"Well, this has just been lovely," Louisa smiled widely and looked across the table to her husband as he was settling the dinner bill. "Thank you for this idea, Martin. I've had a delightful evening."
He briefly looked up from the paperwork, "Good," he said with a nod. He considered what more to add and finally said, "I have missed dinners together, I mean," he got flustered with trying to state a compliment. Finally, he just shook his head.
"No, go ahead, Martin," Louisa encouraged. She sat forward, folding her hands in front of her on the table. "It's just me," she said with a large smile. "I won't bite, promise."
He put down the pen and cleared his throat, "I once told you I don't mind the noise, the chaos at home, and I don't," he said meeting her gaze. "Of course, there are times I get frustrated with the tidiness of things and all. Our family meals are quite loud and messy. That is ahh, fine," he said with a nod. "It is nice, though, to eat just with you even if it's out at a restaurant."
"Ahh, well," she nodded in agreement. "Thank you for saying that, expressing your feelings. It is quite loud at home most of the time. I know you prefer quiet, and it's anything but," she chuckled.
"I would not say that I even prefer it anymore,"he offered, his eyes searching hers. "Quiet means you and the children aren't there, and I don't want that."
"I don't either, my handsome husband," she grinned. He looked away, still not used to compliments from her. "I am impressed tonight that you were willing to try my afters."
He sipped his water and when he put his glass down, he commented, "Apples are of nutritional value."
"Yes, true," she smiled, winking at him. "The apples tonight were in a crisp, covered in sugar. It was a quite delightful treat, and I'm glad you enjoyed a few bites yourself."
He nodded toward her glass, "You didn't want more wine or coffee, did you?"
"No, no,"she shook her head. "And, thank you for not commenting that one glass of wine was a problem. As I told you yesterday, it seems I'm about done expressing milk."
"Yes," he got a little flush and looked down at his water glass. "Fine, ahh, thank you," he looked up. "You are an excellent mother."
"Wow, dishing out the compliments tonight," she grinned and chuckled. "What have you done, Martin?"
He gave her an odd look and shook his head, "I don't know what you mean."
"And, he's back," Louisa said almost quietly to herself. She looked at him, smiling, without saying anything. They stayed like that for several seconds, and she finally spoke. "I'm sorry we got off to a bit rocky start when we arrived, and I'm very sorry they were out of your fish."
"Yes," he sighed. "I didn't know an anniversary dinner was important."
Louisa bit her lip and tried not to roll her eyes, thinking back to the beginning of their meal. She'd made one innocent comment to the waiter taking their drink orders, and that had spiraled things for a few tense minutes.
"I'd love a glass of red, whatever wine you recommend," she had smiled at up at him. Martin had jumped in on her behalf, which pleasantly surprised her, putting his finger up to the waiter.
"Bring her the best one you have," he'd said. "I'll have water."
The waiter glanced between them and asked, "Would this be any celebration?"
Louisa smiled with a a little shake of her head at first, and then, she changed course, "Well, I suppose this might be a late anniversary dinner, hmm, Martin? Five years now, yes." She looked to him to confirm that. "We didn't exactly get out on our anniversary when the twins were two months old." She continued waiting for him to answer, and she looked back at their waiter, "Sorry, I'm rambling."
"Ahh, well Happy Anniversary," the waiter said with a smile toward Louisa.
"It's not our anniversary," Martin said, frowning, looking at the menu as he spoke. "That was three months ago." He now had the menu on the table and started folded his napkin over his lap, focusing on that. When he looked up, he saw Louisa looking at him with an irritated gaze. "What?"
The waited looked between them, not wanting to be stuck in the middle of things. Louisa quickly tried to recover, "We'll need a few minutes for the menu." She glared at Martin while the waiter walked away.
"Martin," she sighed. "I know it's not our anniversary tonight. I suppose it just seemed like a nice evening to celebrate it, belated or not." She frowned, and Martin, looking at her, could see he'd said something; he just didn't understand the problem.
He leaned over his menu toward her and whispered loudly, "Louisa, when we had our anniversary, you said you didn't want to do anything special. I made dinner. I don't understand. Did you want to do something more?"
Louisa frowned and sighed, "No, not then. The girls were so tiny, and I was barely staying awake. I suppose this evening out," she paused, "and when he asked, well," she gave him a soft smile, "it just seemed romantic."
