Chapter 32

Martin opened the front door of their new home and stepped into the foyer, pausing for a moment to listen for sounds of life. He could hear Louisa and James talking in the playroom off of the kitchen, so he took his bag into his study and then made his way to the kitchen. As he wandered slowly through their new home, he noticed that the entire house was neat and tidy just the way he liked it to be. Louisa had been busy and he worried that she might have overdone it. Once in the kitchen, he observed James building something on the floor and Louisa seated at her desk working on her laptop. They had installed the small desk in the playroom where she could work and keep an eye on James, and she was putting it to good use. Neither of them had heard him come in so he greeted them quietly. "Good evening."

James glanced up from his construction site and ran over to Martin with open arms, crying, "Daddy, Daddy". Martin picked him up into a hug, and shifted him to his left arm where he could look into his face and asked, "How are you this evening James?"

"Good Daddy. I built a truck and garage with my bricks. Do you want to see it?"

"I can see it from here James. Very creative. Good job."

Louisa looked up, "Ruth ran across a jumble sale in Wadebridge early this afternoon and found a used set of bricks that included wheels. James has been busy with them since we arrived home from nursery."

"I hope you disinfected them before giving them to James."

She shot him an exasperated look, "Of course I did Martin."

"Good."

She rose to greet him, and Martin could see immediately that she appeared tired; the way she leant into him when he embraced her, letting him support her and the additional weight of the baby, confirmed his diagnosis. It also seemed to him that she had expanded noticeably in just that one day, and he placed his hand on her womb expectantly, "How are things today?"

"Busy. This little one seems to have a lot of energy."

"Maybe he just wants you to sit down and rest, give him … or her … some quiet time." Martin was hopeful that concern for the baby might be a way to encourage her to rest, and he led her to the sofa. But as usual, she wouldn't listen to his suggestion that she relax there on the couch with her feet up whilst he prepared their supper.

"I'm fine, Martin." She jumped up from the sofa and followed him into the kitchen, peppering him with questions, "I expected you home earlier. Is everything okay? Tell me about your day. How did the meeting with the board go? How is Bert?"

He almost chuckled to himself at her stream of questions. He attempted to answer them to the best of his ability without going into too much detail. They had other things to sort, and he was hungry, ready for a simple dinner and an early night.

The storm that he had anticipated on his drive home broke just as they were finishing dinner. The rain pelted the windows of their new home, and in a moment, Buddy was outside the kitchen barking and frantically scratching the door. Louisa jumped up from the table to let Buddy in, and he immediately ran to the centre of the room and vigorously shook the water off his fur, soaking the floor. Both Louisa and Martin jumped up from the table and ran into the utility room. After the events of the day, the bedlam that ensued stretched Martin's patience to the limit. He gave himself a few seconds to bellow a forceful, "Nooo ..." before searching for the mop to dry the floor. Louisa grabbed a towel and quickly began to rub Buddy dry, and James ran over to help her, tracking the water around the kitchen. Martin found several extra towels and he gave one to James, telling him to help dry the floor. It took the three of them nearly ten minutes to dry both Buddy and the floor although James had only wiped a small section of the floor before he and Buddy started to play tug of war with his towel. When it was all dry, Louisa leaned against the counter and laughed at James and Buddy. Martin shook his head in exasperation and took Louisa's towel and wrestled the towel from Buddy and threw them all into the washer.

Martin sighed in exasperation and grimaced at Louisa who was still chuckling, "Well, it is kind of funny."

"Humph," Martin groused. "Why don't you bathe James and I'll do the washing up."

"Okay."

"It's been a long day, and I'm exhausted. I think I will try for an early night."

"Good idea. I had a busy day as well."

James was still playing with Buddy and neither seemed happy when Louisa pointed her finger and commanded, "Buddy … basket." Buddy gazed up at her with soulful eyes and then reluctantly settled into his basket as Louisa ushered James out of the room up to the bath.

Martin had still been emotionally charged from the events of the day, and hoping to calm his mind, he had retired to their bedroom with the latest issue of the Lancet shortly after they had put James to bed. Louisa seemed to sense his mood and she had joined him a few minutes later after checking her e-mail and locking up the house. Glancing at her as she removed her dress and changed into her night clothes, Martin was distracted from his journal. He put it down and watched the way her breasts, heavy from the weight of her pregnancy, swayed gently as she pulled her blouse over her head, and he gazed with wonder at her swollen belly stretching the waistband of her pyjamas; and, not surprisingly, he found himself becoming aroused. His eyes followed her as she walked toward their bathroom; she noticed his glance and smiled at him, "I'll only be a few minutes."

