New Year's Eve

Before I tell you about New Year's Eve I should inform you that the poor guy suffers from Budd-Chiari syndrome, the clinical picture caused by occlusion of the hepatic vein or inferior vena cava. Examples of occlusion include thrombosis of hepatic veins and membranous webs in the inferior vena cava.
Several studies have attempted to predict the survival of patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome. In general, nearly 2/3 of patients with Budd-Chiari survive 10 years.
We now try to treat him with sodium restriction, diuretics to control ascites, anticoagulants such as heparin and warfarin, and general symptomatic management. Liver transplantation will be needed, I suppose.

James is pissed off because he will have to see You-Know-Who in a few minutes and all my attempts could not brighten up his mood. I'm curious how he will behave and if he offers an excuse.

But now...let's tell you about New Year's Eve.

Foreman and Chase arrived at about 6.30 pm and I answered the door.
"Hey...even more casual than usual!", Foreman grinned and looked at me from from top to bottom. I wore my beige Irish turtleneck pullover and dark brown corduroy trousers accompanied by the inevitable sneakers.
I looked down at me. "Erm...was there a dress code or why is that so funny?"
Chase snickered. "It's not funny. You just look...cute!"
"HAHA!", I gnarled and let them in.
It was really funny to see how careful Chase sat down and supported his bum with cushions. I chose the right needles, I think. And the Chase survival kit was huge!
I couldn't help but giggle when I saw Chase sitting down. He frowned but Foreman laughed and patted his shoulder. "We couldn't think to get away with this. So bear it like a man, hon."
We had a really funny evening I have to admit laughing about my revenge and having weird conversations. Chase was not really amused when he asked for munchies and got the pencil box...

And of course there was an embarassing moment as well. (Okay, we had loads of alcohol, so there were many, but this one was supposed to be embarassing.)
Chase had the idea to show embarassing things from our past and brought his old Yu-Gi-Oh cards and I almost laughed my ass off. Gawd, I never expected him to collect such crap.
Foreman went pink when he showed us two tattered editions of Jane Eyre and Sense and Sensibility which clearly showed that he read them time and again.
"Now it's your turn!", Chase insisted. "You two definitely have embarassing things from your past here!"
I chose to give Jim the advantage and watched him disappearing into the bedroom. When he came back he brought a photographic album and we all thought of childhood photographs showing him as a chubby little boy (I never saw his childhood photographs). But no...those photos were taken at the congress 10 years ago where we first met. And I was on every single photograph.
James blushed. "I...wanted to hold on to you by these photos. I...well...I didn't know by then if I'll ever see you again..."
It was my turn to blush now and I had to blink back a few tears. That wasn't embarassing at all. That was so sweet! Even Chase and Foreman were moved.
James wanted to pack it away already but I wanted to see all of the pictures. And guess what?
There was one we must have taken by self timer. It was us. Kissing!
I went pink and stammered something disjointed. "But...but...I...erm...um...did that really happen?"
James looked straight into my eyes. "Well...I told you so, didn't I? And you clearly see it happened."
I shook my head. "We've been so...dumb..."
"Hey", Jim said and lifted my chin. "But at long last we had our happy end..."
I smiled at him and nodded. "That's what counts..."
We softly kissed and I hoped everyone forgot it was my turn now.

"House? It's your turn now", Foreman remembered me when we parted. Rats!
I sighed, went into the bedroom and rummaged in our wardrobe until I found a small black agenda. Flipping through the sides I knew it was what I was looking for and came back to the sitting room with it.
"Okay...here you are..."
It was a kind of diary in which I scribbled anything I did with James years ago. The last entry was from shortly before my infarction, we've been fishing then. There was even a sketch of James I once did and some photos showing us both.
I shifted uncomfortably while the others looked at it and grabbed it back as soon as I could. Doing so a folded piece of paper fell out of the agenda and the most embarassing thing appeared - my poem.

The rest of the evening was pleasant and fun, although we watched Maurice and The Secret Garden. And I have to confess....I liked both movies...
We were so absorbed in the crappy horror movies Chase brought we almost missed midnight. I fought with the champagne bottle and was unable to open it. Jim failed, too and finally Foreman managed to open that damn bottle one minute past midnight with a loud popp. We poured the champagne, clicked glasses and greeted the new year with a deep kiss. (Of course Jim and me and Foreman and Chase....NOT all four!)
I don't know how we managed it but we went outside to watch the fireworks, came inside again and emptied six bottles of champagne! No wonder I fell asleep on the sofa around 1 am or 1.30 am. Chase fell asleep beside me and it was quite annoying waking up with him laying at my back.
After all I heared Foreman must have had a nap in the bathtub and Edward came to visit us just to find us all except James fast asleep.
He said he almost did something stupid. And I wonder what it was. You better pray to the grace of God it has nothing to do with James, Ed!!!!