For more than a month I had been living in pain. I had accepted it as my fate. It was my left toe, the biggest one. The nail had grown thicker. I was convinced of an in-growth. The gap in my nail-cutter was insufficient to clasp at it. I didn't have time to deal with this before leaving for Italy. In any case, I wasn't sure what could have been done. I figured this must have happened because in Kolkata, I'd tried to break into a new pair of black loafers. I imagined it would eventually ease up — the gnawing pain. Eventually, I just learned to accommodate its intensity. It became a part of my reality. Some days it was unbearable, some days it was tolerable. I didn't even realise how much bodily exhaustion the thickened toenail had caused. I took it in my stride.

Then yesterday, after I'd been standing for nearly an hour and a half while cooking a light lunch for my partner and his family — carrot and pumpkin couscous with sunflower seeds and parsley; grilled zucchini fillets and grilled tomatoes topped with fresh mozzarella and basil — my toe was in agony. While the dishes were being cleared, I went to lie down. I told my partner that I was in pain, making a puppy-dog face seeking sympathy. When he heard that it was on account of the toe, he decided enough was enough. He suggested we show it to his mother who was no stranger to such a problem since she regularly suffered from toe-related ailments. She looked at it and told us we needed to go to a "Cosmetic" in Neumarkt, the neighbouring town that is home to Gelateria Arlecchino, a family-run establishment that makes excellent artisanal ice-cream (they have such rare seasonal flavors as pine-nut and chestnut). Though the appointment was for Thursday, on Wednesday, after our mini-golf game, we headed to Neumarkt as my partner had an appointment with the family hairdresser. We grabbed gelato, then he decided to show me the route I'd be taking to Cosmetic Erica, after taking the city bus on Thursday. I suggested we drop by the shop since we were there, so he could explain to them in Dialect what the problem was, given they were unlikely to speak English. We got super lucky, though. We walked in and they happened to have a free moment. Later I would learn that this was a women-run family business now being serviced by the third generation!