After scrupulously brushing her teeth, and taking her hair down from its ponytail, she slipped in next to him and leaned over to kiss him goodnight. As she pulled away, he reached for her and pulled her close to place a tender kiss on her lips, trailing his hand lightly over her cheek and down her neck and shoulder.

"I thought you wanted an early night," she teased, her eyes sparkling.

"Mmm…" He responded with a deeper kiss and let his hands wander to the buttons of her pyjama top. She lowered her head to watch him and then smiling, returned the favour, unbuttoning his pyjama top and sliding it off his shoulders to pull him deep under the duvet.

Martin woke early the next morning. He had wanted an early night so that they could both rest, but he succumbed to his heightened emotions, and the evening had progressed in a way he hadn't planned. Nevertheless, it had been a very pleasurable night and he had slept well. He glanced over at Louisa sound asleep on her side clutching her pillow for support. He shifted his weight in the bed to curl around her body and to rest his hand gently next to her baby bump and thought what a funny name that was to call a woman's expanding uterus. He'd heard worse in his time as the village GP, ridiculous names couples had given their unborn child. It was, dare he say it, one of the more amusing aspects to being a GP, not that he would ever discuss it.

It was still dark outside, only a glimmer from the hall nightlight providing a hint of illumination in their room. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 5:30. The sun would be making its way past the horizon soon if the weather allowed, but this was November and the sky was likely to be overcast with no real glimpse of sunlight for another an hour or more. He should go back to sleep, but he felt alert, and he let his eyes wander around their bedroom. Everything was where it should be, no errant boxes to trip over in the darkness. Louisa had been busy the last two days sorting through all the packing boxes and putting all their things away. The entire house was in good order, something he wouldn't have expected given Louisa's generally haphazard attitude toward housekeeping. Perhaps she was experiencing the nesting instinct that comes in late pregnancy, a bit early perhaps, but whatever the reason for her urge to organise the house, he was going to enjoy a clutter free home as long as it lasted. Even so, he hoped that she would be able to rest today.

He had just fallen back asleep when he felt her shift next to him and he rolled onto his back and opened his eyes to see her looking over at him, her elbow bent and her head propped up on her hand. She yawned and then smiled, "Good morning."

He reached over to stroke her cheek with the back of his fingers, "Good morning."

She smiled back at him and then rolled over and crawled out of bed, "Be right back… toilet."

It was nearly time to arise and he wanted to start his day, but she had said she would be right back in a tone that indicated she expected him to stay where he was. There were some things he had learned since their therapy days, one of which was that it was best to humour her in the easy things, like staying in bed for a cuddle. It helped to smooth the way when more difficult things cropped up, such as the amount of time he was beginning to realise he would be away from home in his new, if possibly temporary, job. He heard the toilet flush and then the sound of the tap running, and then she was lumbering onto the bed and snuggling into his side. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders so that she could nestle into his side. "Hmm. This is nice." She reached up to kiss him on the lips, her breath fresh with the aroma of toothpaste.

'Yes." He whispered.

"Will you be working from home today?"

"Yes. I will check with Nathaniel to let him know I will be here if he needs me, and I will meet with him and Morwenna later in the day to advise them of my new position."

"Are they going to assign a locum while you are in Truro?"

"Yes. Chris assures me that he has found someone competent for the next several months or so."

"And after that?"

"We will see. The baby will be here," He reached over to pat her tummy. "I expect to work as the GP for the first month, and after that … I don't know."

"Would you want to continue at the hospital?"

"I really don't know. The task is daunting, but essential, and two months isn't enough time to set up a functioning unit." He let out a loud sigh and rubbed his free hand through his hair. "I can't believe the hospital governors let the situation become so dire. It speaks to incompetence at the highest level."

"I had no idea."

"No, and it has to change. The people of Cornwall deserve better."

Louisa sighed as she realised that her husband, a man with a strong sense of duty, wouldn't quit if he felt the responsibility to make the changes needed to improve the medical care of the entire community. She was going to have to make some hard sacrifices to let him do just that. She reached over to give him a tighter hug, to hold on to him for as long as she was able. "I suppose we should get up."

