And a swollen head. All in the same afternoon.
The Guy was to go to a Friends of Children event Sunday afternoon, which I had signed up for too but later cried off because of a lingering cold and sore throat that made me want to stay home and rest. I invited a friend over for lunch and company.
We had been to a friend's birthday party Saturday night, so I got up late that morning, after the Guy had already left. I had a lazy quiet morning before I laid aside my book and decided to become more productive.
I was cooking lunch and doing laundry, and I left the pan on the stove to walk into the bedroom to get something. I didn't notice the water spilled on the floor. On my way back, I slipped. My foot rammed into the washing machine and my head into the door.
With a searing pain in my head and the impact making me dizzy, I stumbled to the kitchen and turned off the gas. Since I had the presence of mind to do so, I realized I probably wasn't seriously hurt. I made my way to the sofa and sat down.
As I gingerly felt my head, I also wondered why my foot hurt. I looked down, and my little toe was a bloody mess.
Fortunately for you, I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture. But I had a hard time making out my toenail, painted red, from the bloody skin. I quickly closed my eyes and leaned back on the sofa.
My friend (whom we shall call Taita, after the protagonist of his favorite book) was due soon, so I thought I could just wait for him. He should be able to take care of this, I thought, with all those stories he tells of gory things that happened to him or his friends.
After a couple of minutes, when the shock had worn down, I realized I should better see to it myself. So I hopped back into the bedroom, found the necessary supplies, and dabbed Savlon on my toe. The cotton came off all bloody. I hadn't seen my own blood in a while, and I was a little surprised at how red it was.
I saw that my nail was standing straight up at a right angle to my toe.
I shuddered, and cursed my luck that I had to deal with this alone. But I managed to get the nail sitting flat again, and got a Band-aid on it.
Then I hopped back out to the sofa and sat down, and grabbed my book again. But my head hadn't stopped hurting, and when I touched it again, I felt a bump.
After trying to ignore it for a minute, I got back up and put ice cubes into a plastic bag. Hopped back down to the sofa and sat down holding the bag to my head.
As the ice melted, icy water poured out through a hole in the bag. I ignored it for as long as I could, until I decided I didn't want to get pneumonia.
I hopped back into the kitchen, threw the ice bag down near the sink, and hopped into the bedroom to change my damp shorts. I was afraid I'd graze the toe on pants, so I put on this ridiculous short skirt that had been a regretted purchase.
I hopped back to the sofa and waited. The Guy called and said he was on his way home. Still no sign of Taita.
So I got up again and finished making lunch.
Taita has good timing: he arrived soon after lunch was ready.
"How are you?" he said in his characteristic upbeat way as he held out his arms for a hug. That's all the encouragement I needed to tell him the sad tale of the bumpy head and the bloodied toe. We sat down at the table as I continued my story. When I told him how the toe had looked, he shuddered.
"I can't stand the sight of blood," he confided. It's probably a good thing for our friendship that I was too stunned to yell, "What's the point of all your bloody stories if you can't bandage my bloody toe?"
Taita served lunch, and the Guy let himself in soon after. We waved at him, he smiled at us, refused to join us for lunch because he had eaten already, and went in to freshen up. Taita and I were talking animatedly when he came back and asked quietly, "How are you?"
Taita laughed, guessing accurately he must have freaked out all his way over and was pretending to be calm now.
The Guy looked at my now clean, Band-aided toe and at the bump on my head and sat with us for a while before going off to do his own thing. Taita and I finished lunch and sat in the living room for a while before moving to the balcony.
We looked out at a blue sky with lots of white clouds, and the sun tracing patterns on hills in the distance. As we made our way through several cigarettes and topics of conversation, the weather changed. It drizzled at first, and then the rain poured down. The sun came out while it was still raining.
Just the weather for a rainbow, I thought, looking at the spot where several rainbows have appeared in the last few weeks.
And while I was looking, it formed. I exclaimed and waved at it to get Taita's attention. We looked at it in delight, and then I went in, excitedly calling to the Guy. I found him tumbled up in our bed, fast asleep.
