Bartimaeus

Shane occupied himself yesterday with the purchase of electrical screwdrivers and sandals, not in the same shop. He has both of these already but they are on the boat. He wants music all around the house and the sun has been shining. I took advantage of the warm sun and had a walk with a friend. I have seen a lot of blue Spring flowers lately. We tried to unravel the mysteries of  what the difference was between chionodoxa and scilla, and which of them is in her garden….among other topics.

With our choir restarted I managed to distract myself further from worrying about what news would arrive on Friday morning (when Shane was to meet the plastic surgeon and find out how the scans went) with a focussed night out. I am not doing well at remembering my part or the words but it is a convivial time and a welcome distraction. The new venue is not as easily reached especially with major road/ tramworks and bus route redirections. Shane, as usual, recommended the perfect nearby bus for an exact arrival time and a countdown to its departure time. (He also provided me with belated pancake day meal beforehand.) The buses on the way back were not as convenient and I ended up walking all the way home. It is only a little over 2 miles but mainly uphill. I entertained myself in the centre of town by copying the tourists and taking a night time picture in St Andrew’s Square – an opportunity I would have missed if I had found a bus.

Today was the long awaited appointment with the plastic surgeon. Shane mentioned he was a little nervous ( what? only now?) as he was getting ready to go. Once dressed he opened the curtains, with a clatter the rail fell to the ground. He had fitted them just last weekend. He concluded that he had not tightened the screws enough so the ladder and a non electrical screwdriver will be out later.

I hoped this wasn’t an inauspicious portent. I entertained myself in his absence with responding to messages of good luck and support and logging my negative COVID test that I had done before choir – potential superspreader event – the room is ventilated with a Bible propped in the window to keep it open so fresh air or the holy spirit can flow through us!

Shane arrived with the good news that his CT scan has not detected spread beyond the immediate area. Surgery in the face and neck comes with a long list of dire warnings of rare problems with multiple facial nerves and major blood vessels in the way, but on the whole it is much better news than it could have been – it’s not curtains after all!

Shane came home disappointed that he had not found any decaf coffee on the way home but told he had met someone we knew in the shop and shared his news with her. Not only was I not the first to know…I wasn’t even the first Clare to know. Surgery is some time in April. More scans and treatment ahead but the feeling of foreboding is lifted. Crack on with enjoying the sunshine and getting that curtain rail put back up. One advantage of the boat is the ceilings are much lower!