A Missed Dinner
Louisa is so happy driving home from the March PCT meeting. Chris Parsons just told her that Martin has been appointed the chief of vascular surgery at Imperial Hospital. He went through so much to control his haemophobia and worked so diligently on the dreaded study, now his efforts have been rewarded. Once settled in the new post, she hopes he'll have more time for Philip.
Now that Martin no longer travels to Basel, they returned to their ambitious plan which has Martin coming to Portwenn every other weekend. He flies into Truro on Saturday morning, Louisa and Philip meet him and then drive to Portwenn. Tommy Mills takes him to the airport late Sunday afternoon for his return flight to London.
In early February when Martin's visits resumed, all went well. He spent most of that weekend playing with or reading to Philip as well as cooking with Louisa. They made pots of soup and stew so that she would have meals through the week with no need to cook. Louisa did not realize how much she needed an extra set of hands until Martin provided them. While she had two things to do, Martin now does one of them, and she appreciates the extra bit of time.
Martin will be in Portwenn on Saturday, and he'll likely tell her about his new appointment. Perhaps they can celebrate, even if they only have lunch together and bring Philip with them. They will be together as a family.
On the drive from Truro, Martin apologizes for missing his last scheduled weekend and urges Louisa to have lunch with Caroline and Sally. He'll mind Philip and tidy the cottage while she is out. Louisa is glad to see her friends and celebrates with a glass of wine. Coming home, she is worried about Martin scolding her and tries to avoid him by looking in on Philip. Unfortunately, he is napping and Martin is in his room putting away baby items she washed that morning. He stoops to give Louisa a quick kiss and asks: "Did you have wine with lunch?"
Of course, it is better not to drink wine while nursing, but she has stored milk and intends to pump and discard the new milk. Instead of a reprimand, Martin takes her in his arms and kisses her. Wine has always made her amorous, and soon they are pulling off their clothes and in bed together.
It has been many months since they made love, and Louisa is quite passionate with Martin. She has missed this intimacy. But after being so roundly rebuffed by him in January, she decided to no longer take the initiative with sex. As they finish with their legs entwined, he quips: "Please add this to the schedule." She swats him on the bum saying: "Get out of bed you worthless sod and bring me my breast pump. You've made my milk come in early."
For the rest of the weekend, the three of them huddle together in their own little world inside the cottage. An hour before Tommy is to pick up Martin, they each open their computers to check email. To Louisa, this signals that the weekend is ending. Somehow if they do it together, it is less sad for her.
Her computer will not switch on, and she asks Martin to check it. He looks at it, but his level of expertise is the same as hers. Perhaps it is the power cord - he has a spare in his case and they can try it. As Martin is looking, his mobile rings and he walks toward the terrace where reception is better. It seems to be someone from Imperial, and Martin steps outside.
Louisa continues her search for the power cord and comes across a stiff white envelope from Claire Southwood addressed to Miss Louisa V. Glasson and Mr. Martin C. Ellingham at Martin's London address. Thinking Martin forgot about it, she removes a card from the opened envelope. It is a formal invitation to a dinner in honor of Martin held on March 22, the previous weekend. It was hosted by Robert and Claire Southwood at what Louisa knows is a very posh hotel in London and seems to be in celebration of his new appointment.
It does not say that but only "to honour our colleague at Imperial Hospital." My God, she thinks, I wonder if Martin failed to attend the dinner. It would be like him to do such a thing, but she dare not ask him because he did not mention his new title. She tucks the card back into the envelope and returns it to his case. Finding a spare power cord in an outside pocket, she quickly connects it to her computer.
After Martin has left and Philip is asleep, Caroline calls asking if she is in trouble with Martin for drinking wine on Saturday. Louisa laughs saying he actually seemed to enjoy the results. While talking about Martin, Louisa mentions the invitation and jokes that he probably missed the dinner at the fancy hotel she names, just as he forgot to tell her about the invitation.
Caroline stops her: "What do you mean? You were invited to a dinner honouring him and he didn't tell you about it?" With Caroline's question, it only now occurs to Louisa what Martin did. She can hear a computer clicking in the background and Caroline soon says: "I've just gone to the hotel's website and checked 'recent events.' It shows the dinner was held last Saturday and was planned for 378 people. My God, Louisa, that's a huge do. There is no way Martin could have missed it. Let me see if any press covered it."
Again, Louisa hears Caroline's computer, and she returns: "Apparently this was also a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders. It was mentioned on a charity site and linked to the DWB website. There are photos and a long piece on the dinner. Do you want me to send the link?"
"Oh no, Caro, it's fine."
"Look, Louisa, you never follow my advice about Martin, but you have to talk to him about this. You were invited to that dinner, and he clearly did not want you there. That is, quite frankly, a despicable thing to do. Either you are involved with the man or you aren't."
"Caroline, let me go on to bed now. I'll think of a way to talk with Martin about this the next time he's here. I promise."
After ringing off, Louisa goes immediately to the Doctors Without Borders website and finds the information Caroline discovered. The article says that Martin had volunteered with the group and notes his new appointment at Imperial Hospital. Claire Southwood, a long-time volunteer and fundraiser for the group, is quoted: "My husband and I thought it would be a wonderful way to honour Mr. Ellingham. He has overcome a great deal to return to surgery. All of us are terribly pleased for him."
There are several photos. In one Martin is standing in the middle, unfortunately looking quite handsome in a tuxedo, with Claire at one side and Robert at the other. Also in the picture are the much-maligned Jonathan Lieder and his wife, along with a very elegant woman identified as Dr. Teodora Varga-Nagy, and her husband. Martin has never mentioned her, and Louisa wonders if she is the chief of surgery he replaced.
Another photo includes doctors from Imperial who work with Martin. She sees the Ranpurias and recalls them and their two young children from St. Thomas's. The only unsmiling person at the table is a thin woman with short dark hair whose face Louisa doesn't recognize but whose name she does: "Dr. Noelle Giffen, a former epidemiologist for Doctors Without Borders and now a General Practitioner in Devon," the caption reads.
In the last photo, surgeons who once were registrars on Mr. Ellingham's team at St. Thomas's Hospital, London, hold their glasses in a salute to Martin. It must have been late in the evening as they appear a bit tipsy, but Louisa immediately spots Gordon. The caption underneath the photo identifies the woman to his right, the one whose shoulder he is hugging, as Freia Manning. She is tall, blond, athletic and somewhat reminds Louisa of Susan Parsons. She is probably the Miss Manning who has Martin's old office at St. Thomas's. The one he said was particularly brilliant. What Martin wouldn't notice is that she is also pretty. Quite pretty and a brilliant surgeon.
No need to say a thing to Martin about the invitation, she reasons. Louisa realizes he probably did not want to attend the dinner but did so only to help Claire Southwood with her fundraising. Why would he think Louisa might want to attend such a dinner? Caroline doesn't understand that Martin not telling her about the dinner or his new appointment doesn't bother her at all. She knows her place in his life.
What bothers her, and in fact hurts quite a bit, is seeing Gordon with his arm around the pretty, brilliant surgeon, Freia Manning. What man wouldn't find her irresistible?
Continued . . . .