Chapter 20

Louisa was in the kitchen folding the last of the family's weekly laundry when there was a knock on the front door, immediately followed by the sound of James bounding down the stairs, crying out, "Arthur's here. Arthur's here."

Louisa had just picked up one of James' shirts, but she quickly dropped it and hurried into the foyer, cautioning her son, "James be careful. I don't want you falling down and breaking a bone."

James ignored his mother and stood bouncing up and down in front of the door, "Arthur's here."

'Yes, he probably is." She smiled at her son's enthusiasm, pleased that he was looking forward to seeing his friend. It gave her some reassurance that he might not grow up to be shy and introverted, a fear she had harboured since he was an infant.

She gently nudged him aside from the door, "Let me open the door James."

As soon as she opened the door, James cried out, "Arthur, come see my house and tower." And he motioned for Arthur to follow him up the stairs and into his room, leaving both Louisa and Julia standing at the door bemused, watching the delight the two boys shared at the prospect of spending the next few hours together.

Louisa laughed and greeted Julia, "Good morning. James has been looking forward to this play date all morning."

"So has Arthur."

"Would you care to come in and join me for a cup of tea?"

Julia smiled back and leaned against the door jamb, "Oh that would be lovely, but I have to go to the mortuary in Truro. I should be back in two to three hours. When would you like me to pick up Arthur?

Louisa folded her arms and replied, "I was thinking of taking them to the play area up at the top of the village in a few minutes. I've packed a small picnic to take with us. The tide is just now going out, and I thought we could go explore the rock pools in the harbour afterwards, maybe buy an ice cream cone if they are still hungry. Give me a call when you return and I'll let you know where we are, and you can meet us."

Julia laughed, "Seems like you have a lot planned. I did bring a lunch for Arthur, just in case. I didn't want you to have to go to any trouble." She handed a paper bag over to Louisa.

"Oh, it's no trouble; I'm delighted that they have become friends. I'll include Arthur's lunch in our picnic basket and he can choose what he wants to eat."

Julia paused for a moment casting her eyes toward the surgery and screwing up her mouth in thought, "Is Doctor Ellingham going to join you?"

Louisa grinned, 'No. I've asked him to drive us up to the playground, but he won't be staying. He's looking forward to having a few quiet hours at home to read his medical journals. You know how dedicated he is to his work and keeping current …. one of the reasons he's such a good doctor."

"Yes, he's always struck me as brilliant, and …" Julia shrugged her shoulders and shook her head with a whacky grin, indicating her admiration for Martin, but she stopped herself from continuing her praises as Louisa eyes narrowed uneasily into an aggressive somewhat territorial expression. Swerving slightly from the direction she had been heading, Julia finished with her signature quirky laugh, "Well, he's just so impressive. I'm sure he's a wonderful husband. You were lucky to find him."

"Yes, I was." Louisa replied emphatically, nudging the door as if to close it and nodding her head towards the harbour to indicate that it was time for Julia to leave. "As I said, you have my mobile number. Call when you return from Truro."

She closed the door behind Julia and wandered into Martin's office to let him know that Arthur had arrived and to tell him that they would be ready to leave in a few minutes.

Martin looked up from his desk, "Is that mad woman gone?"

"Yeah." She brushed her fingers over the top of his desk, contemplating the several women in this village who seemed to take more than a fancy to her husband. First it was Mrs. Tishell, then Carrie Wilson, and now Julia Pote. He never encouraged any of them. Actually, as she thought about it a bit more, she smiled to herself as she realised that she herself was the first to recognise there was something special about him, and he did encourage her, albeit in his own very special unusual way.

Martin noticed her expression, and tilted his head quizzically.

Louisa smiled at him, "She asked after you."

"Oh God." He replied with a huff as he raised his head to stare at the ceiling.

Laughing she admitted what she had been thinking, 'You do seem to attract a number of women in this village. It's very complimentary."

He gave her a sceptical look and she added, "although it must be frustrating."

"I just ignore them."

"You didn't ignore me."

