Franklin rolled over and groaned for the third time. He buried his face under his arm to blot out the light. He thought he’d read somewhere that photosensitivity was a sign of something incurable. Was that true, or did he just overhear it on the bus? It didn’t matter. He was sure he was dying. Franklin risked a look at Eleanor but she kept her back to him, ignoring his plight. She always did this. She never believed he was ill. Franklin tried another groan.
“Oh would you pipe down over there? All this moaning and groaning – it’s enough to drive me mad,” snapped Eleanor.
Her hands worked across the wall, smoothing the thick paste in place. Franklin forgot he was sick for an instant while he admired her decorating skills. A tickle in his throat forced him to cough and he remembered his illness.
“Don’t you care I’m dying?” asked Franklin.
“I don’t care what you do, as long as you’re quiet about it. Can’t you see I’m busy?” Eleanor turned around.
“What’s so important that you can’t tend to your sick husband?” asked Franklin. He coughed again to emphasise his point.
“You’re not sick, you’re just too lazy to help with the housework. This mucus doesn’t rearrange itself, you know!” replied Eleanor. “Anyway, what’s wrong with you?”
“I think I’ve caught a human. A nasty one,” said Franklin.
“Oh not again! You always-” began Eleanor.
“I tell you, there’s far too many of them at this time of year! Cousin Pneumonia caught one last week when she was minding her own business on the bus and Measles down the road got four on the trot,” said Franklin.
Eleanor rolled her eyes at him.
“Franklin James Influenza, you never cease to amaze me. You should learn to pull yourself together – you’ve only got man flu!”
Adorable and wow, pull the camera back and unbelievable. Good to know we can infect them right back!
Told you it was going to be a slice of silliness! I think I was having a bit of an eccentric day when I thought this would be a good idea.
Superb, and I love the twist! I think I may have married Eleanor’s sister! 😉
Ok, even with the title and lead-up I didn’t see it coming! Fantastic, Icy. 🙂
haha! Cleverly done 🙂
I’m going to refer to the flu as Franklin James from now on, to confuse my non-fridayflash participating friends!
A clever stroke of whimsy, delightfully executed.
Adam B @revhappiness
That Influenza sounds like a hypochondriac anyway. His poor wife! Men aren’t that bad… No, wait… 🙂
Cute twist! Try not to catch anything this season, or anyone… lol
Great title! Sounds like something on one of those young women novels at the bookstore.
Cool, fun little romp, Icy. Got a giggle this morning, thanks!
What a great concept and I like this better than the reality. And I think Mazz has a great idea. Tell Franklin James to stay away from me. Hey I’ve got to go get me Franklin James shot. I like it. I really really do.
MUCH better than my idea. This was *brilliant* Icy.
Did you know that US had a famous president-and-wife team named Franklin and Eleanor? : )
(Speaking of which There’s a bronchitis out there that’s got Me.)
That was quite a twist! Too funny! Ol’ influenza reminds me of me. I’m such a baby when I get sick. My wife picks on me relentlessly for being such a drama queen.
Ha, too funny! You even make flu season fun and enjoyable, Dr. Icy. 🙂
Yep, even with the title and buildup, I didn’t see it coming. Great story!
Awesome. Loved the twist… made me laugh. 🙂
LOL, love it when there’s a great surprise twist like this! And men are definitely babies when they get sick, so maybe the whining is just a symptom of the man flu 🙂
Poor Franklin! He’s gonna be sicker than he already is quite soon I bet.
This was fun Icy!
lOL Franklin James Influenza! Love it…so we’re not catching colds or the flu, etc., they’re catching us. Well to the flu I had last week, all I can say is that I hope you suffered, because I sure did. Great story, brilliant concept.
Love the story, gave me a good chuckle.
Ha! See, all manner of men are wuss’ when it comes to being sick! LOL
Very unusual concept Icy, really well done.
Ha! Quite amusing.
I’m glad everyone is getting a giggle out of this. It might not be high literature but it’s aiming to be entertaining.
People do sometimes remind me of diseases. There’s this one lady I met who is the spitting image of a bout of bronchitis I had back in ’95.
minor typo: third paragraph, “forget” for “forgot”
Very funny! The twist was a perfect new look ‘man’ flu.
So funny! <3
Glad everyone has been enjoying this! (John, thanks for the typo mention, now fixed)
What happens when the flu catches a human? Funny stuff, that’s what. I love how you anthropomorphized viruses. It gives a nice twist.
This reminds me of a story I wrote not too long ago called “Immunity” where sickness was told from the germs POV. Yours is much funnier, though. I love the whole sick male thing because that’s just how they act when they’re sick.
What a great twist – I loved it! That’s what I get for assuming a character is human. I’ll be more careful next time.
Take care,
Jess
Very cute, Icy – I’m hoping both humans and bugs can remain healthy for awhile 🙂
Icy, interesting spin. The names Franklin and Eleanor made me think about the American president (and his wife) . I like Eleanor’s spunk.
It must be terribly upsetting for Eleanor, right when she has everything just so, I blow my nose.
Crazy, nutty fun Icy!
Ha! I like the twist in this.
It might not be high literature as you say Icy, but it’s funny, quirky, has great dialog and works. We all need to laugh some of the time, don’t we?