"Louisa, we are due at Dr. Mitchell's office in 45 minutes. We must leave now or we will be late." Martin stood next to the open kitchen door jangling his keys impatiently. It was early in the morning at the end of August; and Louisa's third antenatal doctor's appointment, as well as the last scan, was scheduled for 8:30. Ruth had agreed to get James off to nursery, and she had arrived a few minutes before.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Louisa hustled into the kitchen and grabbed her purse from off the hook. As she entered, she threw a glance at Ruth and James, who were sitting at the table finishing breakfast, "Thanks Ruth for taking James to school this morning." She blew James a kiss and headed out the door and down the path towards the car.
Martin nodded towards James and Ruth, "Yes. Good-bye. Don't forget to lock the door when you leave." Ruth gave him a smile and waved her hands in a sweeping motion, shooing him out the door.
They settled into the car and fastened their seat belts, and Martin raced down the street almost hitting two tourists who had been walking up Rosscarrock Hill. They were gazing out at the harbour and had strayed into the street without paying any attention to possible on-coming traffic. "Stupid tourists. Why can't they pay attention to where they are going? They treat this village as a theme park!"
Louisa glared over at him, "Maybe you should slow down Martin."
He sighed. Yes, she was right, but … "I wouldn't have to drive so fast if you had been ready five minutes earlier."
She tilted her head and shrugged, "It doesn't really matter. We always have to wait a few minutes before our appointment anyway."
"Mmm … "He crept down past the Platt and onto Fore street, up past the pub and the school. It was the end of the school holidays and one would expect the village to be full of tourists; but still, he was surprised at the number of people on the streets so early in the morning, the scowl on his face deepening until the crowds finally let up and they were able to leave the village behind.
As they pulled onto the main road on their way, Louisa couldn't contain her excitement knowing that they would be seeing their baby within the hour, "I can't wait to see the baby. I wonder if we will be able to see its face?"
"It all depends on the angle at which the foetus is positioned. They will probably be able to tell us the baby's sex, if we want to know. We should decide before we arrive."
Louisa looked out the window and gazed at the morning sky, as if she would receive inspiration from on high, "I don't know. I've been thinking about it a lot. I don't know if I want another boy or a little girl. James is just so perfect; another James would be a lot of fun … but a little girl … that would be wonderful as well."
'It's not as though we can change anything by knowing one way or another," he intoned.
"Nooo …. But it might be nice to know. Don't you care? We could decorate the baby's room in appropriate colours."
"Yes, we could." He paused as he looked for on-going traffic before pulling out into the first Wadebridge roundabout, then he continued, "Actually, I don't care about the baby's sex as long as it is healthy. That's all that really matters."
She twisted her lips at his pronouncement, and sighed, "I suppose." Still his attitude troubled her. Did he not have any thoughts or preference for another boy or a little girl? Did he really not care? Did he just agree to the second child to keep her happy? No, she wouldn't let her mind wander down that rabbit hole. He had been just as engaged as she had been when it came to conceiving this child, tracking her ovulation and finding the fertility specialist. When they had first got together, he had been physically reticent, a learned behaviour he had acquired for fear of rejection; but after their sessions with Dr. Timoney, he had become more and more openly affectionate. Still, it was rare for him to initiate sexual activity even when she could tell he wanted her, but he never held back when she approached him. In fact, once she got him out of that suit … well … he was always an attentive lover. No, she was certain that he wanted this child as much as she did. It was just his way; as a doctor, his concern was always for the health of the child, and she had to agree that it was what was most important
He gave her a quick glance, "If you want to know, I am fine with that. I'm also fine not knowing until the birth if you want to wait."
"I think I want to wait."
"Good. We should ask about childbirth classes."
"Is that really necessary? I've already done it once."
'It's a good idea. I've brushed up on the various things that can happen during childbirth. You had a very quick labour with James. There's no reason to expect it to go so easily this time." He stated matter-of-factly, and Louisa glared at him incredulous at his insensitivity, and she reacted heatedly.
"Easy? Easy?" She exclaimed, "Easy for you to say. You weren't the one pushing a baby's head the size of a football out her privates."
"Umm, yes. All the more reason to be fully prepared. They cover all the possible presentations and how to cope with them."
"Isn't it a little early to attend classes?
'Yes, but sometimes the classes fill up, and we would be more likely to find a class close to Portwenn if we sign up now."
"You've really looked into this, haven't you?"
"Yes. Always best to be prepared."
"Yeah."
They settled into a comfortable silence as they continued on their way. Martin thought about the turn his life had taken this year. He was extremely busy these days, much busier than he had been before his assessment. His IT project was in full swing, requiring his attention two full days a week, and even with Nathaniel's help, the surgery patient load had increased, so much so that space in the surgery had really become a problem.
