by Jo Meadows
Her mind wandered as she slowly made her way to the sea front and then the promenade. When I first met him I must admit I thought he was quite attractive; not the best looking guy around but he had a decent job and he was good fun. He could certainly dance, that’s for sure. I suppose he was alright when it came to sex but what did I know? I’d never been with many other boys back then. When I found out I was pregnant with Michael, well that was that wasn’t it? Back then there was only one thing you did; you got married and you settled down with whichever idiot you’d allowed in your knickers. And, settled I did, that’s for sure, I could have done so much better if I’d been more careful, she thought, wondering about what might have been.
The main thing he had going for him was that he adored me, she thought, and he couldn’t do enough to show it. A girl needs to know she’s loved and he definitely did that. I’m sure he still loves me now, even though we haven’t made love for years. In fact, she remembered it clearly; the last time she’d allowed him anywhere near her was many, many years ago, it was the night that Lynnette had been conceived. They’d been on holiday in Yugoslavia and she’d let her guard down after one or two too many glasses of the local wine. She’d woken up in the morning with a stinking headache and a stinking, naked David draped all over her in the bed. That’s it she’d thought, I’m not being treated like some slut, there to be used, I deserve better than that.
Although he spoke about it occasionally, David seemed to accept the lack of sex after a while. He did complain about the lack of any intimacy at all, but he eventually stopped asking and just gave up. And that about sums him up, she thought, he just gives up and opts for the easy life. Perhaps if he’d grown a backbone, looked after himself a bit more and kept himself in better shape, things would be different. He’d always enjoyed his food and over the years he’d piled on the pounds so much so that now he’s almost repulsive to look at. No, he’s made his own bed and he can lie in it. I’ll lie in my own, she thought with a chuckle.
Her thoughts drifted back to what had happened just an hour or so ago and she started to wonder how to deal with him when she went home. He could be furious of course, but that’s unlikely, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him really angry, she thought. No, he’ll be all confused and worried and he’ll take his lead from the way I appear to be when I go in and he’ll react accordingly. I’m sure everything will be fine. I know I’ve never struck out before and that crosses a line, but he’ll be just a little bit frightened and I can use that.
Yes, everything will be fine; I just need to think about where I go from here. Perhaps the loss of his pills and that little slap are enough punishment for his recent misdemeanours. I’ll let things go for a little while and let him relax. My little outburst will no doubt result in some special treatment for me when we’ve had a chat. David always tries to keep me happy in his own way, and quite right after all I do for him. Let’s see how he does and I’ll take it from there. And with that, she picked up her pace and set off on her way home.
Chapter 5
By the next day things had calmed down and had pretty much gone back to normal. When Georgina had arrived home the day before, she had apologised for hitting David and for getting angry. David in turn, had also apologised and had said that Georgina may have been right about Emily breaking the ornament and that he shouldn’t have implied that she was wrong. After all, who else would have done it and not said something? Although, he’d only said this to avoid upsetting her again because in his heart he knew that Emily would have said something if she’d done it, she was an honest little girl. Anyway, they’d both opted for the easy way out of what had been a pretty bad situation, that was that, they would move on.
David though, hadn’t forgotten the fear he’d felt immediately after Georgina had slapped him and that fear still lurked in the back of his mind. He’d never thought of Georgina as being aggressive and volatile but yesterday had shown a whole new side to her, and it was a side he didn’t like. He knew how easily she could get upset about almost anything, but he needed to bear in mind just how quickly she had blown up this time. He didn’t fancy going down that road again so he thought he would be just a bit more careful when she went off into one of her moods. After all, she was okay for quite a lot of the time.
‘Oh by the way, I need to go back to the doctor’s tomorrow,’ said David. ‘They called while you were out this morning. Apparently they want to talk to me pretty urgently, something about my blood test.’
‘Have you got an appointment or do you have to call in the morning?’
‘Yes, I’ve got one. They made one for me before they called and said they’d hoped I would be available and that I wouldn’t mind.’
‘That’s efficient, for them. You’re normally lucky to get an appointment within a fortnight unless you say it’s an emergency. Did you say they want to talk to you urgently?’ asked Georgina with a little concern in her voice.
‘Yes, that’s what they said but I’m sure it’s nothing. They must need to take another blood sample for some reason because they’ve given me an early appointment and asked me not to eat or drink anything from this evening. Saying it’s urgent just makes sure you respond quickly and makes you feel that they’re concerned about you when we know they’re not really.’
‘I don’t know David, they don’t normally make appointments for you like that, they normally treat everything as routine. I do hope everything’s alright. You have been feeling alright haven’t you?’
‘Yes Darling, I’m feeling fine don’t worry. That is except for my stupid hand. That seems to be getting worse if anything, you’d think the pills would be having some effect by now wouldn’t you?’
‘Yes, the swelling should have started to go down by now. Is it painful?’
‘Quite painful yes; I’ll see if the doctor can have a look at it tomorrow, or the nurse if he can’t,’ he said. ‘Perhaps they can give me a stronger dose of antibiotics or something.’