"No. I always found you beguiling." He gazed at her with a gentle expression and she leaned over to give him a gentle kiss. He reached for her hand and pulled her closer, returning the kiss, and then adding with a quirk of his eyebrow, "but difficult to understand."

"Martin!"

She realised that he was teasing her so she leaned back over to give him another quick kiss, "Too bad we have two young children in the house."

"Mmm … "

As if on cue, they heard James and Arthur trot down the stairs with James calling out, "Mummy?"

"In here James."

"Can we go now?"

"Yes. Let me go gather our picnic things."

Martin rose and herded the boys toward the surgery lavatory, "I want each of you to use the lavatory, James you first."

"But I don't need to."

"Doesn't matter. You know we always use the toilet before we go to the playground."

James slouched to the toilet, "'Kay", and then he looked up with a jaunty expectant grin, "We could do it together."

"No. You first, then Arthur." It seemed that James remembered how he and his father had used the toilet at the same time before their last trip to the playground and wanted to do the same with his friend. In hindsight Martin could now see that was not a wise parenting decision, and he was certainly not going to encourage that type of behaviour in future.

James took one look at his father's stern face and complied.

After James had washed his hands, Martin ushered Arthur into the small room and instructed him to follow James' lead.

Louisa came out with the picnic basket and lightweight jackets for herself and James, "All ready?"

Martin replied for them all, "Yes", and they left the house to walk down to the car and soon they were whizzing down the road on their way. After creeping through the village where, as usual, Martin muttered epithets at the tourists clogging the road and Louisa shot back with sharp rebukes reminding him of the children in the car, they arrived at the park. Louisa and the children climbed out of the car and the boys ran over to the play equipment.

Martin stood by his door to watch the boys run and laugh with glee, a wistful expression on his face. He couldn't ever remember such a time in his childhood, and a wave of melancholy briefly washed over him; but watching those two boys, he was glad that his child could feel so carefree, and he had similar hopes for the new baby. Louisa noticed the expression on his face and guessed at its meaning; she was tempted to respond with a hug, but knew he would find that disconcerting here in full view of half the village. Instead, she said nothing and reached for his hand to give it a squeeze, and then leaned in to brush his cheek with a gentle kiss, "See you in a few hours."

"Mmm. Let me know if you want me to carry you back."

"It's mostly downhill, so I think we'll be fine on the return trip, but I will call if we need you." As she swung away from the car, she tossed her ponytail, and with a grin, said, "See you later."

Just at that moment the gaggle of village girls walked past, one of them shouting, "Oooo, Doc. Hear Louisa's got a bun in the oven. Proper job." The entire pack laughed, shouting, "Can't keep your hands off her, can ya Doc? Told you to use a condom. When's the baby due? Tosser!" They continued on their way, giggling and snickering as they went, leaving Martin scowling and shaking his head as he climbed back into his car.

Louisa turned toward the girls and screwed up her face as they taunted Martin. "Those girls," she thought, and she glanced down at her emerging baby bump as she followed the boys to the play equipment and found a seat at one of the picnic tables near-by. "Obviously our news is all over the village if they are teasing us, but why, why do they have to torture Martin so?" She placed her hamper on the table and continued to ponder the girls of the village, "The individual girls come and go, but the pack remains. I remember Mum saying that we were all like them once, but I wasn't. I always knew how to behave. I can certainly see Mum as one of that group; she was probably a ringleader before she met Dad and had me … I wonder if I would have turned out differently if mum had stayed and been a proper mum? Would I have followed her lead and ended up like them?"

She was pulled from her reverie by the sight of the boys climbing to the top of the playset, "James, Arthur, be careful." It was a fairly safe interactive play gym with a short ladder on one side leading to a platform with a ship's steering wheel and a small covered house with windows for them to play in. There were a few cantilevered steps on the other side of the platform along with a slide and some small monkey bars. It was perfect for young children to entertain themselves, but there were areas where they could fall and she didn't relish having to explain to Julia how Arthur hurt himself if something happened.

