October 16th, 1927 ~
I realise no one wants to hear about my maladies, and I fully intend on ripping this entry out of the journal when I'm done, but I need to vent. While Anna is very understanding of my problem I'm sure she wouldn't want our future grandchildren reading about Granddad John's ingrown toenail in the family journal.
Yes, I have a blasted ingrown toenail. If it's one thing a soldier learns, it's too take care of his feet, and I do, but fool that I am, I put this off until it became a full blown problem.
Since I hate going to the doctor, and against the better judgment of my wife, I'm trying to treat it myself - soaking it in warm water several times a day, not putting pressure on it and even going so far as to let Anna dig at it. Sam suggested wrapping a poultice around it - a vinegar and milk poultice. He said it would draw any infection out. Anna made me sleep on the sofa that night because she said I smelled like sour milk, and indeed I did. It didn't work.
I know it's not a life-threatening condition but as I sit here in the relative privacy of my office, my foot propped up on my desk, the toe cut out of one of my best pair of my shoes and pain shooting up my leg, I want to die. I can imagine Anna's eyes rolling if she were to ever see this. I get the impression she thinks men can't handle pain. I believe it's a trait all women acquire after giving birth. But she will never read it, because as I said I'm destroying it as soon as I'm done ranting.
It's has been coming on for awhile, but this latest flare-up began a few days ago when Will rode his bike over my foot. Not that that caused it, but it did aggravate it. He's just learning to ride, you see and hasn't mastered braking very well, and I was sitting near the path. It's just gotten worse since then.
I stubbed it on the leg of the bed one night. Anna's foot bumps against it in her sleep. Have you heard the phrase 'it stands out like a sore thumb'? Well, my big toe seems to stand out like a sore thumb and it has a target on it. I truly don't want to go to the doctor, but...I'm getting close to doing just that.
Sarah just stuck her head in and said Archie needs me in the kitchen. I'll hobble on out there and see if someone in the pub can manage to stomp on my toe on the way through. Then I'll be back and rip this up.
~ John Bates
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October 16th, 1927 9:45pm
That husband of mine, God love him! When I was over at the hotel for lunch today I found something very interesting next to the waste basket by John's desk. Apparently he had missed his mark when he threw it away. That poor man. He's suffering so with his toe. He doesn't know I've seen his 'venting' as he called it, and I won't let on, but I will make sure he sees Dr. Clarkson tomorrow. I'll just ring up the good doctor and ask him to stop over to the the hotel for lunch and a house call when he has a chance. If he's right there in the building John can't very well refuse to see him, can he? He'd better not try. This has gone on too long. Why are men so stubborn?
At the first of the week John and I taught William to ride his bicycle. I think he's a bit too young, but ever since he found it hidden in the shed he's been pestering us to death. The plan was to wait until next spring, but that was not to be. No worries though, he took right to it. He certainly is a determined little boy. And he's in such a hurry to grow up. Yes, he did run over John's big toe, but he's still learning to brake.
We celebrated Will's huge accomplishment by having warm apple dumplings and ice cream in the gazebo. I caught John giving Finn and Fee a tiny taste of the ice cream. They both waved their chubby little arms in the air in approval. This tickled John and Will to no end.
I just learned there is an Autumn Festival in Thirsk a week from Sunday and we're going to try to drive over there for a bit, that is if John's foot is better. I can't be away from the girls for too long yet, but three or four hours will be fine. Sarah has offered to watch them. Ah, I love this time of year.
I just heard John let out a holler, followed by an, I'm sorry, Daddy! from Will. He's in Will's room tucking him into bed. I wonder what that was about?
Oh, here he comes now, limping into our bedroom. I asked him what happened. Apparently William used his father's foot to catapult up on to his bed. Ouch! My poor John.
~ Anna Bates
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John's Big Toe & the Bicycling Lesson
The previous Sunday ~
The bicycle was supposed to remain hidden overhead in the garden shed, at least until next Spring when the time came to teach William how to ride. John would be there alongside his son, holding him by the back of his shirt until the boy could venture out without any help. Anna would be cheering Will on from her usual spot in the garden. The twins would be trying out their new crawling talents, and they would make beautiful family memories together. That's how John envisioned it all happening. It wasn't to happen that way though.
You see, Will's friend Percy was off visiting his grandparents and Will was bored. So when he started nosing around inside the garden shed, the little boy who missed nothing, spied a red bicycle fender and wheel poking out from under a blanket. It didn't matter that his dad had hidden it clear in the back of the shed and had piled boxes and fruit baskets all around it. Young Mr. Bates had found it.