‘Yes, you’d better do that, don’t come away without seeing someone about it will you? I thought it was only a little cut and would heal no problem. You do cause yourself problems don’t you?’
‘I suppose I do,’ said David. But, in his head he was thinking: No, don’t say anything. Let her think that I accept that it was me that left the glass in the cupboard and that my hand is my own fault because, yes! I’m that stupid!
***
The next day, David made the trip to the doctor’s surgery on his own. Georgina had asked if he would like her to come with him, although she did say that she’d been hoping to catch up on some much needed weeding in her flower borders. He’d said that he would be fine on his own. In truth, although he didn’t say, he’d rather go by himself; Georgina always liked to take control and, to be honest; he found her attitude to be a bit embarrassing at times. At the slightest delay she would complain about having to wait and would question why other people went in to see the doctor ahead of her when they’d arrived after her. And, all of this in a loud voice, making sure everyone knew she was there. David preferred a lower profile and was quite keen not to be a nuisance wherever he went and in whatever he was doing.
As he waited he started to think about the way things had been between Georgina and himself over recent months. She had always been difficult, what was that phrase? “High maintenance,” that was it. That summed her up exactly. She didn’t demand the world but she liked things just so and always liked her own way. If you questioned her, she invariably had a good reason for whatever it was that needed doing and the way it needed to be done. It was as though she’d already worked out her responses to any possible questions, either that or she was just very quick. She definitely had a touch of obsessive behaviour or something too, which was probably why she always wanted things done her way. That wasn’t a problem really, a little obsessiveness was quite healthy, but in her case it could become a pain in the neck at times. What bothered him most was the way she criticised almost everything, all the time.
She’d grown to dislike their neighbours for no obvious reason that he could think of and she would often say that people were nosey and always wanted to know their business. Any real friends they’d had as a couple had long since gone and the only people they had anything to do with these days were in the shops and the doctor’s where he found himself today. They hardly ever went out socially, their only activity being the occasional walk together. Last week and the meal in the pub had been marvellous and he’d enjoyed every minute of it.
As his name was called over the PA system, he thought, what am I doing? What am I thinking? Nothing’s changed really, has it? I do love her; she just has her own little foibles like anyone else. I’ve no doubt she thinks I’m a pain and she’s put up with me for all these years. Mind you, she frequently reminds me what a pain I am, he laughed to himself as he walked into the doctor’s office.
‘Good morning Doctor,’ said David in a cheery voice.
‘Good morning David, you don’t mind if I call you David do you?’
‘No, of course not. After all the years you’ve been looking after me.’
‘Thanks, I like to keep things nice and informal as you know, it helps my patients to relax,’ said the doctor. ‘I’m sorry about the call you may have had, I hope we didn’t worry you by us saying it was urgent.’
‘No, not at all. Well, of course you do wonder if something’s amiss initially but then you realise it’s just done to make sure we come in nice and quick so that you can sort out whatever mistake may have been made.’
‘Mistake?’ asked the doctor.
‘You know take another sample to replace the one that’s been messed up, that kind of thing.’
‘Oh no, it’s not that at all David. We called you back because of what your blood test revealed. It’s quite important.’
‘Oh,’ said David, now becoming concerned. ‘Is there a problem then Doctor?’
‘It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry. It’s just that your cholesterol level is quite a bit higher than when we last checked. When we first became concerned about it, it was sitting at 6.1 which is high, and as you know, due to the problems your father experienced, we decided to put you on statins to bring yours down to a level considered to be normal. After a while on those, your level came down nicely to 4.5 and so we were happy to carry on with them and continue to keep an eye on your diet and activity levels.’
‘So what is my cholesterol level now?’
‘Well, 6.1, your original level, is considered to be high. The level considered to be very high is above 7.8. Unfortunately, your current level has gone up to 8.1 which does give me cause for concern.’
‘Oh dear, I wonder how that can be,’ said David, sounding puzzled.
‘You have been taking your statins on a regular basis haven’t you?’ asked the doctor. ‘You know it’s only one pill a day and it’s easy to forget sometimes.’
‘Yes, I take them religiously. In fact to help make sure I don’t forget, Georgina looks after them for me and she doesn’t let me forget. She’s very conscientious about them.’
‘Okay, that’s good’ said the doctor. ‘We’ll take another blood sample today to recheck your cholesterol and I’ll have a look at your blood pressure while we’re at it. Also, the dosage of the statin that you’re on is only 20mg; we’ll increase that to 40mg with immediate effect, if that’s all alright with you.’
‘Yes of course, whatever you advise Doctor.’
‘Now, what about your diet and exercise? Have you been keeping an eye on what you eat? And, are you making sure that you’re keeping active?’
‘Yes, to both questions,’ said David. ‘Georgina keeps us on a healthy diet although we do have the occasional treat. We don’t eat burgers and chips, that kind of thing, and we have a lot of salads. I suppose I could go out walking a bit more often, we haven’t been doing much of that lately.’
‘That would be a good idea. Now, I notice that you didn’t come in for your annual health checks until we chased you up. Was there a reason for that? You know they become more important as you get older don’t you?’
