"What ho Sis! Hear from Ronnie you are up the pole!"
Her brother's voice boomed around the kitchen, and Chummy turned bright red.
"Glorious expression isn't it?" Ted announced as he sat beside her, suddenly filling the kitchen with his presence. "Learnt it in that divine little public house at the end of Dean Street last night".
"I look forward to meeting my niece or nephew" he said, leaning across to kiss her scorching cheek.
Chummy smiled and tried desperately to hide a yawn. Him waking last night in such a horrific state had haunted her and she had barely slept since.
"Ah! The lady arrives at last!" Ted suddenly announced as Trixie appeared, hair perfect, and dressed in what seemed to be a brand new chocolate brown coat, its dense fur collar gently resting around her neck.
"Out somewhere nice today?" Sister Evangelina noted, arriving behind her, inspecting Trixie from head to foot. Nobody missed the tone of her voice.
"Just the coast" Trixie replied, examining her lipstick in the silver mirror she had retrieved from her handbag.
"The coast?" the Sister replied, incredulously. "Dear me! It's the depths of winter and you want to stand on a sea front! You young girls are asking for Pneumonia!"
"That's what fur coats are for Sister", Ted replied, furnishing her with his most appealing smile.
"Yes, especially ones we haven't earned enough money to pay for!" the Sister exclaimed, swiftly folding a piece of paper over the top of the clip board she was holding. It was almost a hint.
Each Nun and Nurse knew that the coat had been a present from Ted, belatedly for Christmas, as Trixie had paraded around it in two days ago, careful of being too over enthusiastic around his sister.
They said their goodbyes as Cynthia and Jenny appeared having been oiling bicycle wheels outside and Sister Evangelina saw her chance as three of her troop were within earshot.
"Right the rest of you abominable lot!" Sister Evangelina announced. "Where might I ask is Sister Bernadette?"
"Just here Sister" a voice came quietly from behind her as sister Bernadette walked into the kitchen right on cue. "Right then as we are all vaguely present and borderline correct!" the older Sister carried on, clearing her throat. "Rota for today".
"Nurse Miller and Nurse Lee. On call if you please. If you feel inclined we also need more delivery packs made up".
"Yes Sister", they both replied, knowing there was no 'feeling inclined' about it.
"Nurse Noakes straight to the Parish Hall please. What the locals will think of a pregnant midwife giving the contraception lecture today I will never know!" she continued with a sigh that induced a slight chuckle in the room from everybody except Chummy who knew this moment was coming.
"After that this morning you and Sister Bernadette are to run the clinic itself as we are to have the presence of Doctor today so he can share the load".
"Yes Sister" Chummy and Sister Bernadette replied.
"It is my understanding too that we are to have Veronica with us again today Nurse Noakes so you will have to contend with company too".
"Yes Sister" Chummy replied, having heard the news from Ronnie directly herself some days ago.
"Finally Sister Julienne and me will be in Canada and Baffin Buildings; I imagine for most of the day" the Sister concluded firmly as her audience sat.
"Right! There you have it. On your way". Sister Evangelina swept out of the room as Cynthia and Jenny dispersed to into the treatment room behind her.
"Are you alright, Nurse?" Sister Bernadette asked quietly seeing Chummy rise carefully from her seat.
"Yes Sister" Chummy replied, sliding her coat over her shoulders.
"If you do wish for a few moments off your feet today at any time, I am sure that Dr Turner and I can manage" the Sister continued.
"No, but thank you Sister. We are at Peter's parents' house and its sleeping in an unfamiliar place. One struggled last night". She did not really want to mention anything else, at least not now.
Sister Bernadette nodded. She too would lose hours in a foreign place from her usual quiet room at Nonnatus.
"Sister?" Chummy asked just about to do up her belt. "Do I look pregnant?"
"Yes I think you do" the Sister replied. "But we are a trained eye!"
Chummy had pulled her nightdress tight across her middle this morning as she swayed from side to side in the long bathroom mirror at his parents' house. Although she had every obvious sign under the sun, save so far having escaped any form of horrific sickness, she had taken to thinking that she needed to see her girth expanding to be entirely sure. Doubt seemed to track her everywhere though.
"If you want to exchange places Chummy with the lecture this morning, I really do not mind" Sister said as they walked from the kitchen. Sister Bernadette was an old hand at marshalling some of the comments the midwives were subjected to during those lectures.
Very consciously Chummy smoothed her uniform down pulling her belt higher as if to make a point.
"No, Sister. Thank you though, I will be fine".
The stream of women filed into the Parish Hall one by one; handed prophylactics almost at the door by Sister Bernadette as the giggles and titters started before even a word had been said.
In the side room behind them, Ronnie sat, nursing a cup of tea, curious to see the rows of women and inquisitive to hear her sister in law in full flow. Chummy had noticed with some unease that Ronnie seemed most pale and she would have to inquire after her health.
"Ladies please!" Chummy said, raising her voice to quieten the group. "We have various topics to cover today however, as you are very aware, if you have any questions as we go along just pop up your hand or shout out".
"Now, as you are no doubt familiar with" Chummy started, "we are only able to prescribe contraception to married women".
"Nurse?" came a voice from the back.
"Yes?" Chummy replied, centring her vision on the dark haired woman she recognized.
