by Ivan B
“But thanks for the breakfast.”
She walked towards her bedroom and stopped at the open door to Josie’s bedroom. She stepped inside, Josie was sitting on her bed crying. Mary sat next to her, she touched Josie’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry Josie, I really am.”
Josie nodded.
“I understand.”
But she patently didn’t understand and Mary sighed.
“We’ll do other things this week together.”
Josie shook her head.
“I thought you’d like the zoo, you’re always lending me books on animals.”
Mary rubbed her shoulder and said.
“We can’t always have what we want.”
The words seemed to echo off of the walls and resonate in Mary's head.
Mary thought for a minute, there was always the possibility that Josie was being manipulative, but she did seem genuinely upset. On the other hand the obstacle here was her own pride and the fact that she didn't want to be seen in a wheelchair. She weighed up the priorities. She had prayed the previous evening about seeing the wider view, so what was more important Josie's happiness or her vanity? She rubbed Josie's shoulder again.
“If I do come do you promise that you won't let your dad push me around too fast?”
Josie looked at her for a full three seconds and then flung her hands round her neck.
“I promise, you really will like the elephants, they're the best animals in the zoo!”
Mary went back into the kitchen, it was time to swallow some more pride. Robert was still loading the dishwasher, trying to fit the giant frying pan somewhere in the bottom tray. Mary perched herself on the edge of the table as Robert stood up and slammed the dishwasher door shut with a vengeance. He turned and looked at her. She gave a feeble smile.
“Sorry, I've been a bit of a grouch. I'm just a little sensitive about my mobility, perhaps over-sensitive. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is definitely weak. I will come to the zoo and I'll try not to be a pain.”
He leant against the sink.
“Why the change of heart? I could see in your face that the idea of a wheelchair was not exactly a moment of great joy.”
She said quietly, so that Josie would not hear.
“I decided that Josie’s happiness was more important than my pride.”
He gave her a curious look.
“What's pride got to do with being sensible?”
She sighed.
“It's not being seen in a wheelchair, it's having to use one, it's an admittance of failure.”
He read the effort this was taking in her eyes. He responded with surprising gentleness.
“You're not being a failure, you're being a realist. There are no prizes for pushing ourselves too hard, believe me I know.”
She was about to reply when Josie walked into the kitchen, she walked round the table and grabbed Mary's left arm, Robert noticed how natural the act was and wondered for the umpteenth time what he had started.
Mary went to see her friend by taxi, she knew just how horrendous parking was at the hospital where her friend worked. She walked from the taxi into the A&E department and it seemed larger than she remembered. A tall handsome triage nurse shot out of his cubicle and surveyed Mary.
“What’s the problem?”
“No problem I'm here to see Dr Susan Meradith, she knows I‘m coming.”
He surveyed her walking stick and her hook-hand.
“Past customer?”
She smiled.
“Unfortunately.”
He pointed.
“She's in consulting room number four, but she's not on duty.”
“I know, this is a social call.”
She walked over to the appropriate consulting room, knocked and entered. Within a few seconds she was hugging Susan. When they parted Susan looked her up and down.
“Still wearing brown I see.”
Mary sat down.
“And you're still dying your hair that gorgeous shade of burnt sienna.”
They past a few pleasantries, caught up on old times and then Susan reached out and held her hand.
“So what brings you here? I‘m due to come and stay with you next month and I‘m looking forward to it.”
Mary nodded.
“I didn’t want to mix business with pleasure.”
Susan gave her a half-smile.
“I’m not you doctor Mary.”
Mary cast her eyes downwards.
“I just wanted some advice.”
Susan knew her friend well.
“Just advice?”
Mary nodded.
“My right knee is starting to ache, it’s not too bad if I’m moving and sitting, but if I want to go shopping it starts to hurt after about forty minutes and really hurts if I try for an hour.”
Susan stood up.
“Come on then, step out of your slacks.”
Susan knelt down at Mary’s feet and put her hands on her left knee. Mary squirmed slightly
“Ooo your hands are cold.”
Susan smiled and felt around the top of the knee where the knee cap should have been.
“But not as cold as you heart, when are you going to let a man into your life?”
Mary grimaced as Susan probed around the knee joint.
“When I find someone with the right qualities.”
Susan chuckled as she felt round the back of the knee.
“I rather think that the arch-angel Gabriel is taken.”
Mary didn’t reply as Susan started on her examination routine.
“Right now push against me… now pull… try sideways pressure left…and right…now your thigh muscles up…and down. She changed position to examine the ankle,” flex left…right…up…down…curl your toes, point as far down as you can. She then felt Mary’s lower leg, fingering the muscles and feeling the tension inside them. She moved up to the thigh muscles and knelt forward.
“This may hurt a bit.”
She held onto Mary’s bent lower leg and pulled it away from the thigh and then tried to rotate it. On the clockwise rotate she heard Mary gasp. Susan sat back on her haunches and tenderly massaged Mary’s knee. She then repeated the entire process with Mary’s left leg and once again sat back on her haunches. She looked at Mary and started to massage the right knee again. She said quietly “What do you think it is?”