"I'm sorry; I just don't understand," he shook his head, desperately trying to figure out why his wife was frustrated. "You know I don't understand the logic of celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. I just don't," he frowned, "my birthday, as you know, was not celebrated."
"I know," she said with a sad smile. "I do remember the nice dinner you cooked up for our anniversary. It was lovely, but yes, it's nice to generally do something for an anniversary. It's also nice to do something special for a big one. Five years, Martin. Well done to us," she nodded.
"Right," he frowned, still trying to grasp it. "So, this is our anniversary dinner?"
"It's fine, Martin," she shook her head with a slight sigh. "I know these things aren't a big deal to you, but I appreciate you are trying for the children and for me. I guess since you've said you want me to just tell you the expectation, yes," she nodded again, "in the future, doing something special for our anniversary dinner would be appreciated. This year, the girls were little. I didn't want to go out, no, but now, tonight, it is a nice night to have a belated dinner. And," she said, putting her hand on the table, I'm not complaining, Martin. You did a lovely job getting me my new diamond ring," she said, looking at it. "You are a wonderful husband, but I know you like me to spell out things for you."
"Right, I suppose," he shook his head again. "Ahh, so we are okay to order and eat?"
"Yes," she chuckled. "Let's get this dinner on track."
"Louisa," she snapped her eyes up toward Martin and chuckled.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought. You said something?" Louisa asked.
"I was asking-" he started to say, and his phone rang. He grumbled as he dug it out, raising his eyebrows toward her. "It's Al."
"Al?" Louisa said, a hint of concern in her voice. "Go on," she nodded in encouragement.
"Ahh, Al, yes?" Martin answered. Louisa looked around the restaurant while he took the call. She got concerned as he spoke; something sounded wrong, and she could see his eyes darting, something he did as he was taking in information from a call and processing things. Finally, he finished by saying, "We'll be right over."
Louisa gave him an odd glance, and he frowned at her, "Ahh, Al, actually Morwenna is over in hospital."
"Oh," Louisa said, grasping her hand to her chest. "What happened?"
"Normally, I couldn't discuss my patients, but Al even prefaced the conversation by saying he was sorry to bother us and that I was free to tell you. It seems Morwenna is having abdominal pain, enough that they drove here, knowing we had these evening plans. He said the doctor seems to think she's having a miscarriage."
"Oh, Matin, that's awful," Louisa said, looking quite sad. She frowned, "Oh, dear. Had she, I mean," she paused, trying to read her husband. "Did she say she was preggers?"
"No," he shook his head. "Ahh, not to me, and I don't have the feeling they knew. I hope it's okay, but I told him we would stop by. They are here in Truro, and well," he gestured.
"Of course," Louisa said as she started to stand. "We can go, yes?"
"Yes," he stood, looking at the table. "We are all set here. Let's check on them."
"I hate that for them," she sighed. "It's not far-"
"No, and that is partly why I didn't believe it would be a bother to stop," he told her. "As my patient, I have a duty of care."
"Yes, yes, Martin," she patted his arm as she followed him briskly to the door. "I think we can also say that they are dear friends, and we can certainly be there for them right now."
"Yes," Martin answered simply and continued to walk.
15 minutes later, the couple had parked and was walking into the hospital. Since he'd moved to Portwenn years ago, he'd always used the doctor lot to park, even though he'd had people try to tell him he couldn't park there. He was a doctor; he had a patient. There was no argument. Tonight was no different. He walked briskly, but before Louisa yelled at him to slow down, he did, remembering how she'd often commented it was hard for her to walk in heels, a ridiculous choice of footwear, in his opinion. He looked back as she reached him. She gave him an encouraging nod.
"Thank you for waiting," she said, almost breathless. He offered her his arm, and she slipped hers through his. They walked inside to located Morwenna and Al in the emergency department. "Martin," Louisa tapped his arm as they started inside, "why don't I call Mel right now and let her know we've been detained? That will also allow you time to find Morwenna and perhaps speak to her, yes? I'll come and find you after I phone home."
"Ahh," he paused, thinking about her suggestion, "right, yes. That's good," he said with a nod. "Please make sure she is okay staying longer."
