Magnum Opus
A few months later, Dr. Hobson was sharing her post-mortem findings with her two favourite inspectors in the mortuary. Lewis pointed out that it seemed unlikely for someone of this corpse's academic stature to have a tattoo.
"I like a man with a tattoo," Hobson replied with a daring look towards Lewis.
Lewis said nothing but shook his head at her. Not in front of Hathaway, he thought, knowing that Hathaway would use that as a source of mirth for days to come.
But Hobson hadn't meant it as an emasculating remark; rather she was trying to tell Lewis in her own way that she was adjusting to the idea of a more permanent relationship.
A few weeks prior, when Laura realised that the upcoming birth of her niece's baby in New Zealand would roughly correspond with the end of Robbie's consultant contract, the wheels started turning in her mind. She tried to sell Robbie on the idea of going to New Zealand to help with the new baby, then staying on a few months to travel.
Robbie was sceptical. "Babies aren't a fun vacation idea, Laura. Remember our trip to Italy? You dragging me to all over to see this, that, and the other thing? You can't plan to do all that while minding a bairn. Everyone's schedule revolves around it. It needs to feed. It needs to nap. And don't even get me started on nappies. You hate sitting around at home. Your brain would turn to porridge."
"But you'll be with me. And you're so good with Jack."
"It's easier because Jack is a bit older, see. No one gets any sleep with a wee bairn. We had a horrible time with our Lyn, colicky little git she was." Laura had always thought of past-Robbie as an idealized father- but she didn't know him terribly well back then.
"That's exactly why we should go to help Alice. Her parents can't manage more than a week or two away from London because of their jobs. We could stay longer."
"I don't know, Laura. Moody might decide to renew my contract."
"Please, Robbie, think about it." She lowered her voice. "I know that you've been down this road before, but this might be my last chance to hold a baby that shares some of my DNA."
Women and babies, he thought. "All right, Laura. We'll go to New Zealand. Maybe we'll even catch up with Ken in Australia- so hard to believe that my own wee bairn is a grown man."
"Yes, Robbie, that would be brilliant!"
Robbie had accepted Laura's plan but was still mulling over all that it entailed. Yes, they traveled well together; Italy had been a success but honestly, Robbie was just as happy feeding Laura grapes on a park bench in Oxford. Their life together was perfect. Sometimes, that perfection scared him. What would they do without corpses and criminals? Their home was lovely; it was the kind of house he wished he could have provided for his kids. Still, he and Val had done all right.
The last time he'd been to the other side of the world, Morse had dragged him to Australia on a case. Val left the kids with her parents and joined him there afterwards. They'd rented a van, drove around and slept under the stars. It was one of the happiest times in his life. Would he and Laura experience the same wanderlust? He winced as he thought of his bad back but realised that Laura would probably insist on hotels anyway. Everything with Laura was planned to perfection, you see. And perfection always made Robbie feel like his face didn't fit. They were two people from totally different backgrounds; she a very cerebral doctor, he a scrappy lad who made his way up from uniform based on instinct and interpersonal skills. Like England and New Zealand, Robbie and Laura seemed diametrically opposed.
In the weeks to come, Laura packed and planned as Robbie fretted and let his fears fester until the last moment. Two days before their scheduled departure, he broke her heart.