"Your married to the copper right?" For a moment she was thrown, not expecting that question at all.
"Yes" she replied. "I am".
"We 'eard a Nun was expectin'" came a voice from the person sitting next to her, arms crossed over her body in almost devilish glee at being the one who raised the matter of some gossip.
"Yes well" Chummy replied. "Not quite a Nun, but I am".
"So whys a knocked up midwife tellin' us not to 'ave babies when she's 'aving one 'erself?" came another voice from the other end of the row.
As Chummy chewed over the question it was actually a very good point.
"Don' tell us your copper got taken away with hisself?" the original combatant said as the laughter washed its way again down the group.
Before Chummy could open her mouth she saw Sister Bernadette raise her head to the woman at the back.
"Thank you Mrs Davies. We are here to answer questions regarding contraception and your own health, not our personal arrangements".
"One supposes" Chummy said ruminating as she went. "You have to make what choices you wish for in life. Every woman in this room has the luxury of that and having contraception available that allows us to decide whether we have a child now, in a decade or never. This is about having the choice to prevent not me saying you should never have a child. Choice the most powerful thing you can possess and if abstinence is not…."
She was cut off immediately by the laughter. It always happened when anything was broached that remotely resembling self-discipline was discussed.
"Abstinence?" someone said, rather loudly. "You try tellin' my Jack that with 'is mauling 'ands! Bloody pain the arse 'e is".
"Av you ever told your copper to sling his 'ook when e's after it?"
She hadn't actually but this was not now the time or the place to be answering that question.
"If abstinence is not something that you believe is suitable for you, then for the sake of your health, housing and financial arrangements, education can be the best alternative that can be offered" Chummy replied, feeling calmer that her mind had allowed her to address the comments in a most sensitive manner.
Thankfully, the rest of the lecture seemed to pass without much incident and some time later, breathing a sigh of relief that it was over, Chummy entered the side room.
"Just wanted to say you did a rather terrific job with those rotten women" Ronnie whispered, careful not to be overheard as the last of the attendees filed away.
"That wasn't the worst of it!" Chummy joked. This was the third time she had done this; the second time just a day after return from Honeymoon where she had felt rather ignominious for preaching about abstinence and every woman in that room seemed to know she was a 'new' wife. She had wondered how the gossip had got out though that she was pregnant.
"I liked your part about choice. One does think that if this one is a boy that I will be exercising my right to choose. Bob will just have to make do".
She saw Chummy sit heavily, hips and back starting to ache from standing. Lord knows what she would be like in a few months time.
"Do you think you will have more than one?" Ronnie asked, taking up her duties as tea monitor again, pouring cups for Chummy and Sister Bernadette now the clinic was closed until this afternoon.
"Peter wants a houseful. One doesn't think one wants this one to be an only child but can you see me with a string of children?"
"One can see you with boys" Ronnie mused, passing her a cup as Chummy smiled, not thinking beyond this one.
"Oh! Some rather spiffing news! Has Bob told you?" Ronnie continued some excitement clear in her voice.
"Told me?" Chummy replied, taking a sip of tea that was most welcome.
"We are coming back home!" Ronnie said, not able to contain her excitement at the prospect. As much as she adored Australia, she oddly longed for the rain and the cold.
"We've been thinking about it since Lissy was born and with Father being so ill, we felt Mother might be glad of us not being ten thousand miles away. We will have to be in London for Bob's interests, but we have been looking at houses whilst we were here and I think we have found the perfect one!"
"I so wanted to tell you before but Bob insisted we keep it a secret!"
"So is it imminent?" Chummy asked, quite struck that she would suddenly have family close to her again.
"We will have to be here by September for the girls to start a new school term, so we have it all planned for late Summer", Ronnie concluded, gently rubbing underneath her eyes in tiredness.
"Are you sure you are alright?" Chummy asked.
"One might have a nap when we go back if the Sisters do not mind. Bob is after us visiting George Buchanan and his new wife tonight and my strength is being sapped by all this blessed socialising!"
With a cup of tea in her hand for their guest, Jenny tapped gently on the door to Chummy's old room.
"Come in" the voice behind it said, Jenny immediately noticing the voice seemed to be laden with tears.
As Ronnie sat up, Jenny saw a flash of pain flicker across their guest's face.
"Veronica are you sure you are alright?"
"I didn't want to be a burden, but I do feel terrible" she said, eyes heavy.
"Are you having any pain?" Jenny asked, seeing her absently rubbing her hip, placing the cup gently down.
"Yes. Twinges here and there" Ronnie replied sheepishly. "I thought I had simply been doing too much with the train and being up all hours for Hogmanay. We were going to the theatre and dinners but I was too frightened to say anything. I think Chummy knew there was something worrying". Her voice crumbled as the sentence ended, the midwife seeing tears fill her eyes in earnest.
"I was so reassured when you were all so kind to examine me before and well, baby did seem happy but this last hour or so, it's been there all the time. Regularly".
"Would you like me to examine you now?" Jenny asked.
Ronnie swallowed and nodded.
"I would very much like you to and I would very much like you to find my sister in law if possible? I'd like her here".
Her examination only confirmed Jenny's fears and as she excused herself and ran downstairs to find Sister Julienne.