"I will," Louisa squeezed his hand. She could see he was concerned for Morwenna. He was a like a giant bear on the inside, all soft and caring about those close to him. His office receptionist, after years of dedication to him, had earned a soft spot in his heart.
Martin only had to bark at a few people before he located Morwenna and Al. He stepped into their area behind a closed curtain and pulled at her chart as he eyed them.
"Doc, thanks for coming," Al said, standing as he moved toward him. "Sorry to bother you."
"It's not bother," Martin said, looking at the chart. "I have a duty of care. Morwenna," he looked at her and his eyes took in her appearance lying there, "how is your pain?"
"Hiya Doc," she said, a little breathless. "Well, I've felt better, and just so you know, Doc, we had no idea. I mean, the idea of me preggers," she shook her head and laughed slightly. "I'm not ready for that. We're not ready for that, and this wasn't in our plans, at least not yet. This really is uncomfortable, and I just want to know what's going on."
"Looks like a miscarriage," he said, reading the notes. "I would suspect-"
"Ellingham!" Matin heard, his eyes grew wide, and he turned. He'd not made it all the way through Morwenna's chart and had not seen the name of her doctor.
"What are you doing here?" Martin snapped, turning toward her. "You left Truro."
"Mmm, yes, fortunately," she said crisply. "London is clearly where I belong, but I am working on research again and am down here for a few days. This facility likes to keep me on my toes, especially on weekends with the evening shift. I would say I'm surprised to see you here, but," she frowned and shook her head. "You never did leave."
Martin tried to ignore Edith and turned back toward Morwenna and Al. Al was visibly concerned; Morwenna looked to be in pain. Edith continued, set on interrogating Martin.
"Would this be a couple from your village, I presume?" Edith gave Martin a smile, one that he even recognized as fake and not genuine. He grunted and looked back at the couple.
Morwenna, when did the pain start?" Martin asked.
"Asked and answered, Ellingham. Really," she chuckled. "I do know how to do my job. Some of us are at the top of our profession. Now," she said, nodding toward the door, "shall we have a private chat?"
"No," he said briskly and looked back at the paperwork.
"I've tried to explain, in very simple terms," Edith said, giving Al and Morwenna a sad glance to indicate they were incompetent, "exactly what was going on, but there was no need for them to call in their lowly GP."
"Hey! He's not a lowly GP. Doc is a great chap, great at his job!" Morwenna said, before she grimaced in pain. Al patted her shoulder, and he sat down on the side of the bed next to her, taking her hand in his.
"You can respect our doc here," Al nodded toward Edith. "I appreciate you taking care of my wife, but I also know when you are being rude to someone who has done a lot for us."
"It's fine," Martin waved to the couple. "Dr. Montgomery and I went to school together and feels entitled to establish her importance here." He looked to Edith, "I expect you have delivered proper care to my office receptionist here, yes?"
"Ahh, your receptionist, right," Edith nodded, clutching paperwork now to her chest. "Yes, yes. I remember your little surgery, that sad little place, there in your village. Say, it is rather ironic I am seeing you here. I ran into a mutual acquaintance in London a few months ago. Small world, yes?"
"I wouldn't be interested in anyone you saw in London," he grunted as he gave her a nasty glare.
"Oh," she nodded, a sly smile there, "you might rethink that. I ran into a woman that I just had to get to know after I was told her name. Margaret Ellingham, that should ring a bell, I believe?"
Martin's face turned red, and he pursed his lips, "I have no interest in any conversation you had with my mother, and I must say I find this discussion inappropriate with a patient here."
"Oh," she said with a small gloat, "she had things to say about you, interesting things, and I'm just sorry I never met her all those years ago. I did hear about your sad little life here. She told me about her last visit and you being left all alone."
"Wait," Morwenna sat up, trying to interject. Martin put up his hand, silencing her and turned back to Edith.
"Edith, let me be very clear. I will not discuss anything regarding my personal life with you. My mother," he turned slightly trying to catch the eye of Morwenna and Al, "is not part of my life. If you met her months ago, well, then, you should also know she hadn't had contact with me in years. I will not discuss my personal life further. I suggest you recall your professional duty here and continue with my patient."
"Morwenna, Al," all heads turned as Louisa stepped around the curtain to greet the group. Her eyes quickly landed on Edith and Martin glaring at each other. "Oh," she said quietly.