‘I think there may have been a mix up with our address or something,’ said David, a little flustered. ‘But that’s all sorted out now and I’m all up to date.’
‘Alright then, well, your blood pressure looks fine. Is there anything else I can do for you today?’
‘Do you have the time to take a quick look at my hand please? I’ve been on antibiotics but if anything it seems to be getting worse.’
‘Yes of course. Let’s take this dressing off and see what we’ve got.’ After removing the dressing the doctor said, ‘Mm, it doesn’t look too good does it? I should imagine it’s quite painful, is it?’
‘It comes and goes but yes, it’s fairly sore.’
‘Okay, I’ll get the nurse to clean and redress this before she takes a fresh blood sample and I’ll give you a prescription for a more powerful antibiotic. We don’t want you getting blood poisoning now do we? You say you’ve been taking the antibiotics we gave you? This is a little unusual, they normally work pretty fast. Oh well, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. We’ll see how you get on with the ones I prescribe today and don’t forget, you need to take the full course of tablets even if your hand looks like it’s getting better. Also, I suppose it could be that your immune system is a little down and if so, that can affect how your body copes with infections. We’ll have a look at your blood test results, they may show something.’
‘Alright, that sounds good, thank you.’
‘Just one more thing, I think it might be a good idea if you started to take responsibility for your own medication. I appreciate that Georgina is only looking out for you and I’ve no doubt she’s doing a great job, but you really should be looking out for yourself. It’s your health and after all, other than for next two weeks, when you’ll be taking the antibiotics, you routinely only have to think about the one statin tablet each day. Is that alright?’
‘Yes okay, I’ll do that if you think it’s a good idea,’ said David, although he didn’t really see why the doctor had suggested it. Georgina gave him his tablet every night when she went off to bed. What was the difference between Georgina giving him the tablet and him having to think about it for himself?
‘Great, I think that’s about that then,’ said the doctor and with that, he made a quick call through to the nurse so that David could be seen straight away, and then he printed off the two prescriptions they’d discussed.
***
When David arrived home, Georgina was nowhere to be seen in the garden. She must have finished the weeding, he thought, although he couldn’t see what she’d done. David was quite proud of their garden and the way she kept it and he always looked for little changes and places where she’d tidied up. He knew that she appreciated it whenever he praised her and told her what a great garden they had because of her hard work. Oh well, he thought perhaps she’d changed her mind and decided not to bother today, and he went indoors.
Inside, he could hear the sound of the television coming from the living room. Odd, he thought, Georgina hates daytime television; funny what she does when it suits her, she’d let me have it if I suggested putting the television on before about four in the afternoon. ‘Hello Georgie, busy are we?’ he said as he popped his head around the living room door.
‘Don’t do that! Don’t creep up on me like that!’ Georgina almost shouted. ‘How dare you question why I’m having a little rest? I’ve worked hard while you’ve been out,’ she said becoming affronted.
‘It’s a joke Georgie, a joke, take it easy Sweetheart, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.’
‘You’re not funny David, and I’ve told you, don’t call me Georgie.’
‘You haven’t even asked why I’m really resting have you, not that you care. I didn’t feel well earlier and I thought I’d take it easy for a while.’
‘How do you feel now? Alright I hope, what is it?’ said Dav
id, concerned. ‘Headache, upset tummy? Anything I can do?’
‘Yes, you can leave me alone, but first, you can get me a glass of water.’ David fetched the water and then thought it best that he did what she’d asked and went back into the kitchen.
Later, when Georgina came through to the kitchen looking her normal self, he asked. ‘How do you feel now Darling? Would you like a cup of tea?’
‘Yes please, and don’t fuss David, I’m fine, I’m sure I don’t know what that was but it’s gone now. What did the doctor have to say?’
‘He looked at my hand and agreed it should be getting better by now-’
‘Well of course it should, I can see that and I’m no doctor,’ interrupted Georgina.
‘Well, he got the nurse to clean and redress it and he’s given me a two week course of stronger antibiotics. He seemed surprised it was as bad as it was actually.’
‘Yes, yes, alright. What about the blood test?’
‘They’ve taken another test and depending on the results, they’ll let me know if I need to go back again. The reason the doctor wanted to see me was because my cholesterol level has gone up to very high. In fact, it’s gone from 4.5 which is about normal, from when I last had it checked, right up to 8.1.’
‘But that’s ridiculous,’ said Georgina. ‘That will be why they wanted another blood sample; they’ve messed up and got it wrong the first time, they’re useless down there.’
‘Well yes,’ continued David. ‘The second sample is to confirm the reading, but the doctor was very concerned and he’s put me on a higher dose of the statin tablets which I’ve got to start taking straight away. I need to go back to see him in about three months to see how things are going.’
‘Isn’t it just typical of you David? You seem to attract problems. You cut your hand and you have to go to the doctor’s twice, ending up with two lots of antibiotics, when a normal person’s hand would heal in a couple of days. Nothing’s changed in your diet or your life style, but your cholesterol goes through the roof and you have to go back to the doctor’s yet again.’
