In the meantime I was in a hotel out at the airport. There had been a pair of walking boots in the car boot, and while they were a little small and were not smart they looked a lot better and less noticeable than the white hospital slippers. They would do for now. I had dumped the car in the long-term car park, caught the courtesy bus in to the terminal and then a hotel courtesy bus to the Hilton. Checking in had seemed to take forever and I had paid cash which all hotels hate, as they like the flexibility of getting and logging the plastic details. To explain the lack of luggage I had told the reception that the airline had lost it and to let me know if the airline rang with any news of it.
In the shop in the foyer I had purchased a range of painkillers and then gone to my room. I was seriously hurting. There did not seem to be any part of my body that did not ache, even my feet were protesting at being crippled by the undersized boots! I hung the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the outside of the door, locked it and then closed the room curtains. In the bathroom I opened my pills, got some water and taking what I guessed would not be a fatal overdose, stripped off my clothes as I walked back in to the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. I hoped I had bought some time as I needed to sleep, and I did.