Mary couldn’t bring herself to look at Susan.
“The knee joint itself, I don’t think it’s the tendons or the muscles this time.”
Susan nodded.
“I’d need an X-ray and a CT scan to be certain, but I’m pretty sure that there’s a degree of lateral wear in the knee joint.”
Susan rose to her feet and sat on the chair next to Mary.
“We knew that the way you have to walk would cause problems in the long term with that knee joint. Your left leg’s fine by the way. See all that kneecap surgery was worthwhile.” Susan tried to sound reassuring.
“The fact that you are still walking largely unaided is a minor miracle in my book, but the rolling gait puts some sideways pressure on the joint and as good as what muscles you have are, they are not designed to hold together a joint that was rebuilt with the medical equivalent of string and sealing wax.”
Mary did not move, she said quietly.
“So now what? Will it just fall apart?”
Susan held her friends hand.
“Get an X-ray and have the pin that’s holding the top of the joint together checked, but for what it’s worth – and strictly off the record – I don’t think that the joint will collapse; progressively wear yes, sudden failure, no.”
Mary took a deep breath.
“So I just have to grit my teeth and bear the pain.”
Susan shook her head.
“Definitely not. If your body is saying ‘please help’ then listen to it. The stick is a good idea as it takes some of the weight-load off, but it doesn’t stop the lateral movement.”
<
br /> Mary rubbed her knee, Susan’s little rotation trick had nearly sent her through the roof.
“So are we talking artificial knees?”
Susan cocked her head to one side.
“Well you wouldn’t notice any change in your mobility, you shouldn’t bend that knee more than 90° anyway and you’ve still got very little power in it below 120°, but the answer is probably not yet; though you should really be talking to your orthopaedic surgeon and not me. They didn’t fit an artificial joint after your accident, although they were sorely tempted because of the surrounding bone and tissue damage and the lack of a kneecap. Even now fitting one would not be easy, but it is possible. They could probably also lengthen the leg a little and reduce the roll. But for you that’s probably a little way down the road.”
The relief on Mary’s face was apparent, major leg operations were not high on her agenda of pleasurable experiences. Mary frowned.
“So what can I do?”
Susan rubbed the back of her friend’s hand.
“Have you thought of a lightweight plastic knee brace. If you get the correct type they can seriously minimise the lateral knee movement in the joint.”
Mary shuddered.
“I remember using one when I was recovering, it was awful.”
Susan gave a professional smile.
“That was a full length brace that also provided angle support. No I was thinking more of the braces used by sportsmen and extreme skiers. They’re lightweight, strong, durable and, under those slacks, not noticeable. Plus if you want to wear jeans, you can wear them on top, as long as you have a knee stocking on to prevent chaffing, denim is horrid on skin.”
Susan gave Mary a serious look.
“With the correct brace the pain might even go away and you’d certainly lengthen the period to when you will need an artificial joint. If you do nothing it can only get worse. The more wear the more slop, the more slop the more energy in movement and the more pain, it’s a vicious circle.”
Mary nodded, Susan scribbled an address on a piece of paper.
“Here’s the address of a really good sport’s shop, the staff there are very good and, more to the point, knowledgeable about sport’s knee braces. But don’t go for the short type that only fastens above and below the knee with one gripping point; to prevent the sort of lateral movement you are experiencing you need a double fitting above and below the knee.”
Susan looked into her friends eyes.
“Have you still got plenty of money in your special fund?”
Mary nodded.
“But I bought a car last year and it took a hammering.”
Susan grinned.
“Well don’t stint, buy the best they recommend; your body’s worth it.”
She hesitated.
“And you might want to consider a mobility scooter.”
Mary’s face hardened.
“You mean what wrinkles use.”
Susan laughed.
“Don’t be so derisory about them. You can get them adapted for one hand and just imagine, you could go to a modern shopping mall and visit every shop.”
They both relaxed and steered away from the subject of Mary’s legs and in the end, much to Susan’s delight, Mary invited her to dinner in the flat that evening. Mary had no idea what Robert would think of this, but she was still rattled by Josie’s drawing of Aruna as her best friend and had decided that Susan was her best friend, in fact she was her only friend.
Mary arrived back to find Robert cooking beans on toast, she chuckled at his attempts to get any sort of decent toast from the toaster.
“What happened to the large breakfast and minimal lunch?”
He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Josie.”
He dished up two plates and went to open another can of beans, she interrupted his progress.
“Not for me thanks, I’ll stick to fruit.”
They ate their lunch and Josie seemed really subdued, she said very little and ate mechanically. Mary began to smell a rat. After the meal Josie left immediately and went to her room. Robert seemed a closed book so Mary went into Josie’s bedroom, she had put the bed away and was sitting in an armchair doing nothing. Mary sat in the other armchair.
“What’s a matter Josie?”
She got a doleful reply.
“Nothing.”
Mary leaned back in her chair.