"No. You stay and sleep a little longer. I'll help James when he wakes and start our breakfast. I'll come wake you in an hour or so."

A fly on the wall would have seen no indication that morning that anything momentous had happened the day before. The Ellingham family had settled into their new home and had risen as usual and prepared for the day as they had for the past year or more. James was sitting at the breakfast table happily munching on a banana waiting patiently for his egg and soldiers while his mother checked on the eggs and made the toast for their meal. His father was busy preparing James' lunch box to take with him to school when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered, "Ellingham."

Louisa turned to listen to Martin's side of the conversation. "Yes. I see … you know what to do." His face deepened into a scowl and he continued to bark orders into his phone and then rang off.

As he inserted his mobile back into the pocket of his jacket, he turned to Louisa, "Bert has lost consciousness, and his blood pressure has dropped again. It could be any number of things, none of them good, but I can only suspect that he has had another heart attack. I must go and attend."

He grabbed his wallet and car keys and ran out the door with Louisa close on his heels shouting, "Please let us know what is happening."

"Yes." He paused for a moment before sliding behind the wheel, "Can you call Al and let him know what has happened. He might want to be present if things don't go well."

Louisa gave him a look of concern, and Martin returned the look, nodding his head, with a quiet, "Yes."

"Okay, yeah," she tilted her head and gave him a small good-bye gesture to show she understood the severity of the situation; and then she watched him race down the hill, wondering if this was how it was to be if he took the job permanently. It might. He had told her last night that he was charged with bringing the drastically understaffed department up to where it should be. The job was likely to be demanding at first, but it would get better once he had hired several new consultant level doctors. He was less optimistic this morning when they discussed it. She would have to learn to "go with the flow" as her friend Bert would say. "Oh Bert", she sighed and shook her head, turning back to the front door.

James had climbed down out of his chair and followed his parents, along with Buddy, out to the front porch. Louisa reached for his hand, "Come James. Let's go eat breakfast."

James hesitated, wondering why his Daddy had left in such a hurry, "What about Daddy? Daddy needs breakfast. Where is he going?"

She placed her hand on James' back and guided him back to the kitchen, "Daddy had to go to hospital James. Don't worry. He will find some breakfast when he gets there."

She set James' breakfast on the table and when she was certain that he was settled, she called Al. Needless to say, Al was distraught, and she offered to drive him to hospital, but he declined, saying he could make the drive by himself. But he couldn't.

She was bundling James up in his parka for the walk to nursery when she received a call from Morwenna, "Louisa, I hate to ask this, but could you step in at the surgery today? I need to drive Al to hospital. He's hysterical. Well, maybe not hysterical, but I've never seen him so upset. I don't trust him to drive himself."

"Of course. I'll drop by as soon as I take James to nursery."

When she arrived, reception was overflowing with patients coughing and moaning. She walked over to Morwenna's desk and sat down, looking to see if there was any kind of order to be found that morning. Soon Nate ushered out a very sickly Mrs. Poustie and gave Louisa a questioning look.

Louisa responded by tilting her head in the direction of the office and saying, "follow me."

"Louisa, what's up. Morwenna called a half-hour ago saying she wasn't coming in and that you would be helping out today."

"Did she say anything else?"

"No. Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Yeah. Bert Large had another medical crisis this morning. Martin's gone to hospital to see what he can do. He told me that it didn't sound good and that Al should join him. You know Martin, he won't discuss any of his patients, but I got the feeling that Bert might not make it. Morwenna said that Al was so upset that she didn't trust him to drive, so she is taking him."

Nate looked concerned, "I thought that Doctor Ellingham had repaired his artery and that Mr. Large was recovering."

Louisa looked down, "He was, but something happened this morning. I heard Martin telling the registrar what to do and then he flew out of the house."

"Did you understand anything he said?"

Louisa shook her head, "No, sorry. It just sounded bad."

She turned and nodded her head toward the waiting room, "Guess we'd better get this lot sorted. Martin had planned to spend the day here, but … maybe he can come back before the end of the day."