"Louisa?" A voice boomed out and she turned to see Nate walking over to her with two little boys in tow and a pretty woman carrying a picnic hamper very similar to her own.

She rose and waved, "Nate? Hi. Come join us."

He walked over and introduced his family, "Louisa, this is my wife Emily and my two boys Bobby and Mike." Both boys were fair, but she noted that Bobby had copper highlights in his straight hair and a few freckles scattered across his nose whereas Mike's hair was curly and more blond. Obviously, they weren't identical twins which made it easier for her and their future teachers to distinguish one from the other. It had always been a problem when true identical twins showed up in one of her classes when she was new to teaching.

He turned to the boys, "This is Mrs. Ellingham, Doctor Ellingham's wife."

Louisa smiled at the family, "It's so nice to meet you all, Emily, Bobby and Mike." She squatted down so she could talk to the little boys on their level, and pointed to James and Arthur. "My little boy, James is playing on the jungle gym over there with his friend Arthur. Would you like to join them?"

They smiled shyly and turned to look in that direction, answering politely while shaking their heads up and down, "Yes. May we Mummy?"

Emily smiled at them and responded, "Of course. But you need to be careful. Let Daddy watch you."

Nate took their hands and led them to the play equipment while Louisa and Emily drifted behind them. "It's so nice to meet you," Louisa said to her. "It's been good to have Nate helping out at the surgery."

"And I'm glad to meet you as well. Nate tells me you used to be head at Portwenn Primary. That's one of our feeder schools, and I've noticed that the Portwenn students are well prepared for the more demanding curricula we present at Wadebridge."

"Thank you. I will take that as a compliment."

As they reached the older boys, she stopped and addressed them, "James and Arthur, here are Mr. Marshall's little boys, Mike and Bobby." She pointed to each of the younger boys and then introduced the older boys, "This is James, my son, and this is Arthur Pote, a friend of James' from school. Now all of you be careful. I don't want to call Doctor Ellingham if you were to fall."

"We won't fall mummy", James replied as he lowered himself to the ground and said hello to the twins, "Let me show you how to climb to the top."

She turned towards Nate and Emily, "Arthur is Julia Pote's son. He and James are having a play date. Julia is the town's undertaker, just moved here recently and has taken over the business from her uncle."

Emily's eyebrows shot up. "That's unusual for a woman to be in that business, isn't it?"

Ever the strident feminist, Louisa shot back, her tone almost challenging, "Why?"

Emily twisted her mouth into a moue, shrugging her shoulders, "I suppose it just seems a bit macabre. I wouldn't want to do that kind of work."

Louisa leaned back in thought, not wanting to insult Nate's wife, but surprised that she wasn't more open to the different roles women can play, "Well, I'm not sure I would want to either, but if you think about it, women bring us into the world, why wouldn't women want to help us out as well. I believe if you look at many cultures around the world, women prepare the bodies for burial. Why shouldn't they do the same here in England?"

"I guess I had never thought about it before, but you do have a point."

Louisa nodded, "Yes."

Changing the subject, she gestured towards the picnic table where she had placed her basket. Emily had dropped hers off there as well when they joined the boys, "I see that you brought lunch for your family. I brought lunch for us as well. Why don't we all eat together? It could be fun."

Nate kept an eye on the four boys as the two women set out the lunch, chatting companionably about their work. As they were finishing up, one of the local dads walked past the children and shouted out, "Tosser."

Emily heard the remark and turned to see Nate wave back to the man. With concern etched on her face, she said to Louisa, "Nate has been really pleased with the opportunities that Doctor Ellingham is giving him, but I can't help but wonder if he is going to be accepted by the village. I can't tell you how many villagers shouted 'tosser' at him as we walked down to the pub an hour or so ago. He just smiles and nods his head as if it's the most natural greeting in the world … but it's not, is it?"

Louisa looked at her with dismay, "Has he said anything about it to you before today?"

"He has said that some of the villagers are upset that Doctor Ellingham didn't give the job to one of the village women who just trained as a nurse and who hoped to come back to the village and work with him."

"Pauline Lamb."

