that oatmeal bath went to your brain. Anyway, we should get going.” He paused. “Unless, you want to stay over,” he addressed Jim. “I can pick you up on the way to the station in the morning.”
Jim’s eyes grew serious as he gazed at Michelle. “Not yet.” He moved to Michelle and they gave each other a slight nod of understanding before kissing each other good-bye.” Jim moved to the door, “Let’s go, Junior.”
Blair stepped closer to Michelle and dropped a quick kiss on her mouth, one like he would give Jim. “Naomi always said, ‘kiss your sister,’” he teased. Then more seriously he added, "Thanks for the use of the tub and the help." He and Jim exited the apartment.
Closing the door and turning the lock, Michelle shook her head, “One big happy family,” she sighed. “I can live with that.”
Outside, in the hall Blair looked at Jim. “One big happy family, “ he sighed. “I can live with that.”
The End