I've got a black eye for being nosey

Yep, a real shiner, well it's not shining now, it's not exactly black either, it's got shades of deep blue, indigo, purple, grey and over the last couple of days yellow too. It happened one evening last week, I was walking with P past a particular restaurant and spotted someone I thought I knew near a window table, turned to look and tripped over. It was stupid, no jutting paving slab or anything so no suing the council, it was just one of those things and I still can't pinpoint exactly what caused it other than my sudden swivelling round to gawp. Anyway I landed on my right side, lessened the fall with my hand but still hit the pavement with my right cheek and cut my knee. 

P couldn't stop me, he reached out instinctively but was too late, he got me up off the pavement and lifted my face up to the light, it was bleeding and he wanted to see the damage to decide whether medical help was needed. I just wanted to get off the street, people had stopped and I felt awful, I wouldn't let him examine me, I said come on I'm alright, but I wasn't really. P knew that and he knew I didn't like being in the spotlight too, he helped me around a corner where there was some privacy, there was also a bench but I told him I didn't want to sit. He looked me over using the light from a key ring torch, he was asking me questions all the time to distract me and also to make sure I was making sense. He said I was OK but I had a cut over my eye and would have a hell of a bruise and my knee was cut right on the joint so that would be a bugger to heal and probably bruise too. I told him I was fine after a few minutes and we should carry on to where we'd been going, but he said no way, it's back to the car and home.

I was more conscious about how I looked than how I felt, P knew it and put his left arm round my shoulder pulling me into him so that the damage to my face was less noticeable. Anyway when I saw myself in a mirror I knew I was going to be a mess for a few days. It's turning out to be more than a few and my leg is stiff too because it bruised quite badly. The shocking thing is the number of people who look at you when you've got an injury like that, some of them really rude, staring blatantly. I got fed up of explaining to people I know at the office, it's ridiculous, you tell them what happened, make a joke about it, they smile understandingly but then you still have the feeling they think you might have had a punch in the face. I didn't want to organise my dispatches because the small ones meant a trip to the post office (P did them for me), I didn't want to go into the supermarket, didn't want to walk in the street, and when we went to the cinema, which we did on Thursday evening to see Bridge of Spies, I wouldn't queue for drinks or popcorn because it was too bright and eyes were upon me. 

P has been very understanding, he said the best way to manage the awkwardness is to stand tall, look people in the eye if they stare, smile and be confident. He's made sure he's been close to me whenever we've been together and said it's kind of amusing in a way. I did brave it into Sainsburys on Saturday morning, P at my side, and at the checkout P said 'No it wasn't me' with a beaming grin on his face before the checkout girl even said anything. She looked up and smiled to both of us and said 'I know how you feel I had something similar a few months ago, I just told people I'd been pole-dancing and slipped'. That made me laugh and I've used it a couple of time since. I reckon another week at least though before it starts looking better, I've used Anica and witch hazel which I keep in stock anyway:)

My husband has been nothing less than chivalrous since it happened and the over day, sitting next to me with a mug of tea, he told me he supposed it was my own fault for being so nosey and he should really spank me for being so careless with myself but he wasn't going to, and he squeezed my knee gently. I thought 'Well, no need to be that gentlemanly about it' but I didn't say anything. I must be feeling better, it's just how I look.

Hope all our friends on the East Coast are safe.

Have a good week.

Ronnie

xx