“Oh well if there’s nothing wrong everything must be all right, so why have you got a face like the back end of a camel?”
Josie didn’t even give a hint of a smile, eventually she mumbled.
“Daddy said that I was being a nuisance and that if I was a nuisance you wouldn’t like me.”
“What were you doing?”
She became slightly belligerent.
“Nothing, I was only looking at the shopping channel.”
“And wanting to buy everything I suppose.”
She back Mary a mournful look.
“I just said that I liked a dress, it was my size and I liked it.”
“What sort of dress?”
“A brown dress with bows on the sleeves.”
Mary sighed, it was the ‘brown’ thing.
“And you pestered you dad for it?”
She shrugged, Mary decided on some sideways tactics. She leant back in the chair and said carelessly.
“Brown’s nice, but I think it’s had it’s day. I was thinking of buying some new clothes, perhaps orange.”
Josie looked at her in disbelief.
“But you always wear brown.”
Well perhaps it’s time for a change, I could even change my hair dye!.”
Josie began to come out of her mood.
“You dye your hair?”
Mary leant forward to show her hair roots.
“See, the roots are a different colour and I’ve got grey hairs.”
Josie’s eyes widened.
“What colour is your hair?”
“Mouse coloured, and who wants to look like a mouse?”
Mary leant forward and fingered Josie’s blond hair.
“I might even become a blonde like you.”
Josie’s face broke into a huge smile
.“You wouldn’t.”
“If we find a chemist, I’ll buy some dye today, I’m fed up of brown.”
Robert’s voice came echoing unintelligibly down the corridor and Josie ran from the room. Mary sighed, what on earth was she doing? Brown was safe, brown was inconspicuous; blonde was bloody dangerous.
Mary got herself ready and then met the others in the lounge. Josie was her normal effusive self and she demonstrated this by hopping from foot to foot. Robert pointed down the corridor.
“Toilet.”
“Don’t need to.”
He pointed again and she set off on a swift mission. Mary turned to Robert.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve invited my friend Susan around for dinner this evening. She’s working the rest of the week and tonight was the only choice.”
He merely nodded.
“I’ll take Josie to a cinema somewhere.”
Mary was horrified at the thought.
“No, there’s no need for that. I thought that we might have dinner together and then Susan and I could chat in Josie’s room and she could start the night in my bed.”
He smiled tolerantly.
“We could go into her room.”
She became firm.
“It’s your holiday and your flat and I am not going to chuck you out of your own lounge.”
He held his hands up in surrender. Mary smiled.
“Does Josie eat Chinese?”
Robert rolled his eyes..
“She eats anything, but preferably with ice-cream.”
London Zoo proved both a hit and a revelation. It was much better than Mary expected and considerably changed from the one previous visit she had had in her early teens. She had walked about for half and hour and then decided that she was being si
lly as her knee started to twinge. Robert, from somewhere, produced a wheelchair and pushed her round for the rest of the afternoon. Somehow it was different from before; maybe it was because she could leave the wheelchair when she wanted, maybe she just didn’t care what other people thought. In any case the wheelchair meant that she saw far more than she would normally have dared to. The only downside was for Robert, as Mary had predicted, pushing wheelchairs over a long period of time can seriously damage your energy levels. However, Josie enjoyed the afternoon, Mary enjoyed the afternoon and Robert appeared to enjoy the afternoon even if towards the end he seemed to sit down a lot.
When they finally arrived home, much later than intended, the taxi dropped them off at the entrance to the flats and Josie pointed across the street.
“Chemist is open, they might sell hair dye.”
Mary surveyed the shop.
“They might not have the sort I like; we’ll take a look, but I am not buying another make.”
Robert, who had not really been listening, hesitated and then made for the flat. Mary, firmly hand in hand with Josie, crossed the road and looked around the shop. They did sell hair dye and, much to Mary’s surprise, a full range of colours of the type she liked. They spent an enjoyable forty minutes comparing all the blond hair dyes with Josie’s hair and then trying to work out just what shade to buy so that when added to mousy-brown it would come out exactly the same shade as Josie. Then Josie spotted the perfume counter and went up and smelt an expensive looking sampler, her nose wrinkled in disgust. Mary joined her and smelt the same perfume, with the same result. She looked at the perfume on sale, all branded varieties and all cheap. She turned to Josie.
“Well if we’re going to have the same colour hair, how about the same perfume, what do you like?”
Josie’s eyes became like saucers.
“Dad won’t let me wear perfume, says I’m too young.”
Mary smiled.
“Well I’ll just have to buy it and squirt it on you by mistake.”
Considerably later they left the shop armed with hair dye, shampoo, perfume and bubble bath; Mary was on a mission.
Chapter 11
Taking steps
Richard woke at the sound of the doorbell ringing. He gathered his thoughts for a few seconds and then went to the door. He opened it to find an apparition of beauty. Tall, slim, luxurious reddish-brown hair, tapered waist and a face that the paparazzi would chase for miles. The apparition smiled.