I admit, I wasn't thinking about writing this part… until I noticed what day 8 of 30 days of .. 2015/04/02/30-days-of-call-the-midwife/ was: favorite storyline/arc…. and mine is the transformation of Shelagh…. So, I'm going to post this tomorrow and link my story to the post on tumblr… who knows, I might attract a new reader!
"Angela Julienne"…. Shelagh was beyond exasperated… and her daughter was partly to blame. It had all started yesterday afternoon. Mrs. Penny had called and sounded absolutely terrible on the phone.. so terrible that Shelagh had sent Patrick to check on her. He came back with the diagnosis of influenza… which meant Mrs. Penny wouldn't be able to work at all this week. Shelagh had eyed all the housework before her- dishes, laundry, grocery shopping and had finally said, "I don't think I will be able to go in with you tomorrow, Patrick." Patrick had nodded and said he would call Nonnatus house for reinforcements- influenza and pneumonia cases were arriving quite frequently and he knew he would need another hand on deck… so he had left, with a promise to return home by noon for lunch.
The problem for Shelagh was it was now 11:30 and lunch was nowhere near started. The reason? Her precious baby girl was having a day of being a toddler- and it wasn't getting any better. Shelagh had just started washing the dishes when Angela had started crying in her playpen. As soon as Shelagh stopped what she was doing and came around the hatch to entertain her daughter, she would stop. This continued for a good thirty minutes. Laundry was next on her list, but she couldn't do that very easily with Angela on her hip. So, she had mopped the floor instead- turning it into a dance with her daughter. Once Angela seemed back to her normal cheery self, she attempted to do the laundry. But no, Angela wasn't going to have it- she wanted all of her mommy's attention… so every toy was thrown out of the playpen and a tantrum was thrown at full scale until her mom stopped, started at her and said, "Angela Julienne!"
Shelagh could remember the first time she had said those words… she, Patrick and Timothy were sitting in the adoption office filling out the paperwork. The name had come to her as she was holding the now sleeping infant in her arms- Angela Julienne. Patrick had smiled at her and nodded his agreement.
It had seemed surreal to Shelagh to be sitting in that office- for only a few days before she had received the letter that had changed everything. A wonderful discussion with her husband had opened the door to them talking once again. The conversation had started about the nightdress, but it had ended on a much sweeter note. She still smiled as she remembered it:
Patrick: I can remember you sewing a baby's nightdress in that chair. Shelagh: Yes. It wasn't to be. Patrick: What did you do with it? Shelagh: I gave it to Sister Julienne. Someone else's baby will have it now. Patrick: -I should have told you about my breakdown. We started out in silence. Not able to speak. And after I dared to write to you, I thought, "Have I said too much? "Or not enough?" If I didn't speak of other things, that was my weakness, and my fault and I can only beg you to forgive me. Shelagh: I won't forgive you, Patrick. Because you did nothing wrong. Patrick: I didn't speak when I should've done. Shelagh: I didn't let you when I should've done. Patrick: But we're speaking now. Shelagh: Let that be the thing that matters.
The hand kiss at the end of conversation had sealed it for Shelagh- she knew her husband was fighting for her and their marriage. The hand kiss in the parish kitchen had started her on the journey of her marrying Patrick, and now this one symbolized the fact that they were beginning again. Shelagh blushed at how well they had begun again- for their union that night was pure and whole- for the first time in a long time. If she was honest with herself, it had started with the infertility diagnosis.
Once the barrier was broken, it was almost as if they were a courting couple. Loving looks, stolen kisses at the clinic, dances to Jim Reeves on the radio… it was all a sweet moment in time. It was only made sweeter when Patrick- without her even having to ask- handed Angela to her- much the same as he would have done if she had given birth to her.
After the admonishment by her mother, Angela settled down for a few moments- moments in which Shelagh was able to throw together a quick stew for lunch. She added a couple of sandwiches at the last moment- knowing full well her husband could take them with him after lunch just in case his day ran long.
"Alright, Angel girl," Shelagh said. "Let's get you in your chair so you can have lunch. And maybe, just maybe, you'll nap this afternoon and I can finish the laundry." With that Shelagh placed her daughter in her chair. She brought the bowl of soup around to feed Angela. Shelagh had learned over the past three months that if she served Angela first, it gave her food time to cool down so that it would be ready for her to eat once she was in her high chair. It was a routine that even Mrs. Penny had admitted worked even for her.
"How are my lovely ladies" Patrick asked as he walked into the room. He had removed his hat and jacket, but had kept on his scarf. Shelagh smiled and accepted his kiss, "Little lady here has been demanding my attention all morning, so I haven't accomplished all that I have wanted to do…" Shelagh said with a sweep of her hand to show off all the work that still needed to be done. Patrick surveyed the mess in the living room and the laundry that hadn't been washed. He wisely kept his mouth closed and settled in for lunch.
Once lunch was finished, Patrick couldn't help but notice that Angela was doing her best to fight off the urge to fall asleep. Ever since she had turned one, she had quit taking morning naps and afternoon naps were often fought over. Picking her up out of the high, he walked over to record player. Shelagh picked up the dishes to go ahead and wash them. She heard the record player start playing and smiled as Jim Reeves started singing "May the good Lord bless and keep you…" By the time the song was finished, Shelagh was done with the dishes and had wrapped up the extra sandwiches. She smiled at the sight of Angela sound asleep against her father's shoulder. He motioned toward the baby's room and Shelagh nodded. She knew that he would put her down with the utmost care not to wake her back up. She sighed as she eyed the living room, and slowly began to pick up Angela's toys and replace them back in the playpen.
Patrick walked back into the room and noticed that Shelagh seemed down, so with a quick check of the clock, he quietly walked back over to the record player. He restarted the record and asked, "Dance milady?" Shelagh smiled at him and said, "I don't have time… I have so much to do…" "You're always telling me I work too hard… and this is me doing the same… so how about a dance?" Shelagh finally sighed and joined her husband. It was just what she needed- a slow dance with her husband to remember that everything was okay.
Series 3 is almost in the books… Christmas special is left. :D I should have wardrobe analysis up this week for Shelagh up to 2×08… Also, later this week I should have a "Turnadette episode guide" for episode 1 of Call the Midwife… As I do the rewatch, I'm also going to do one for them…. Once I start getting into Series 2, I'll decide how to do it then for them…