London had shipped the hardware required to conduct the virtual surgery to him in early July and it had taken a full day to install it in the phlebotomy room and learn to use the instruments. The room was small and with patients coming in and out of the surgery office, there were too many distractions to be able to concentrate on his work. He had thought to move it to a corner of their living area, but he worried that James might discover it and think it was a new toy. He needed another space, and shortly after they closed on the new house, he made the decision to move his IT project space to the study there. There were some minor logistical issues when the renovators had to work on the updates to the kitchen and bathrooms, but they eventually came to an accommodation that they would not work near his office on the two days each week when he needed to use the house.
Whilst he was waiting for the software to be ready to test, he spent his time learning more about how the computers worked and how to use the hardware. His one weakness had been his knowledge of technology. It was challenging learning the vocabulary used by the programmers, but he had always been a quick study and within the first two weeks he was as conversant as the rest of them. As he drove, he pondered a glitch that he had recognised last week in the first procedure they had developed. Much of the software was quite functional and he was initially quite surprised at how very realistic it felt. But something wasn't quite right. It suddenly dawned on him what the problem was and he slapped the steering wheel shouting out, "Yes."
Louisa had dosed off and his shout woke her and she startled, looking around, "What?"
"Oh, sorry I woke you. I was just thinking about a problem with the simulation and realised what needed to be fixed."
"Oh good." She sat up, stretched her neck and shoulders, and then looked out the window. "Looks like we're here."
'Yes." Martin turned into a free space in the car park and turned off the engine. Checking his watch, he noted the time, "Five minutes to spare."
"See you didn't need to worry."
'Humph."
Louisa lay back on the examination couch, while the technician slid the ultrasound transducer across her swollen belly waiting for the image to appear on the screen. She smiled up at Martin as the technician fiddled with the controls. He was beginning to lose patience and she grabbed his hand and squeezed it, giving him an encouraging smile. She turned her head to gaze at the screen in awe as the tiny person she was carrying suddenly appeared, waving its arms and legs at them through the magic of modern technology.
"Everything looks good," the technician pronounced. "Do you want to know the sex of the baby?"
Louisa and Martin looked at each other. They had discussed this option several times in the past month knowing that the information would be available at this appointment, and they had discussed it again on the way over to make sure they agreed on this point. As tempting as it was to know ahead of time, they had decided to wait until the birth. As she looked at Martin, she shook her head 'no' ever so slightly, and Martin nodded back, "Right." He cleared his throat. "No, we prefer to wait, thank you."
"Very well," The technician replied. "Let's get some measurements taken and capture a photo for you and then I will call in Doctor Mitchell to go over the results.
All was progressing as it should, and they left the doctor's office satisfied that all was in hand. Martin had proved prescient because Doctor Mitchell recommended that they contact some of the midwives who held birthing classes and enroll in a class to be held later in the fall. "There are several good classes held in Wadebridge and Bodmin. Ask my receptionist for a list before you leave."
As they sat back in the car on the way home, Martin said, "What are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"I need to prepare for next term's classes, order my books, make sure my laptop is able to sign into the school's websites, that sort of thing."
"Did you have problems getting into the website last term?"
"No, but I haven't worked from the new house yet. I thought I'd check it out, and decide where I want to put my desk, in the kitchen or in the lounge. Where would be the best wi-fi connection."
"I had the most up-to-date router installed, so you shouldn't have trouble connecting from anywhere in the house. The wi-fi works well from my study, but I don't think it would be ideal for us both to work in there, although I'm only there two days a week. The kitchen is big enough for our table; we don't need to use the dining room for eating; you could use that room for an office."
"Hmm. I hadn't thought of that."
"I will be there for most of today if you would like to eat lunch together."
"Yes. That would be nice. Maybe I will make a sandwich for each of us before I come up."
'Yes. Good."
Martin guided the car through the village and into their parking spot next to the surgery and turned off the engine. "I'm going to run into the surgery to make sure all is in hand before going up to the new house."
"Okay." Louisa smiled at him, then grunted, "Ooof." She quickly reached for his hand and placed it on her belly.
"What, what is it?"
"Can you feel it? Right there. The baby is moving."
Martin knit his brows together in concentration, flattening his hand against her abdomen, "It's barely perceptible, but I believe I can feel a flutter."
"Yes, that's it. Isn't it exciting?"
He looked up into her eyes and smiled, "Yes," and then reached over to give her a kiss.
She reached up and caressed his cheek and kissed him back, a very delicate kiss, and then leaned in to touch his forehead with hers.
"Woo-hoo." The bevy of village girls sauntered past, cackling, "Move it to the bedroom, Doc."
"Oh God." Martin scowled and Louisa shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Just ignore them," she said. Casting her eyes in their direction, she had a thought, and she turned towards him with a mischievous look on her face, one he had never seen before. "What? What is it?"
"Shush," she murmured, and she leaned into his side provocatively and, placing her hand on the side of his head, while turning him to face her, she whispered, "I love you Martin Ellingham." Before he realised what was happening, she kissed him soundly, passionately and, surprised, he gave in to her and responded with a similar intensity, that is, until he heard the girls whooping and hollering with glee.
"Louisa!" He exclaimed, forcefully pushing her away with a horrified expression on his face.
She grinned back at him, "That'll give 'em something to talk about."