"Is that her name?"

Louisa looked down at the table, drumming her fingers, "Yeah. She had been Martin's receptionist before she left to train, and she was pretty upset that Martin refused to hire her."

She looked back up at Emily and leaned against the table, "Thing is, she just graduated from nursing school and Martin wanted someone with more experience in the surgery, someone like Nate. There is no way that Pauline could do what he is asking Nate to do. Martin would have had to spend a lot of time training her, and he just doesn't have that kind of time, not with his other responsibilities."

Emily turned her head towards the sea, a strained expression on her face. Louisa felt she needed more assurance that things would work out, so she added, "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. A number of the village women have told me how pleased they are with the care Nate has given them so far. It will just be a matter of time and the villagers will consider that he belongs here, just another member of the village."

"I hope so."

Louisa laughed, "If it makes you feel any better, there are still some villagers who call Martin 'tosser'. As a matter of fact, one of them shouted that at him as he dropped us off. It's just their way."

The day was breezy as it always was up on the field where the play area was situated and a strong gust of wind picked up the paper plates and cups that Louisa had just placed on the table and Emily grabbed at them, catching them just before they flew into the air. "Whew, that was close. Maybe we should keep these in the basket until we need them."

'Yeah, I think you're right." Louisa grabbed the plates and cups and put them away.

Emily pulled a cardigan out of her hamper and put it around her shoulders, "Getting a bit cool." And then returned to their earlier conversation, "You were saying that Doctor Ellingham has other responsibilities?"

"I don't think it's a secret, but maybe he hasn't mentioned it to Nate. He is working with a software team in London to develop a virtual training tool for vascular surgeons. He expects it will require two days a week, maybe more of his time. With Nate's knowledge, he feels confident that his patients will be well cared for while he is working on the training tool."

"Nate did say that Doctor Ellingham had a special project he was working on, but he didn't elaborate. I wonder if Doctor Ellingham has discussed the specifics with him."

Louisa grimaced, wondering if she should have said anything, "I don't think it's a secret, but perhaps you should keep it to yourself for the moment."

"Doesn't really sound like something a GP would be qualified to do."

Louisa gazed at Emily curiously, "No, not your ordinary GP." She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, tilting her head, "but … Martin is no ordinary GP. He was a highly regarded vascular specialist in London before he moved to Portwenn to work as the village GP."

"Really?"

'Yes. I would have thought Nate might have mentioned it."

'No. But how … why … why did he decide to leave surgery and move here. Seems like a strange career move."

"Yes, again not a secret, but he developed haemophobia and was unable to work as a surgeon. He still responds badly to blood on occasion, but it is getting better. He was an excellent surgeon, which is why they asked him to work on this project, but he is also an excellent doctor. I know I'm his wife, but I honestly feel you couldn't want a better doctor for the village. All the villagers know about his, shall we call it his 'handicap', but they accept him as he is because he is such a good doctor. We are lucky to have him."

Now Emily was even more curious, "I wonder why he didn't just stay in London to work as a GP there. Did you two meet after he moved here, or did he move her because of you?"

"Ah, well that's a long story for another time, and I think we'd better feed this lot before they start acting cranky. You know how children can get if they aren't fed properly."

They waved at Nate and motioned for them to come and the five of them descended upon the table as if they hadn't eaten in ages. Once they had the children settled, the adults prepared plates and sat down. Emily looked out to the sea, "It's so beautiful here. I can see why Nate has been coming home happy every day."

Nate finished chewing his sandwich and wiped his mouth with his napkin, "It is beautiful, no doubt about it, and we do have a view of the harbour from the surgery, one of the perks of the job." With a twinkle in his eye, he added, "Why do you think I accepted Doctor Ellingham's offer instead of the hospital A&E job with the expansive view of the car park?"

Emily laughed at his comment, "Yes, how could you resist."

"Louisa", a voice rang out and within a few seconds Pippa was standing at the end of the table, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes. "I thought I recognised you over here."

"Pippa! What are you doing here?"