The Guy was to go to a Friends of Children event Sunday afternoon, which I had signed up for too but later cried off because of a lingering cold and sore throat that made me want to stay home and rest. I invited a friend over for lunch and company.
We had been to a friend's birthday party Saturday night, so I got up late that morning, after the Guy had already left. I had a lazy quiet morning before I laid aside my book and decided to become more productive.
I was cooking lunch and doing laundry, and I left the pan on the stove to walk into the bedroom to get something. I didn't notice the water spilled on the floor. On my way back, I slipped. My foot rammed into the washing machine and my head into the door.
With a searing pain in my head and the impact making me dizzy, I stumbled to the kitchen and turned off the gas. Since I had the presence of mind to do so, I realized I probably wasn't seriously hurt. I made my way to the sofa and sat down.
As I gingerly felt my head, I also wondered why my foot hurt. I looked down, and my little toe was a bloody mess.
Fortunately for you, I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture. But I had a hard time making out my toenail, painted red, from the bloody skin. I quickly closed my eyes and leaned back on the sofa.
My friend (whom we shall call Taita, after the protagonist of his favorite book) was due soon, so I thought I could just wait for him. He should be able to take care of this, I thought, with all those stories he tells of gory things that happened to him or his friends.
After a couple of minutes, when the shock had worn down, I realized I should better see to it myself. So I hopped back into the bedroom, found the necessary supplies, and dabbed Savlon on my toe. The cotton came off all bloody. I hadn't seen my own blood in a while, and I was a little surprised at how red it was.
I saw that my nail was standing straight up at a right angle to my toe.
I shuddered, and cursed my luck that I had to deal with this alone. But I managed to get the nail sitting flat again, and got a Band-aid on it.
Then I hopped back out to the sofa and sat down, and grabbed my book again. But my head hadn't stopped hurting, and when I touched it again, I felt a bump.
After trying to ignore it for a minute, I got back up and put ice cubes into a plastic bag. Hopped back down to the sofa and sat down holding the bag to my head.
As the ice melted, icy water poured out through a hole in the bag. I ignored it for as long as I could, until I decided I didn't want to get pneumonia.
I hopped back into the kitchen, threw the ice bag down near the sink, and hopped into the bedroom to change my damp shorts. I was afraid I'd graze the toe on pants, so I put on this ridiculous short skirt that had been a regretted purchase.
I hopped back to the sofa and waited. The Guy called and said he was on his way home. Still no sign of Taita.
So I got up again and finished making lunch.
Taita has good timing: he arrived soon after lunch was ready.
"How are you?" he said in his characteristic upbeat way as he held out his arms for a hug. That's all the encouragement I needed to tell him the sad tale of the bumpy head and the bloodied toe. We sat down at the table as I continued my story. When I told him how the toe had looked, he shuddered.
"I can't stand the sight of blood," he confided. It's probably a good thing for our friendship that I was too stunned to yell, "What's the point of all your bloody stories if you can't bandage my bloody toe?"
Taita served lunch, and the Guy let himself in soon after. We waved at him, he smiled at us, refused to join us for lunch because he had eaten already, and went in to freshen up. Taita and I were talking animatedly when he came back and asked quietly, "How are you?"
Taita laughed, guessing accurately he must have freaked out all his way over and was pretending to be calm now.
The Guy looked at my now clean, Band-aided toe and at the bump on my head and sat with us for a while before going off to do his own thing. Taita and I finished lunch and sat in the living room for a while before moving to the balcony.
We looked out at a blue sky with lots of white clouds, and the sun tracing patterns on hills in the distance. As we made our way through several cigarettes and topics of conversation, the weather changed. It drizzled at first, and then the rain poured down. The sun came out while it was still raining.
Just the weather for a rainbow, I thought, looking at the spot where several rainbows have appeared in the last few weeks.
And while I was looking, it formed. I exclaimed and waved at it to get Taita's attention. We looked at it in delight, and then I went in, excitedly calling to the Guy. I found him tumbled up in our bed, fast asleep.
So what if I had a bumped head and a bloody toe?
I also had lunch with a friend and saw a rainbow.
No comments:
Post a Comment