Edith turned around, and she looked surprised at first, but she quickly schooled herself, turning back to the group, "Ahh, yes, more from the village." She turned back to Louisa, Edith's back now to Martin. Louisa had crossed her arms and was glaring at Edith, awaiting the comments.
"Louise, right? I had heard you were in Portugal or Spain or somewhere," Edith waved her hand, "not that I care. Hmm, interesting, so you came to check on your friend or is she family?"
Martin, standing behind Edith, waved his arms wildly at Louisa. Thankfully, Edith was so set on being rude to Louisa, she didn't see Martin gesturing. Louisa caught his eye and gave a very slight nod, understanding he didn't want to share any details with Edith.
Louisa, holding herself together, completely ignored Edith and looked over to Al and Morwenna. She gave them a sad smile, "I am so sorry. How can I help?"
"Doctor Montgomery," Martin called out with authority, causing the group to look at him. He was still not looking at anyone and still reading the chart. Finally he glanced in Edith's direction, "Will you be releasing my receptionist?"
"Yes," she said, a hint of deflation in her voice. She threw a slight smile at Martin, "I suppose she can follow up with her GP if she has any questions?"
"I'll trust anything the doc says over you," Morwenna grumbled. She looked at Martin, "Doc, can I go home now? I just want to go home."
Edith, trying to look like she had some compassion, leaned toward the bed and looked at Morwenna, "I'll finish your paperwork. As I explained earlier, give it time, and you can try again later. The human body has its own way of taking care of itself."
Al stood, wanting to end this mess, "Okay, thank you. Off you go. I'd like my wife to rest."
Edith gave them a fake smile, and she turned toward Louisa with the same. "Good to see you, Louise, right? Ahh," she turned to Martin, "Ellingham, a word?"
"No," he said firmly, his eyes locking on hers. "We have nothing to discuss, but I would like to discuss some details with my patient here."
"Your loss," she said with a shrug of her shoulder as she stepped out of the room. After she disappeared, Louisa let out her breath, looking over at Martin. He closed his eyes, waving his hand at Louisa; now was not the time.
"Doc, I know I have a mess here, but that woman, she was horrid! You know her?" Morwenna asked in horror.
"Ahh, yes, sorry to say," he sighed. "Let's talk about you, now, Morwenna," he said, turning his attention on her.
It was later than night when the Ellinghams were finally leaving the hospital, the two had a chance to discuss their run-in. Martin had been very careful to avoid further interaction with Edith while there seeing Morwenna. She would be okay; both she and Al were still shaky and a bit hazy. It had been a surprise, one that had been taken from them before they even knew about it. Both kept saying how they weren't planning on children yet, but they were also somewhat disappointed. Martin and Louisa stayed with them for some time, but they finally left as Morwenna was about to be discharged. Edith had apparently been called away to another patient, leaving the nurse to deliver the paperwork. All were happy about that.
Now, as they walked, Martin reached for Louisa's hand, "I'm sorry about that, running into, ahh, Edith."
"Yes, that was rather unfortunate," Louisa sighed. "Brings back a lot of almost painful memories, the sight of her."
"Yes," Martin sighed loudly.
"Want to talk about it?" Louisa asked him, looking up at him.
"No," he said firmly as he walked, his hand still in hers. He glanced at her and saw she was still looking at him. He let out his breath, "Not now. She was an unfortunate part of what had been a nice evening with you."
Louisa smiled, squeezing his hand, "Yes, before all of this," she gestured around them, "it had been a nice evening. Let's go home now, though, to our family." The two continued their walk in the dark toward the car, still hand in hand. As they approached the car, Louisa spoke again, "Martin, perhaps we should eat in Portwenn next time."
"What do you mean?" Martin asked.
Louisa sighed, "Seems the last two trips to Truro have led to run-ins with rather horrible people, yes? I first ran into your mother, and tonight, we had to see her, Edith, " Louisa said, making a face.
"Yes, right," he said. "Ahh, when we ever do discuss Edith, remind me to tell you about her run-in with my mother apparently months ago. She was discussing that before you entered the room."
Louisa looked up at him with wide eyes, "You can't be serious?"
He looked down and met her eyes, "I don't joke."
Louisa closed her eyes and chuckled, "Yes, Martin. I am aware."