"Ah… My sister is visiting from Bodmin for the day with her two and we thought a visit to the playground would keep them out of trouble."

"Here, have a seat." Louisa scooted over on the already crowded seat to make room, but Pippa declined.

"Just thought I'd say hello."

"Let me introduce you. Have you met Nate? He's joined Martin in the surgery as a nurse practitioner. And this is his wife, Emily."

"Nate, Emily, this is Pippa Woodley, acting head at Portwenn Primary. Pippa, Emily is the new head at Wadebridge school."

Pippa glanced over to the part of the park dedicated to older children and satisfied that all was well under her sister's watchful eye, she took the seat that Louisa had offered and leaned towards Emily, "So good to meet you Emily. I've heard a lot about you."

Louisa turned to Pippa and added, "Emily tells me that the students that come from Portwenn Primary are well prepared for the Wadebridge curriculum." And then turning to Emily she added, "Pippa was my assistant before I resigned and she took over as acting head, and is doing a great job. She's as much responsible for the students' preparation as I am … or was."

"Louisa is very complimentary, and I do enjoy working with the kids." "Just wish they'd give me the job permanently." She muttered under her breath before continuing, "Emily, if you ever have any ideas on how we can improve, please feel free to contact me. I'd love to hear your thoughts."

Emily smiled, "I'll keep that in mind."

Pippa glanced back at her sister, who was trying to grab her attention, and rose to leave, "Guess I'd better get back to my crew … but Louisa there was something else, a rumour going around the village?" She wriggled her eyebrows to indicate that Louisa should know to what she was referring.

Louisa laughed, 'Yes, I'm well aware that our little secret isn't secret anymore."

"So, it's true?" Louisa nodded her head with a big grin on her face, and Pippa squealed, "That's wonderful news. When's the baby due?"

"Mid-January."

Pippa pulled her up," Come here and let me give you a hug."

After Pippa left, both Nate and Emily offered her their congratulations at the same time as the boys finished their meal and asked to go back and play. Nate jumped up to follow them, "I'd better make sure that they play safely. Again Louisa, that's wonderful news."

"Thanks Nate. Martin and I are quite pleased."

Louisa sat back down and picked up her cup of tea and took a sip," Mmm … needs a bit of a warm up."

She stood and reached over for the thermos of hot tea, topped up her cup and offered some to Emily, and topped up her cup as well.

Emily took a sip of her tea, "Sounds like you will have a busy year ahead. I know you said you are studying for a career change. How are you going to manage that with a new baby?" She then laughed at herself, "Of course you will manage just like I managed to go straight back to work after Mike and Bobby were born. We just manage, don't we?"

'Yeah. I plan to cut back my course work to just one class in the winter term before going back full time. It will be another year after that before I am fully qualified. Of course, Martin would prefer that I stay home with the baby for the entire first year, but …. " She waved her hands in the air indecisively.

"I really need to meet your Martin. Nate has already told me a bit about him. He sounds intriguing."

Louisa tilted her head, not certain how to reply. "Martin intriguing?" She laughed, "I certainly found him intriguing, at first. He's just …. Well, I'm not sure how to describe him. I guess you will have to meet him and decide for yourself."

Emily looked at her watch, "Afraid it can't be today. We need to take the boys home for their afternoon nap."

"Ah, those were the days. James doesn't take naps anymore except at nursery; and on the weekends I miss his naptime, especially right now with this pregnancy, although Martin is good about watching him and letting me nap. I seem to need more rest than I did with James."

They both gathered up the used plates and cups and carried them over to the bin and packed their hampers back up. Several children had joined their boys on the jungle gym, and it was becoming crowded. Nate had moved his two boys to the swings and James and Arthur ran over to Louisa begging her to push them on the swings, but all the other swings were in use. It was provident that Bobby and Mike were headed home, and they made a quick switch out with James and Arthur jumping on the two vacated swings. Soon they were begging Louisa to push them higher. She left her basket on the table and stood behind the swings pushing first one and then the other, but not before waving a quick good-bye to the Marshalls.

