On the ferry this morning, I sat down at one of the galley tables next to a woman.

I’ve been dealing with allergies, I think, for the last week, which produce a large amount of mucus. During the night, it sinks down into my lungs and in the mornings, I cough it up. Pretty, I know.

So, I had a few coughs this morning sitting there and I could sense this woman squirming in her seat each time I do. Each time I cough, I’m careful to turn away from her and others, cough into the crook of my arm or into my handkerchief.

After a few coughs, she asks, “Are you getting over the flu or something?”

“No,” I say. “It’s allergies.”

“Because I do not want to get sick. I know there’s a lot of flu going around. I mean, I would just get up and move…”

“It’s not the flu,” I said. I wish I had thought to say, “Then you should get a flu shot.

No one wants to get sick, of course, but it was the imperiousness of her statement that struck me. I expect that the public will maintain a bubble of virus protection around me.

And, really, let’s say that I was infectious. Wasn’t she already exposed when she brought it up? We are constantly exposed to the public. Our immune systems are in constant negotiation. Have a little faith in evolution.