Days passed and he begged his parents to teach him to ride. Anna finally had agreed after putting up with his incessant pestering. But John wasn't much pleased. For a month or so he had been nursing an ingrown toenail. It wasn't too bad at first, but just the night before he had stubbed it again on the leg of their bed and that seemed to set it right off. He wasn't very thrilled to be pushing Will on his bike up and down the pathway.
Anna took pity on both of her men, offering to take John's place while he sat in her chair watching and rallying the boy on.
'Come on, William, turn the pedals. Come on!' Anna encouraged him with a happy smile on her face, proud of her son's new achievement. 'That's it, Will! Good job. Look at him go John!'
John grinned at them, trying his best to look please. The twins sound asleep in their baskets behind him, and the pain in his toe making him rather broody. This is not how John had planned things. It was a father's job to teach his boy to ride a bike and he felt a failure. He grin turned into a grimace. He was quite annoyed with himself.
'Oh come on, John, don't be such a big baby,' Anna scoffed, holding William's shirt to support him on the bicycle as the boy pedaled his heart out across the garden path.
'Big baby?' John sounded offended by her words. 'Big baby...you never had an ingrown toenail in your life, I reckon!'
'I gave birth twice, come to that! And don't you tell me your ingrown nail is worse than when you were wounded in the war.' She shot him a look.
'Right now it feels like it. I fear I'm growing soft in my old age, Anna,' he replied, with a deep sigh. 'I should be the one teaching him, though. That's what father's do.'
'Oh, pish-posh, your old age, John Bates. You're giving him moral support,' she said, trying to buck him up.
'Mummy!' The boy stopped, trying to squirm out of his mother's grasp on his shirt. 'I want to do it by myself.'
'All right, young man, as you wish.'
Anna walked toward her husband then, running her hand through his hair as she approached him. 'My poor darling…' she pouted playfully, leaning down to kiss his forehead. 'If you weren't so stubborn you would just see the doctor and this could all be behind you.'
This elicited a deep grumble from John, but nothing more.
Anna straightened up and rested her hand on his shoulder. 'Hm, well maybe tea will make it a little better?'
'Yes...tea would make it a little better.' He smiled up at her, placing his arm around her waist, squeezing her side.
She couldn't help but squealed as he did so before going inside.
'All right then... ' she said to herself as she wandered around the kitchen. 'Tea. And some biscuits too, he would like that - '
'Oh...Bloody Hell, Christ!'
Her husband's voice came to her ears, urgent and painful, followed by a loud groan. She ran outside at once, trying to understand what was happening. She saw William on the ground, the bicycle tipped over and John leaning, holding his foot and cursing profusely.
'What happened?' she asked worriedly, helping her son up before turning to her husband.
'I ran over daddy's foot,' the boy said, grimacing at the sight of his father's pain.
'Oh goodness! Are you all right, John?' Anna kneeled before her husband, trying to inspect his foot, but before she could reach for his shoe, John grabbed her hands. He had a sick look on his face.
'If you touch it, I will die, Anna. Just...no,' he said, white as a sheet and with sweat gathering at his brow. 'Let it be, please.'
'You have got to the doctor, John. You can't just leave it like that.'
'It's fine...I will be fine if you both stop coming near me. Just…' he motioned for her to move away. 'Don't come near my foot, ever.'
Anna rolled her eyes at him, before getting the bicycle off the ground and asking her son if he was hurt.
'I'm all right mummy. I want to ride some more.'
'You do that away…' John gestured to the end of the garden, '...away from me.'
'Don't worry, Daddy, I won't run over you anymore. I promise.'
When William patted his father's shoulder John couldn't help but smile lovingly at the boy. 'Thank you, son. I appreciate that. Anna, please…' he sighed heavily, reaching for her hand, '...may I have my tea and perhaps a headache powder?'
'Oh my, anything else, sir?' Anna shot him a side-eyed look.
'Anna!' he pouted, 'I am in pain, love. Don't you pity me?' John pleaded, looking at her with sad eyes.
She only chuckled softly. 'You see to your daughters if they cry, while I finish the tea. You have an ingrown toenail, Mr Bates. You're not dying!'
He wasn't dying, that was indeed the truth, but he was sure he was pretty close to it.
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The journal entries are written by handy for the bus & terriejane.
We'd like to thank the lovely annamays (aka fuzzydream) for being our beta.
Thank you for reading :) please review