The school holidays had just begun and families were descending on the village ready to enjoy their summer break, and the park was becoming quite crowded. Louisa decided it would be wise to take her charges down to the centre away from the more rambunctious older children. "Come along boys, one more push and then we will go to explore the rock pools."

She was expecting Arthur and James to complain, but they seemed ready to go; and they ran towards the coastal path so joyfully, she was pressed to keep up with them. She was right when she told Martin that the trip back was mostly downhill; it was easy going, for which she was grateful because she was getting tired. She set her basket down on the harbour wall and gave each child a cup in which to put any treasures they found and the three of them started to explore the rocky beach.

Several villagers came up to her to congratulate her on her pregnancy including, of all people, Pauline. She was attired in a typical Pauline outfit, a peasant blouse and full skirt with several petticoats flouncing underneath in various colours and prints. "Louisa, I hear you and the Doc have some good news."

With the sun bright overhead, Louisa squinted back at her, "Yes, thank you."

Pauline looked over to the boys, who had soon lost interest in gathering shells and sea glass and were filling their cups with sand and dumping the sand onto the beach in great piles, jumping up and down, and chasing each other across the beach. "Which one is James? He was a baby when I last saw him."

"James is the one with blond hair … takes after his Daddy. The other is his friend Arthur. I'm afraid I can't talk Pauline. I've got to take them home before they end up rolling in the sand. You know Martin, he'd make me strip them and put them in the tub right away!"

She clapped her hands, "Okay James, Arthur, let's go back to the house. We'll have some biscuits and milk."

The promise of biscuits and milk was all that they needed to head off the beach and up to the surgery. Louisa grabbed her basket and followed, with Pauline trailing next to her. "So, how's the Doc? I heard he hired a man to work in the surgery."

"Yes, Nathaniel Marshall. I believe he is settling in well."

"I still can't believe he didn't hire me. We worked so well together before."

Louisa slowed her march up the hill. "Pauline, I don't think it was personal. It's just that his work at the surgery has expanded and he needed someone with several years of experience who could step in right away and work without supervision, and Nate is able to do that."

"I could have done that."

Louisa tried to sympathize, "I know you were disappointed, but Martin thought otherwise and he selected the candidate he thought best suited to the job."

Pauline wasn't about to be placated, and she started to whinge, "If he really cared about the village, he would have hired a villager, not some outsider. Everyone in the village agrees; he should have hired me."

The boys were slowing down as they walked up the steep hill which gave Louisa a moment and she stopped and looked Pauline straight in the eye, her temper flaring, "Not everyone in the village agrees. In fact, everyone who has been to the surgery likes him. I know you have been moaning to your friends at the pub and anyone else who will listen about how badly Martin has treated you, and they have been trying their best to make Nate feel unwelcome, and that's a shame. I really think it is poor form that the villagers are so nasty to Nate. It reflects badly on our community."

Pauline glared at her defiantly, but Louisa continued, "I've always been embarrassed that the villagers call Martin a 'tosser', but Martin has a thick skin and he just lets the names roll off him. Nate is a good man, a good nurse, and he wants what is best for the surgery's patients. I wish the villagers would give him a chance."

Pauline stepped back a bit from Louisa and opened her mouth as if to speak, but Louisa leaned in closer, her hands clenched into fists, and continued, "Let me give you some advice. There are lots of nursing jobs begging to be filled. Find one of them, get some good hard experience to add to your CV. That, more than any favouritism, will win you the next job you want, and if an opportunity opens up again here in Portwenn, you may just be the best candidate."

She grabbed the hands of both the boys, "And please call off your hounds. Give Nate some peace. You're not helping your case with Martin."

With that last word, Louisa and the boys turned away from Pauline, and continued to trudge up the hill toward the surgery. Pauline stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Louisa, furious that she wasn't going to take her side, and then turned to stomp down the hill to the pub, where she hoped to find a friendly word from some of her old friends, Bert and Al, although he wasn't as sympathetic as she had hoped, and maybe Chippy Miller and his mates, they were always good for a laugh.