Chapter Four: Words

As Louisa prepared the meal for the evening, she occasionally glanced through the window to watch James run around the garden, kicking a football around. Two garden candles had been pushed into the grass creating goal posts, and every time he managed to score, he cheered and ran around the garden like the football players do, chanting and whistling. Louisa smiled and threw her arms up in the air too, showing that she was supporting him in his important game, which he much appreciated.

Martin strolled in scowling at the newspaper opened in between his two hands. Louisa looked over her shoulders from chopping up carrots, instantly spotting that he was not happy with what he was reading.

"What's the matter?" she asked, softly, putting the knife down and turned round to him.

He didn't respond, but shoved the paper at her, and began muttering on about something under his breath, too quiet to hear.

Louisa stared at the page her eyes were fixed to, she scanned through the small printed columns orderly lined against a large picture of a woman, a woman that she hadn't liked from the moment she saw her. Her ginger hair, flicked out the side of her pointed face, where her eyes were squinting to give an expression of hierarchy and in between pure evilness, so Louisa thought. The headline was in bold, black letters, aligned at the top of the A3 page;

MONTGOMERY MIRACLE

"What on earth is she doing in the local newspaper?" Louisa asked rhetorically.

She read the paragraph that made her blood boil once more;

Doctor Edith Montgomery, after also saving a ten-year-old boy from kidney failure from Polzeath, has claimed that Cornish life is better than her modern London lifestyle. "Its amazing to be in the country side, no traffic or pollution and I can also meet and greet new people, or maybe bump into some old friends that I haven't seen in a while," says Dr Montgomery, "I hope to achieve the best solution in improving fertility treatment at the unit in Truro"

With that Edith adds a kind smile and sets off back to work at Truro hospital in a manner that will help towards her goal.

Louisa closed her eyes and felt a lump in her throat form.

"Do you think she's going to return back here?" she asked Martin, who was staring at her.

"God knows," he stuttered.

"She may not find you because we've moved a little away from the village." Louisa stated.

"But she'll come to my surgery," Martin grunted, "She'll try and ruin something, Louisa, believe me. She convinced me to get back into surgery, well encouraged me more and tried to persuade me that I was still in love with her."

"Martin, you'll just have to ignore her, if she comes into your surgery tell her to go away!" Louisa told him, anxiously.

"I can't ignore her, you don't know what she's really like," said Martin, clenching his hands together behind his back, "I mean she says," he snatched the paper from her grasp, "… she's looking forward to 'bumping' into old friends, who on earth does she think she is!"

"Let's not worry about it, eh?" Louisa said, calmly, rubbing his arm. She imagined Edith managing to have an affair with Martin, although she knew he would never dream of committing such an act, there was something in her mind that made her believe that because she was an old flame, who knows what could happen?

As if reading her thoughts, Martin said, "I just want to let you know that I will not run off with her. I can tell by your face that's what you're thinking."

"I know you wouldn't," Louisa nodded, still concerned.

Their faces came closer until their lips touched. The kiss lasted several seconds before a loud cheer came from the garden parted them.

"He's playing football, you should play with him, can't be much of a game with one team." Louisa changed the subject.

Martin's face contorted into horror.

"I can't play football," he gulped, "No, I can't play that!"

"Martin, he's your son, surely you can work out how to kick a ball around." Louisa sighed, "So, you've never played football?"

"No, I hated it," he muttered, "The only sport I really did was athletics at school, that's due to the PE teacher being strict, otherwise I had a note to go to the library."

Louisa frowned, her lips parted.

"Don't worry, I was making use of my time rather than jogging around outside, I studied," he said.

"No," said Louisa, "Peter Cronk used to do the same thing, its strange how you two were so alike! I do hope he got on alright when his mother got a better offer to run a chip shop in Padstow?"

"Mmm." He mumbled.

James then came charging in, red faced with mud stains all over his bare knees from where he skidded along the grass after each time he scored.

"It's hot out there!" he exclaimed as he slumped down on a chair.

Martin automatically got a glass and filled it with water, handing it to James, to reassure himself that he wasn't going to be dehydrated.

"Thank you," he said, gratefully drinking it all in one go.

"Blimey James!" Louisa gasped, "If you were thirsty why didn't you get a drink sooner?"

"You can't just leave the pitch for a drink! Don't you know anything about football Mummy," he said, shaking his head.