'Yeah," Nate agreed. "Cold and flu season has started early this year. I'd advise you to wash your hands frequently today. Doctor Ellingham wouldn't be happy if you caught anything.,"

Louisa grimaced at the thought she might catch a bad cold or even the flu, "Okay. Thanks for the advice."

Nate reached for the doorknob, "Let's go get things organised."

They went back out to the waiting room which suddenly went quiet. Nate spoke up, "Morwenna had to attend an emergency and Mrs. Ellingham will be stepping in. I'm going to help her prioritise the patients and I will see you all shortly."

The buzz in the waiting room resumed, and finally one of the patients walked up to the desk and asked Louisa about Morwenna. Louisa wasn't sure how much she should say, but when Caitlin ran into the surgery, all concerned, everyone turned as she asked, "Where's Morwenna?" and when Louisa looked up at her with concern, she continued, "Do you know anything about Bert's condition? The hospital won't tell me anything."

Louisa decided it was time to say something. Better the truth than unsubstantiated rumours, and she stood up and addressed the group, "As I'm sure all of you know, Bert Large had a medical emergency two days ago. He was taken to hospital where Martin, that is, Doctor Ellingham and another vascular surgeon made a repair to an artery in his heart. He had been recovering satisfactorily until this morning. Doctor Ellingham received a call from hospital this morning asking him to return to hospital because Bert's blood pressure was dropping again. That's all I know, except that Doctor Ellingham thought it was serious and suggested that Al go to the hospital as well. Morwenna decided to drive him there and asked me to fill in for her. That's all I know, truly."

"It must be bad then, if the Doc thought Al should be there." Caitlin was wringing the hem of her jacket. "Maybe I should go as well."

"I don't know Caitlin. I don't think they will let more than one person in to see him, if any."

"You will tell us if you hear more, won't you?"

"Yes, I will. But I can't promise more. You know Martin. He guards his patients' privacy carefully. He won't even tell me any details about his patients."

Several of the older ladies nodded their heads, and Mrs. Eddy piped up, "Yeah, that's right. Don't want the whole village knowing 'bout our troubles." Her friend Ethel coughed before adding, "Doc may be a tosser, but he is discreet."

Nate sent out a patient and shouted, almost like the Doc, "Next patient." And Louisa looked up and said, "That's you, Mrs. Greene."

Shortly before noon, Martin entered the surgery. He had called to let them know that Bert had stabilised and that he was on his way back to Portwenn. Most of the morning patients had been seen and had gone home, and there were two who were waiting to see the Doc. Louisa looked up at Martin expectantly, and he nodded, 'He's okay."

She sat back in her chair, visibly relieved. 'Good."

Nate came out and Martin immediately went to work, "Who's first?"

"Ms. Gillott. Lorna, that's you."

Martin gestured to both Lorna and Nate, "Go through."

After closing the door and glancing at Lorna's file, Martin explained her hereditary hemochromatosis, and the need to draw a pint of blood every three months to keep her iron levels normal. As Nate escorted Lorna to the phlebotomy room, Martin also instructed him to take a sample to send off for testing her iron levels. Martin made a quick note in Lorna's files and then shouted out "Next patient."

Morwenna arrived back at the surgery mid-afternoon. "Hi-ya," she announced sombrely as she came through the door. 'I'm back."

Louisa stood up and asked, "How's Bert? How's Al?"

Morwenna sighed, "As good as they can be, I expect." A somewhat positive answer that was belied by the sadness that shadowed her eyes.

Louisa looked around the waiting room, where three patients were waiting and nodding to them, "We'll be right back", and she ushered Morwenna back to the kitchen. "You want to tell me about it?"

"Nothing much to tell. Doc says Bert's stable, but what does that mean? Is that good or is that bad? He's been sedated again so Al wasn't able to talk with him and he's very worried."

A few tears slipped out of Morwenna's eyes and Louisa reached out to give her a hug at which point Morwenna broke down sobbing. A minute later, they heard the door to the consultation room open and Martin and Nate walked out. Martin quickly looked for Louisa and then noticed her with Morwenna in the kitchen. Morwenna wiped her eyes and smiled, "Hi-ya Doc. Guess it's time to get back to work."

Martin nodded his head, "Yes," and Morwenna walked past him to her desk.

Louisa slipped past him as well, "I'd better show her who's next."

"Yes." Martin watched the two women with a quizzical expression on his face while Nate escorted the next patient into the examination room.