Amy had two big threats to her happiness today-her health and the weather.

She could not do anything about the weather. But maybe she could make herself feel or at least look better.

Maybe there was a discrete way she could plug her nose. Drops of blood would clearly be more noticeable than drops of water.

But first, she needed to reduce the likelihood of her sneezing. So she used mouthwash, swishing it back and forth in her mouth for several minutes.

She then looked at the clock. It was 9:46 AM. The ceremony would begin at 7:00 PM. Penny and Bernadette would arrive at 5:00 PM to help her get ready. Bernadette would be her maid of honor, and she was in charge of delivering Amy's wedding dress, slippers, and veil.

Amy decided she needed to conceal any and all evidence of her illness from Penny and Bernadette. Especially Bernadette. Bernadette was becoming more paranoid about germs since Halley was born. Penny would merely annoy Amy by asking if she wanted to reschedule the ceremony over and over again.

Maybe Amy could see a doctor. But who could she make an appointment with in the next nine hours without going to the emergency room? So Amy decided to handle things herself.

She used the scientific method. First she measured the height and diameter of her nostrils. Then she made three possible plugs to absorb any blood that might trickle out. One was made of Kleenex tissues. The second was made of toilet paper. The third was made of paper towels.

Then she took a sample of liquid from an ink dropper and squirted it onto each test sample. The liquid was chocolate syrup. Paper towels turned out to be the most absorbent.

She stuffed the paper towel wadding into her nose.

But in a few minutes she removed it. It was too itchy.

So she used toilet paper instead. It was the second most absorbent, and it felt much better.

Then she thought of more scientific testing to perform. How much wild dancing could she do before the plugs popped out?

She jumped up and down more than a dozen times. She nodded her head vigorously and continuously for ten whole minutes. She breathed out through her nose as hard as she possibly could. The plugs did not budge.

Then she heard a unpleasant sound.

A sound that was the last sound she wanted to hear right now.

She looked out the window. It was raining. Hard.

To be continued even further...