Louisa looked at Martin raising her eyebrows, but trying not to laugh at his dismay.

…..

As the sun descended across the horizon of the harbour and the sky went from a deep red to light orange, Portwenn's pubs became louder and the streets became deserted apart from the stray of tourists strolling in the sunset.

Bert wiped down the table of his last customer, the chefs had gone home and he was alone, but the idea of building the business up with Sam was fresh in his mind and it encouraged him to open every day believing it was once something good arising.

"Need a hand with those tables?" a voice mumbled over from the entrance to the restaurant.

Bert jumped and swung round. A smile spread onto his face of pure delight as Al stood before him wearing an ironed white shirt neatly buttoned at the front, complete with a striped blue tie, now loosened freely from how it usually was when he was at work. Bert was taken aback by the appearance Al gave, no longer jeans and a t-shirt, plodding around the restaurant moaning about the financial costs of everything. Instead he was walking proud and grown up, no longer relying on his father for everything. He strolled over to Bert, hands in his pocket.

"Alright there son!" Bert smiled, then clasped his arms around Al, "I knew that you would come back!"

"Well," Al scratched the stubble on his chin, "I'm not staying, just got the weekend off, so decided to stay here rather than go Bodmin by staying there."

Bert chuckled, but was soon left to disappointment, "When are you going back?"

"Tomorrow, just staying the night, you know?" he sighed, perching on the table.

"Oh right," Bert nodded, "How's your job going?"

"Great!" beamed Al, "I get to tend to all the computers in the place, fix them, upload, download, all the things I like doing with them! Its great and the best thing is I may be getting promoted!"

"Promoted?" said Bert, surprise in his tone.

"Yeah!" Al said excitedly, "I might be responsible for more, I don't know what yet, but Matt, my boss said that I could be his assistant or something since Dave left to go and work in his village."

Bert then looked up, hope in his eyes, "In his village?"

"Technician or something for the local school," Al shrugged.

"Really?" Bert said, "Why cant you do that, then you can see your Dad anytime you want, I'm always here?"

"I could, but…" Al said, detecting the pleading from his father, "I'm happy where I am, I feel like I have independence. I suppose once I get too comfortable and want to move on, I'll look out for something like that. Is Louisa still the head?"

Bert nodded, "Of course she is! Give you a higher chance to get it there."

"Did she have the baby?" Al asked, avoiding the hint, looking up at the sky, the shades of blue spreading from light to dark. It had been almost a year since he returned, of course he phoned Bert every night, but it wasn't the same, not for a father any way.

"Yes," Bert said, "A little girl."

"Ha! The doc with a daughter, that cracks me up!" Al smiled, clasping his hand onto his knee.

"That's what I thought too, mind you little James is growing up nicely! He's started school an all!" Bert said.

"I do miss my little mate, you know," Al nodded, rethinking the times where he'd played with James on Ruth's farm during his breaks of the boring renovating work he had to do, "What's she called?"

"Ava Joan, after Joan," Bert told him, "Good woman she was, I'm sure Ava will be as well."

"If she's anything like Louisa then we're safe."

They both chuckled to themselves.

"Lets go for a pint, son!" Bert said, lifting the dark, food stained apron off his rounded body, throwing it onto the closest table, "We need to have more talk about this job you find better than this place."

….

"You know what?" Martin said to Louisa as he strolled into the living room, holding Ava in his arms.

Louisa looked up with a quizzical face and watched as he sat down next to her.

"It doesn't matter if Edith comes back here, because I have everything right here to support me and I know that any of her ludicrous attempts will be beaten," he explained, looking into Louisa's eyes, "I do hope that you know nothing ever happened between us, no matter what she implied… I love you and I love my children and that's all I really want."

"Martin that is so sweet of you," she smiled and leant over slowly planting a kiss on his lips.

"Mama," Ava's voice interrupted them.

Louisa sprang off Martin, her eyes full of excitement as she stared at her daughter.

"Did she just say…?" Louisa said, full of hope.

"Mama," Ava giggled, smiling over at Louisa.

Louisa grabbed Ava from Martin's arms and beamed into her face.

"Oh you said 'Mama'! Oh Ava!" she said, emotionally as she hugged her.

"See," Martin pointed out.

"She does like me," Louisa said, jokingly, "Whose a clever girl?"

Ava giggled and wriggled around as Louisa played with her.