Chapter 13 – Perspective

Martin escorted Louisa towards the lift, and they entered the first available, but to her surprise he pressed the button to go down to floor two.

"I thought we are leaving. Isn't the exit on one?" she asked.

Martin ducked his head. "I thought I should inform Andrea… Angel… uhm, the new mother that her grandmother is not in any danger."

Louisa nodded, while yawning. "I'm sure Angela and Billy will be glad to hear good news. For the best."

"Right. You must be exhausted," he told her.

"Knackered." She shook her head up and down. "Yeah. You as well."

He shrugged, as the lift stopped ad the doors opened. "As an attending there was many a night we got no rest. skills die hard."

Louisa took his arm as they walked from the lift. "That was brilliant back there, with Mrs. Pascoe; a snap diagnosis."

"Not a snap. Just good observation. The caffeine, and I imagine the woman is naturally excitable. Perhaps I made a good guess. And arriving at A&E with a lot of new faces peering at her and medical tests. Stands to reason she'd throw a bunch of PVC's, and in the extreme that would mess up her blood pressure. The A&E doctor would assume a heart issue."

Louisa smiled. "But you got it right in one."

"Well," he sighed, "they did the hard part. Monitor the woman, get labs, and drawn all that. I had the benefit of coming at it from a different viewpoint."

Louisa gazed up at her tall, rugged, but dirty husband of less than 12 hours. He might be rubbish at building fires in fireplaces, but her knew the medical stuff. "A different perspective," she said softly.

"What's that?"

She took his arm more firmly and with pride. "Nothing."

At Maternity, the desk nurse saw them coming. "Mr. Ellingham, and your Missus. Hello."

Martin cocked his head at the woman. "I wanted to let, Ms. Kemper, no, Campbell, know the status of her grandmother."

"DOC! Louisa!" Billy's voice rang out from an open door. "Here you are." The young sailor ran over and squeezed them both in a joint hug.

Louisa welcome the happy embrace, while Martin tried to push Billy away.

"Miracle worker you are!" Billy exclaimed. "Angie and Linda are brilliant, bloody marvelous the both of them. Thanks to two of you!"

Martin brushed the man's hug off then automatically tried to de-wrinkle his suitcoat. He stared away from Billy towards the floor. "Right."

Billy was grinning ear-to-ear. "If you hadn't a been put there tramping about, lost in the forest..."

"It was a wood," Martin corrected him.

Louisa raised an eyebrow. "Lot of trees for just a wood. I think it was a forest."

"Oh, ya," Billy said. "Out there we always call it the forest. I'd not want to traipsin' about in the dark and fog. I told you about Bellamy? That bloke shoots his shotgun off all the time. Mrs. Pascoe went round by the road to talk to him about the noise, and he let loose with a shot past her. Claimed there was a fox behind her about to pounce."

Louisa laughed nervously. "Then we're very glad we didn't come face to face with that one."

Billy shook his head. "You know what they say about Cornwall?"

Louisa nodded. "I do."

"What's that?" Martin asked.

"Tell you later," Louisa whispered.

"Fine," he replied. "Erh, I've just seen Mrs. Nankeris…"

"Pascoe, Martin. Chesten Pascoe, is her name. Nankeris was her doctor."

Martin stared at her for a second brain awhirl. "Right." Louisa was right. Why can't he ever remember names properly? Yet he could recall every medical detail he'd been told about the old woman, as well as the glowing numbers on the cardiac monitor; all engraved in his brain.

He cleared his throat. "Yes. Now, the grandmother has not had any sort of heart attack – nothing that has caused any harm. It was a transient cardiac arrhythmia, perfectly normal in most people. That is most adults have a few PVC's each day."

Billy looked askance at Martin, then said to Louisa. "Does he always talk this way?"

Louisa bit her lip. "Not always."

"And you havin' a baby together and all – and a weddin' as well – I'm guessin' not!" he chuckled.

Martin screwed up his face. "What I am trying to say…"

Louisa touched his arm to interrupt him. "What Martin is saying in somewhat technical terms, is that Mrs. Pascoe is fine. Nothing to worry about."

Billy brightened even more. "Oh, that is bloody marvelous!"

Louisa reached over to hug Martin's arm, while he tried to pull away. "Martin looked at Angela's gran for only two or three minutes and could tell she was not in any real health trouble. The hospital got a little…"

Martin took over. "Uhm, yes, the A&E people were confused."

Billy smiled. "But you set 'em straight, Doc."

Martin ducked his head. "Erh, they just needed to get their facts straight."

Louisa took a firmer grip on Martin and pulled him closer, so they stood hip to hip. "Is Angie sleeping?"

"Knackered, poor lamb. Baby as well." Billy nodded. "I guess they earned it. Speakin' of which," he reached behind himself, pulled out a billfold and tried to pull Pounds from it. "Here, Doc, you deserve this!" He held out a three or four twenties. "take 'em!"

Martin held up his hands. "Just doing my job, so no thank you. Louisa, ahem, we ought to go."

Louisa let go of Martin, took Billy in her arms and gave him a peck on the cheek. "That's for you, and Angie, and baby Linda. Best wishes to all of you. Maybe I can get out that way soon and look in on your new family?"

"That would be grand. But Doc, please take my money."

Martin shook his head. "No. Come Louisa." Martin tugged Louisa away from the young sailor. "We're leaving now." He whisked her down the corridor. "I can't believe he offered me money."

Louisa sighed with exasperation. "Mar-tin, he was just showing gratitude."

"I have a duty of care." He walked Louisa to the stair, down one flight, and thence to the main exit. He looked around the empty lobby. "How are we to get home? Taxi?"

He got out his mobile, wiped dirt off the screen and attempted to dial. "Oh good Lord, pick up! Hello? I need a taxi… from Truro Hospital to Portwenn. What do you mean you aren't going that way? You are in bed? Why? Middle of the night? Of COURSE, I know what time it is, you idiot. No… no… I can't wait until 7 o'clock! No! I need. Hello? Hello? Blast!" he looked sheepishly at his wife. "He rang off."

Louisa shook her head. Oh Martin, she thought, you can be gruff, monosyllabic, and rude, sometimes, but you are a man of many talents. Like in medicine, for instance. Rubbish at fireplaces, though. Tact, is not in your usual tool kit, either. But you do have other abilities. She was uniquely placed to have a different viewpoint - perspective - than the rest of Cornwall about Dr. Martin Ellingham; her husband.

Then her face slowly built into a bright smile. "Right." Now if we can only get home, perhaps Mar-tin, you might show me some of those special skills? When I get you behind our closed bedroom door, where it's no one's business, that is.

Martin fussed and fumed as he dialed the other taxi company, and for life of him had no idea at all why Louisa was grinning at him.